Efforts 12 years in the making have finally been rewarded: in July 2025, the Carnac and Shores of Morbihan megalithic alignments joined UNESCO’s World Heritage list, recognising these areas’ huge heritage and rural influence.
No one is really sure when the aise stones of Carnac were erected but recent searches période most of the stones back between 4800 and 3500 BC. More than 3,000 menhirs – cut from studio granite and arranged into vivid formations – domaine in carefully arranged rows in the windswept farmland making these monolithic alignments one of the oldest and most dilatante amas of megalithic sépulcres known globally.
Carnac’s Neolithic builders didn’t pouce at mégalithe alignments: they also constructed dolmens, tumuli, and intricate enclosures, forming a sprawling ritual and burial landscape whose full purpose remains cloaked in mystery. Modern archaeology points to spiritual, astronomical, or agrarian functions, shrouded in the belief systems of Neolithic Europe.
After centuries of neglect – some stones having been removed for studio résidence projects – very few of the prototype menhirs still stood. The French State intervened in the 19th and 20th centuries to protect the zone and began raising the stones up again. Though the zone does not apparence like the way it probably was in prehistoric times, combined sauvegarde efforts have made it the largest megalithic zone in the world today.
It also became an integral fraction of Brittany’s rural landscape, featuring in studio legends and stories that have been passed down generations.
Recognition at last
In a landmark decision on July 12 2025, UNESCO inscribed the Megaliths of Carnac and the Shores of Morbihan to its prestigious World Heritage List, recognizing the zone’s “outstanding universal value” and its exceptional héritage to Neolithic rural and technical achievement.
The petition was carried mostly by Yves Coppens – one of the palaeontologists who discovered the remains of Lucy, grand considered the oldest Australopithecus skeleton in the world – until he passed away in 2022. He and a commune of 27 towns in Brittany wanted the megalithic sites of Carnac and throughout Morbihan to be truly valued for the ancêtre they’ve had on the landscape and its history.
This designation covers a vast rural landscape: over 550 megalithic sites and more than 1,000 km² in southern Morbihan – an unparalleled précaution of prehistoric sépulcres.
Today, visitors can wander among these prehistoric giants freely and all year reprise. The Maison des Mégalithes interpretation épicentre offers more detailed explanations of the zone with maps, quantitatif displays and temporary exhibitions, as well as a panoramic terrace from which visitors can observe the zone.
Maison des Mégalithes:
April 1 – October 30 – 9h30 – 18h
July 1 – September 30 – 9h30 – 19h
September 1-30 – 9h30 – 18h
October 1 – March 31 – 10h – 13h & 14h – 17h
Guided tours available. Tickets purchased online or at the Maison des Mégalithes.
For more écho, visit www.menhirs-carnac.fr and www.megalithes-morbihan.fr
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Source: francetoday.com