Raised stones in the open air and raised stones in burial chambers: Towards a convergence of the arrangements. The example of the megaliths in the department of Morbihan
Pierres dressées à l’air libre et pierres dressées des espaces sépulcraux : vers une convergence des dispositifs. L’exemple des mégalithes du département du Morbihan
Résumé
Architectural conceptualisation of megaliths has often been the topic of distinct studies, with burial chambers and raised stones serving as bases for two different research axes. The study of reused steles, however, has recently raised attention and suggests that these two types of arrangements could be more closely linked. In investigating how burial chambers and individual raised stones might be complementary, and in analyzing the engineering of these megalithic architectural projects, many convergence points have been found between arrangements of raised stones placed in the open air, in sepulchral spaces, and in tumuli. It seems the intentions of the builders reflect the strong connections they saw between themselves and the world they lived in, understood, and exploited. It also speaks of the particular attention they gave to their dead, and their preoccupation with nature versus culture.An important actualized corpus of megaliths exists in the department of Morbihan. Studies of their architectural arrangements provide essential data to better understand them. We have developed here the results obtained during a doctorate research, the topic of which was ‘Burial structures and raised stones- architectural and spatial analyses- Megaliths of the department of Morbihan