22 March 2025
“I was looking into Carnac, France” my niece messaged me, “because they are famous for their 10,000 standing rocks. It’s about 1.5 hrs from Rennes and might be a little far to look at rocks.”
Prehistoric rocks in France? The only Carnac I am familiar with is Carnac the Magnificent, a recurring comedic role played by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Sounds like an interesting excursion.
Bonjour, Saint-Malo
After a full day exploring Saint-Malo, we depart in cloudy weather with some expectation of rain. Our drive motors along simple, two-lane highways, around endless roundabouts, through farmland and forests to Pontivy.
Nothing special attracts me to this town except its location along the D768. Here, we lodge for the night at the Ibis.
Alignements of Carnac
After breakfast, we motor to Carnac. Arriving at the site is a “Wow!” moment. There are Megalithic rocks everywhere!
Our first stop is the Monument Visitor Center. There is little explanation here, but there is a good video which attempts to prepare visitors for this unique archeological site. Unfortunately, the Museum of Prehistory, which houses the archeological collections of the region, remains closed until later this afternoon. We decide to hike out on our own.
Megalithic Rocks and Menhirs
The Alignements of Carnac, no relation to Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent, form the world’s largest collection of megalithic sites, with over 3,000 Neolithic menhirs (standing stones), dolmens (stone tombs), and tumuli (burial mounds), dating from 4500-3300 BCE. The stones lie primarily in Carnac, with a few in nearby La Trinité-sur-Mer. In fact, there are scores of single menhirs and megalithic sites around Brittany.
Menhirs, typically dating from the European Middle Bronze Age, are large stones often tapering toward the top and placed upright in the ground by humans. They can stand alone as monoliths (like the one seen recently on Cap Fréhel), or be arranged in groups.
Stones vary in size with some reaching up to 13 feet in height. They represent tons of rock moved miles to arrange here for what purpose?
In comparison, Stonehenge consists of approximately 93 stones, originally numbering more. The sarsens reach 30 feet tall, weighing about 25 tons each. The bluestones measure between 6.5 to 10 feet in height, weighing between 2 to 4 tons.
The stones at Carnac were painstakingly erected by these pre-Celtic peoples and are an impressive example of megalithic structures. Unlike single standing menhirs commonly found elsewhere (like the one seen recently on Cap Fréhel), Carnac features very large groups of these upright stones, suggesting an effort to create a monumental display.
While Carnac may not be as impressive in structural design as Stonehenge, these stones offer a “wow” factor because of their number and alignments. Legends at Carnac link these stone alignments to Roman and Christian influences, including tales of pagan soldiers or a Roman legion turned to stone by divine intervention.
The purpose of the alignments remains a subject of debate, with theories suggesting they were used for religious rituals, astronomical observations, or as markers for sacred or burial sites.
The stone rows consist of three major groups – Ménec, Kermario, and Kerlescan. These alignments are remarkable for their scale and symmetry. They may have once formed a single group but have been split up as stones were removed for other purposes.
For example, the Ménec Alignments consist of converging rows of menhirs spanning 3,822 by 328 feet, with stone circles at both ends. The largest stones, 13 feet tall, are at the western end, while smaller stones (2 feet) appear along the length before increasing in size again toward the east.
This is just one grouping. There are many, many more stones, at least 2,000, in the area. These weathered, granite stones came from local outcroppings that once extensively covered the area. Local lore claims that the reason the stones stand in such perfectly straight lines is that they are a Roman legion turned to stone by Merlin.
Tumuli Mounds
Several walks and paths traverse the fields, forests, and hills in the area. We walked the paths to the small Saint-Michel Fountain and nearby Tumulus of Saint-Michel.
Tumulus of Saint-Michel: Constructed between 5,000 BCE and 3,400 BCE, this tumulus represents a massive burial mound measuring 410 by 197 feet at its base and 39 feet high, requiring 46,000 cubic yards of stone and earth. It served as a tomb for the ruling class
The tomb contained 15 stone chests, jade axes, pottery, and callaïs jewelry, now housed at the Museum of Prehistory of Carnac. A chapel originally built atop the tumulus in 1663, after destruction, was identically reconstructed in 1926.
Similarities are noted with other megalithic cultures in Ireland and the Michelsberg culture of northeastern France and Germany, which also emphasize elite burials and symbols of authority. The Carnac tumuli were contemporary with the rich burials of the Varna culture in Bulgaria, which contained more gold than all excavated sites from the rest of the world combined at the time.
The Carnac burials attest to the existence of powerful elites. And all these stones, so difficult to move and erect, attest to some powerful builders – for whatever reason.
Pointe du Conguel
Leaving Carnac, we drive further south to about 15 miles with an estimated Google drive time of 30 minutes. No road seems straight, roundabouts abound, and speed limits are usually about 18-31 mph. To see 50 mph is joyous, 68 appears to be tops.
Pointe du Conguel represents a small peninsula of land sticking out into the Bay of Biscay. Sandy with beautifully wind-sculpted cypress trees, waves crash on rocks and shore.
Exposed on three sides by the cold waters of the bays of Biscay and Quiberon, the environment is rugged with a feeling of isolation. We tried to walk out to the point, but the wind blew fiercely, and then rain began.
Bonjour, Little Peugeot
In intermittent rain, we drove northeast for our 90-mile return trip to Rèn. We quickly returned our rental car. Figuring out mileage, I have some sympathy for the French. We filled the car’s tank at €1.65 a liter. This comes to about $6.25 a gallon. We drove a total of 371 miles at a fuel cost of over $49. I should probably stop complaining about California gas prices.
Car-free, we checked into our hotel and quickly sought a café, food, and drink. No more driving French roads, no more roundabouts.
We’ve had some great hikes in Brittany. The weather has been fairly good most of the time. The locals have been very nice; food and wine have been great.
And, yes, all rocks proved worth the trip.
