Not too far from here is the small town of Locmariaquer which has three important megaliths. We wanted to visit their museum and see the Neolithic constructions plus we were told that the explanation in English is very well done. Well, we were indeed impressed. First, they have the largest megalith found in the West. It is over 20 meters long (over 60 ft.high) But, it now rests in 4 pieces. Most archeologists feel that it was broken during an earthquake after 4300 B. C. because the breaks are clean. Some of them, however, argue that man broke them. Guess we will never know for sure. Eighteen other huge stones stood in a straight line behind the largest one, but they were not as tall as the first! Now, however, only their bases remain.
Next, there is a huge burial mound. This served as a tomb for only one person. And the theory is that Neolithic society was structured with a definite important leader. At this time they were moving from hunters and gatherers to people who were beginning to settle down. They obviously were great builders, used stone spikes and they were capable of moving 300 ton stones from at least 10 kilometers away to their current location. And they didn't have wheels. Scientists know that they had to move these stones across water and land because the stones used in these buildings are not found locally. So HOW did they move them? More questions, no sure answers.
And, remarkably, from inside this tomb, there was found, a piece of a necklace and the stone comes from an area in Spain! There is also a sliver of a bowl and the material it is made from is found in Italy! So, there obviously was much more to their culture than we know about or understand. Just to put things in perspective, the pyramids are considered "modern" by comparison. And the cave paintings found in Lascaux are 25,000 years older than these structures.
And finally at this location, there is also a huge tomb that apparently was used as a communal burial ground. This mound, can be entered into. It is easier to stand inside but as you can see in the photo, getting in is a bit difficult for someone of even average height. Inside you can make out on the walls, primitive carvings made in the stone. But there are no paintings. Or, are there and they just haven't been found yet?
Another interesting fact is that stones were apparently reused. They were taken from one location to another. There is part of a carving here and another piece of it is found at a different site. So, apparently, when they needed a piece of stone, they didn't mind "borrowing" it from another location. Or maybe rival groups plundered the sites. So many possibilities... counting them could replace sheep!
