Deliberate Sourcing and Symbolic Landscapes at Le Plasker, Carnac

A fascinating new excavation and paper on Le Plasker, recently published in Antiquity, sheds fresh light on the origins of the Carnac megalithic complex. This discovery marks an important addition to Europe’s most celebrated Neolithic landscape, revealing not only a newly identified section of alignments and a pre-megalithic tomb, but also crucial insights into how stone was chosen, sourced, and arranged. The research highlights the sophisticated choices of Neolithic builders, who manipulated their environment with symbolic intent rather than relying solely on the nearest available materials. Excavations show that construction here involved deliberate quarrying, long-distance transport, and symbolic manipulation of the landscape. Across the wider Carnac complex, the integration of tombs, alignments, and imported materials reflects sustained communal effort and cultural intent rather than opportunism.

Mesolithic Occupation

Before megalithic construction, the site was used in the Late Mesolithic (c. 5700–5100 cal BC). Excavations uncovered a hut-like structure with a ditch and three small monoliths, one potentially anthropomorphic. This early use, still visible centuries later, likely influenced the choice of the site for later monuments.

The Tomb Mound

• Chronology: 4790–4640 cal BC.

• Source: Locally quarried granite.

• Details: A circular mound (3.3 m diameter, 0.15 m high) covered a dry-stone cist. The cist (0.7 × 0.9 m) likely held a single tightly flexed burial, though no remains survived.

• Associated Features: Six oval pavements nearby; two contemporary cooking pits.

• Significance: Among the earliest monumental tombs in Brittany, marking a transition from pit burials to megalithic architecture.

Monoliths Around the Tomb

• Arrangement: 46 monoliths within 20 m south of the mound, aligned along an east–west axis through the cist.

• Characteristics: Natural surfaces placed upwards; largely unworked, with only minor modifications for handling.

• Source: Granite quarried >2 km away, not from the immediate plateau.

• Significance: Likely intended to recreate a rocky landscape absent at the site, embedding symbolic meaning in material choice.

Standing Stone Alignments

• Chronology: 4670–4250 cal BC.

• Evidence: Foundation pits (1.8 m wide), filled with 60+ wedging stones (>100 kg), suggest uprights over 3 m tall.

• Features: At least three north–south alignments, constructed in multiple phases. Some pits were paired with cooking pits, possibly used in feasting or as light sources for stones.

• Significance: Demonstrates phased construction over three centuries, with repeated communal mobilisation and symbolic integration of hearths and stones.

Cooking Pits

• Form: 1.4–1.5 m wide pits filled with charred granite blocks, often aligned with stone rows.

• Function: Likely for communal cooking, but may also have illuminated or ritually emphasised standing stones.

• Chronology: Contemporaneous with alignments; final hearths date 4250–4050 cal BC.

• Significance: Suggests ritual or feasting contexts integral to monument use.

Imported Materials and Artefacts

• Finds at Carnac Region: Alpine jadeite axes (~800–1000 km) and Iberian variscite beads (~500–1000 km).

• At Le Plasker: Few artefacts were recovered, mainly lithics and ceramics, including Late Castellic motifs.

• Significance: Carnac as a whole had Europe’s highest density of such imports, situating Le Plasker within long-distance exchange networks.

Broader Context in Carnac

The Carnac complex, spanning over 10 km, integrates tombs, tumuli, alignments, and colossal stones such as the 20 m Grand Menhir Brisé at Locmariaquer (transported 7–10 km). At Le Ménec and Kerlescan, thousands of uprights were aligned over several kilometres. Le Plasker contributes a missing segment of this vast architectural project, strategically placed on a ridge visible from the sea.

Conclusion

The evidence from Le Plasker undermines the view of opportunistic stone use. From a Mesolithic hut to a pre-megalithic tomb, to centuries of alignments and cooking pits, the site reflects deliberate reuse, symbolic landscape creation, and communal effort. Builders selectively quarried stone from kilometres away and integrated imported prestige materials into a monumental setting. Like Stonehenge in Britain, Carnac exemplifies how Neolithic societies reshaped their landscapes with symbolic and social intent, not simply pragmatic use of local stone.

Reference:
Blanchard, A. et al. (2025) ‘Le Plasker in Plouharnel (fifth millennium cal BC): a newly discovered section of the megalithic complex of Carnac’, Antiquity, 99(406), pp. 915–934. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10123.