He Lannic
The two stone circles on the island of Er Lannic (also Lanic) in the Gulf of Morbihan belong to the Breton municipality of Arzon in the Morbihan department in Brittany in France .
location
The island “Er Lannic” is located about 500 m south of Gavrinis , which is approached by tourists by boat from Larmor-Baden . When approaching you can just make out the circles on Er Lannic. The uninhabited island is a bird sanctuary and may not be entered during the breeding season (March 15 to August 31).
function
There are many speculations about the function of stone circles ( Cromlechs ): observatory, meeting place or place of worship, taboo or protected area etc. Since in most cases not all stones of a Cromlech are available or are no longer in their original place , astronomical interpretations are difficult if not impossible. It is also possible that a function change has occurred over time.
Dating
The age of the system is not clear. Some researchers believe the Breton stone circles to be older than most of the other megalithic structures in the area, dating from around 5000 to 4500 BC. BC before. Still others consider them to be younger and date them to the 4th millennium BC. Chr.
investment
The monument was examined, partially excavated and reconstructed between 1923 and 1926 by the French archaeologist Zacharie Le Rouzic (1864–1939).
One third of the tangent stone circles (in the shape of an eight) is still on the island, the other is completely in the water. At the point of contact between the circles there was once a seven meter high menhir .
The northern circle has a diameter of 65 m and consists of about 60 monoliths 2.5 to 5.0 m high. The southern stone circle remnant once had about 60 stones and 61 m in diameter. Today it has a horseshoe shape open to the east . The ensemble used to consist of over 120 stones, 49 of which still exist today; Of these, however, only about 16 are visible (at high tide) - the rest are covered by water. Three stones are engraved.
distribution
The two stone circles by Er Lannic are among the few stone circles in the Morbihan department . The Kergonan Cromlech , about 101 m in diameter, the largest in France, stands on the nearby Île-aux-Moines ; two more (Cromlech north and south) in the forest near Kerlescan . At the western end of the row of stones at Le Menec near Carnac , a cromlech can only be seen in parts, which is cut up by the - probably younger - rows of stones. Another stone setting ( quadrilatère ) with 22 remaining stones east of the village of Crucuno follows a more rectangular plan. Other stone circles can be found in the Finistère department .
Sea level rise
In addition to Er Lannic, some Allées couvertes and menhirs are flooded today at high tide . They are evidence of the rise in sea levels since the Neolithic , when the plants were not built so close to the sea . Examples are the Allée couverte in the Estuaire de la Quillimadec west of Guissény and the Cairn de Îlot-de-Roc'h-Avel . The menhir of Penloïc (or Penglaouic) near Loctudy (Finistère) at the mouth of the Pont-l'Abbe river protrudes four meters out of the silt. The menhir, which was built on firm ground in the Neolithic, is about 0.75 m below today's mean sea level, the base is about 0.50 m lower. It is similar with the menhir of Léhan .
See also
literature
- Aubrey Burl: A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany . Yale University Press, New Haven CT et al. a. 1995, ISBN 0-300-06331-8 .
- Philippe Gouezin and Eric Le Gall: Le Site mégalithique d'Er Lannic . Association "Archéo douar Mor", Yale University Press 1992, pp. 255-256 ISBN 0-300-11406-0
Web links
- Er Lannic - text and images (French) (last accessed on December 10, 2012)
- Er Lannic - text and images (last accessed December 10, 2012)
- Kergonan Stone Circle (last accessed December 10, 2012)
- Kerlescan Stone Circle (last accessed December 10, 2012)
- Stone circles in Brittany - map + photos (last accessed on December 10, 2012)
- Description and sketches
Coordinates: 47 ° 34 ′ N , 2 ° 54 ′ W