Kercado passage grave
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GPS: 47.595500N, 3.0539W |
The Kercado passage grave is located 2.25 km ENE of Carnac-Ville. It is amongst the oldest megalithic monuments estimated to been build as early as 4675 BC.
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| Kercado passage grave | The passage is rising from 1.5 m to 2.7 m |
The monument was excavated in 1863 by R. Galles and in 1925 by Z. Le Rouzic. A number of finds were made, including several axes, burnt human bone, arrowheads, 147 callais beards and ceramics. The tomb is covered by a circular mound 25 m in diameter and 5 m high. On top of the mound is a menhir 2.2 m in height that was erected by Rouzic who also reconstructed the cairn.
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| Kercado - a megalithic passage tomb in Brittany |
From a funnel-shaped entrance the 6.5 m long and 1.2 m wide passage leads to the rectangular chamber. The passage is 1.5 m high at the entrance and rises to 2.7 m height in the chamber. This rise from ‘claustrophobic’ low heights to comfortable can be found in many other tombs (i.e. Table-de-Marchants, Gavrinis, Mane Kerioned and many more).
The chamber is 2.9 m x 3.2 m in extend and slightly offset from the axis of the passage. The orthostats of the chamber are decorated with geometric patterns and a ‘figurine’.
The capstone of the chamber is 3.8 x 5.3 m and carved with a 'Manè Retual type axe'. It is quite likely that the capstone was re-used as for other tombs.
Kercado capstone
Literature
- [Burl85] Aubrey Burl, 'Megalithic Brittany', Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-27460-6, 1985.