Ancient site · Megalith
Carnac stones
Around Carnac in southern Brittany more than 3,000 standing stones, cut from local granite, stand in long rows, together with stone tombs and burial mounds. It is the largest collection of its kind in the world.
They were raised by Stone Age farmers, perhaps from around 4500 BCE, with most work probably around 3300 BCE. Nobody knows for sure what the rows were for. Local legends later said they were Roman soldiers turned to stone.
- Dates
- c. 4500–3300 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- Location
- 47.60° N, 3.06° W
How we know
No writing existed; dates come from excavation of the stones and nearby tombs, and exactly when each row was raised is uncertain.
Nearby sites
- Cairn of Barnenez built c. 4850–4000 BCE; reused in the 3rd millennium BCE
- Stonehenge c. 3100–1600 BCE (sarsen circle c. 2600–2400 BCE)
- Pont du Gard 1st century CE; used perhaps until the 6th century
- Newgrange built c. 3100 BCE; out of use by the Bronze Age
- Star Carr c. 9300–8500 BCE
- Hadrian's Wall begun 122 CE; Roman rule ended c. 410 CE
Related
- Atlantic megalith builders archaeological culture