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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The tumulus Saint-Michel, located in Carnac, Brittany, is an emblematic monument of Neolithic, dating back about 5000 years. This tumulus, the largest in France with 125 metres long and 12 metres high, is a typical example of the "carnacean tumulus". It houses various funeral structures, including a central vault discovered in 1862, containing prestigious funeral furniture such as jadeite axes and variscite pearls, showing distant networks of exchange.

The first excavations, conducted in 1862 by the brothers René and Louis Wales under the aegis of the Morbihan Polymathic Society, revealed the central vault after polls from the top. René Wales discovered exceptional furniture, including jasper beads and celtae, suggesting an elite tomb. In 1864, a second search campaign, still led by Wales, explored the western part of the tumulus without success, confirming the hypothesis of an asymmetry in the distribution of internal structures.

From 1900 to 1906, Zacharie Le Rouzic undertook further excavations, discovering a corridor dolmen, five annex chests, and fourteen small irregular chests to the east. These findings confirmed that the tumulus was the result of a succession of constructions spread over time, rather than a single plan. The furniture, now preserved at the Museum of Prehistory of Carnac, includes bronze objects in the eastern dolmen, indicating a subsequent reuse of the site.

The tumulus was classified as a Historical Monument in 1889, and escaped destruction in 1942, saved by the intervention of Maurice Jacq. Initially accessible by fitted galleries, it is now only accessible from outside for safety reasons. Its inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage Site is scheduled for July 2025, within the framework of the megaliths of Carnac and the banks of Morbihan.

According to local legend, the tumulus was erected by pilgrims in honour of Saint Michael, each bringing a stone or land. Historically, the site was also the scene of a fight between cabbages and Republicans in 1795, during the Quiberon expedition, marking its strategic and symbolic importance throughout the centuries.

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