Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Ménec alignment, located in Carnac, Morbihan, is a megalithic set emblematic of Neolithic. It extends over 950 metres long, facing southwest/northeast, and has about 1,050 menhirs arranged in 11 parallel lines. At its western end, an ovoid enclosure of 71 menhirs, often mistakenly called "cromlech", marks the beginning of the alignment. This site, split in two by the RD119 departmental road, also includes a second segment called the Toulchignan alignment, about 100 meters long, with nine distinct rows.

The construction of the village of Ménec and the surrounding roads led to the disappearance of some stones. Ranked as a Historic Monument from 1889, the site has architectural peculiarities: the menhirs are organized in decreasing size towards the east, and a notable discrepancy appears with the Giant of Ménec, a menhir of 3.50 meters high, more slender than the others. This block could belong to an earlier megalithic layout, later integrated into the alignment. The ensemble shares similarities with Kerlescan's alignment, such as the presence of an elevated enclosure, but distinguishes it by a second eastern enclosure and irregularities in the lines.

The alignment is part of a larger megalithic landscape, with nearly 3,000 menhirs spread over 40 hectares in the Carnac region. These structures, erected in the Neolithic, bear witness to a complex social and religious organisation, where stone monuments probably played a ceremonial or astronomical role. Their methodical arrangement, combined with enclosures and anomalies such as the Ménec Giant, suggests successive phases of construction and redevelopment, reflecting the evolution of cultural practices of the era.

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