La Hirondelle 35

 

The middle guard, of the menhir army, marches through Kermario. Marking its way with a dolmen: Weighty flat stones, weighing tonnes apiece, roofing a chamber, which is walled with rows of single blocks.

A low doorway formed at one end. Giving rise to the name Entrance Grave. Although it is not certain that, at the time of their construction, five centuries BC, they were places of burial. They may well have been adapted to that use centuries later.

Scillonian, is another descriptor for this style of dolmen. The common approach to construction is visible, when comparing the Breton Kermario dolmen (first two pictures) with the  Bant's Carn dolmen (above) on St Mary's, in the Isles of Scilly.

In the Bronze Age, access to tin meant wealth, power and an ability to smelt the best weaponry. A shared geology brought these riches to both Breizh (Brittany) and Kernow (Dumnonia, later Cornwall).The dolmen and menhir culture extending along the shores of Europe, Scandinavia, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The Dolmen of Kermarquer took a detour to discover. On the maps, but off the signposted trails. I eventually find it, perched improbably above a cutting for the D186. Reaching it via an overgrown path, marked by a fallen wooden sign post.

The same still calm fills the air, as surrounded the Geant. In the refreshing shade and dancing sunlight, of the glade, the swish of the cars below is hushed. Drowned out by the weighty silence of wondrous mystery.