Table des Marchand
The Table des Marchand (German table of the [merchant's family] Marchand, Breton An Daol Varchant ) is located in Locmariaquer in the Morbihan department in Brittany in France . The megalithic structure was declared a monument historique in 1889 .
Dating
Excavation work in the 1980s and 1990s has shown that the Neolithic building was probably at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. After a row of 16 plate menhirs ('alignement a-q') from around 4500 BC. BC, in which stood on the site of today's burial chamber, was destroyed. The building was probably used until the Bronze Age (i.e. until around 2000 BC) and has been described since the 18th century AD.
function
As in many dolmens , no bones or grave goods were found in the Table des Marchand
so that some researchers have suggested that some buildings with a large main chamber may have been places of worship or assembly. In addition, it is also possible that the use of the building has changed over time and that any burial remains that may have been removed later.
architecture
reconstruction
To protect the engravings inside the building, the corridor and cairn were reconstructed during the excavation work - essentially based on the model of Gavrinis . Most of the bearing stones (orthostats) and all of the cap stones in the corridor area were completely rebuilt and reinserted. The gaps between the megaliths were then closed with rubble stones and the cairn was piled up.
Underground
During the excavation and reconstruction work mentioned, it was found that the building masters of the megalithic era enriched the sandy building ground with flint stones, pebbles and ceramic shards - probably to prevent the huge structure from sinking into the ground.
Stones
The stone material used in the construction was mainly local granite ; the stones of the floor slab, however, consist of the sandstone that also occurs nearby. Several stones (including two opposite stones in the corridor and the ceiling slab measuring about 5.70 m in length and about 4.10 m in width) consist of so-called orthogneiss , which was easy to work, but from quarries near the 10th floor km north of the city of Auray had to be brought here and was used more often by the older - later all broken - great menhirs. The almost triangular carved main stone of the burial chamber was made of lighter and also easy to work sandstone.
Cairn
Today's facility is a largely reconstructed dolmen in a cairn. Excavations have shown that the building was bordered by a two-tier cairn made of small rubble stones, which - to ward off rainwater - was possibly covered with sand, earth and grass. However, the cairn or tumulus was already removed centuries ago, so that the building presented itself for a long time as a monumental table-shaped dolmen (hence the name).
Dolmen
At the 1.40 m high trilith portal of the dolmen, visitors had to and must bend their heads and backs, which must be understood as a - compulsorily demanded - gesture of deference. This fact, as well as the absence of a lock stone at the entrance, suggest that the building was open to visitors for a long time. Behind the entrance, the height of the capstones rises evenly to the approximately 2.70 m high main chamber - a design element that can be found in many, but not all, passage graves.
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ornamentation
While the supporting stones ( orthostats ) in the corridor are all undecorated, the stone , which is about 3.20 m high and hewn in an ogival shape, shows crooked bars pointing to the left or right on the front side of the chamber 49 in relief ; they were interpreted as weapons, but also as rays of the sun or ears of corn. Another stone with more simply designed crooks is in the main chamber of Gavrinis. The crook or hook motif repeats on the outer edge of the stone, the visible part of which is approximately the shape of a shield . In the middle there is a very faded symbol and the inscription "Gazelle", which was probably scratched at the beginning of the 20th century by the shipwrecked crew of a fishing boat. With its ogival, almost triangular shape, this stone is so unusual in its function as a bearing stone that research today assumes that it is a stele already in this place, which was only integrated into the dolmen at a later date.
On the downwardly curved ceiling plate, which is the lower part of an - probably intentionally destroyed - older menhir , the middle and upper part of which are the ceiling plates of the main chambers in the dolmens of Gavrinis and Er Grah , are the representations of a so-called ax plow as well recognize the front legs, chest and head parts of a cattle; the horns of the beast are found on the capstone of Gavrinis.
meaning
The reconstructed Table des Marchand is undoubtedly one of the most impressive monuments of European megalithic culture. The reuse of destroyed older menhirs suggests a - possibly profound - cultural and religious change in the period around 4000 BC. Close.
Surroundings
In the immediate vicinity of the Table des Marchand are the overturned Grand Menhir Brisé and the Dolmen Er Grah (or Er Vinglé ). The passage grave of Mané Rutual and the bronzo menhir (Men-Bronso) , which has been broken into four parts, are about 300 to 350 m away.
See also
literature
- Serge Cassen (Ed.): Autour de la Table. Explorations archéologiques et discours savants sur des architectures néolithiques à Locmariaquer, Morbihan. Laboratoire de recherches archéologiques (LARA) - University of Nantes, Nantes 2009, ISBN 978-2-86939-228-1 .
- Charles-Tanguy Le Roux , Éric Gaumé, Yannick Lecerf, Jean-Yves Tinevez: Monuments mégalithiques à Locmariaquer (Morbihan). Le long tumulus d'Er Grah dans son environnement (= Gallia préhistoire. Supplément. 38). CNRS éditions, Paris 2006, ISBN 2-271-06490-2 .
Web links
- Table des Marchand - Photos and information (Engl.)
- Table des Marchand - photos, etc. (Engl.)
- Megalithic in Morbihan (English)
- Table des Marchand - photos + information
Individual evidence
- ↑ Table des Marchand, Locmariaquer in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 47 ° 34 ′ 19 ″ N , 2 ° 57 ′ 0 ″ W.