Carnac

Carnac , town (1993 est. pop. 4,322), Morbihan dept., NW France, in Brittany, at the foot of the Quiberon peninsula. It is the site of remarkable megalithic monuments , particularly the menhir . The menhirs, formerly ascribed to the druids, extend along the coast in 11 parallel rows, 1,100 yd (1,006 m) long; some are 20 ft (6.1 m) high. The sea resort of Carnac-Plage is nearby.

Carnac the site in Brittany of nearly 3,000 megalithic stones dating from the Neolithic period. They include single standing stones (menhirs), dolmens, and long avenues of grey monoliths arranged in order of height.

Carnac. One of the most extensive archaeological sites in any Celtic nation or all of Europe, near the village of Auray, Morbihan Department, on the south coast of Brittany. The site includes an alignment of upright megalithic blocks, among them dolmens, cromlechs, and menhirs, extending almost 2 miles in an approximately east—west direction. Many of the larger uprights are from 11 to 13 feet high. In Breton oral tradition Carnac is known as Ty C'harriquet [The House of the Gorics], after the gnomes peculiar to the area. In another Breton story, the pseudosaint Korneli created the monuments here by transforming his pursuers into blocks of stone.

Bibliography

See G. E. Daniel , Lascaux and Carnac (London, 1955);
Z. Le Rouzic , Carnac: Légendes, etc. (Vannes, 1924)