From the fairy meeting place to the largest dolmen in Brittany

 

 

Here is the entrée ...

 

 

The Roche-aux-Fées near Essé in Brittany is just under 20 metres long, 6 metres wide (some say 4.70 metres high, but this is currently incomprehensible) and about 4 metres high. If one were to remove the earth (rich) mass that has been added over time, this might even be possible. But who knows for sure - official data should not be trusted without hesitation. In any case, I was able to reach the ceiling slabs with my arms above my head. And I'm not 2 metres tall, nor do I have arms that are 2 metres long.

 

 

The slate blocks that hold the construction at the appropriate height are said to be 40 in number (I haven't counted) and weigh a total of more than 500 tonnes. Apparently, at the time of construction, they had no problem bringing these masses from the Forêt du Theil-de-Bretagne, 4 km away. Allegedly, this could be proven geologically/chemically. But that still adds up to ± 12.5 tonnes per block that had to be transported. Or were they rolled there on wooden piles, as the sometimes serious caricatures on instructive signs in such cases would have us believe? Sure, why not? By the way, the heaviest of the chunks is said to weigh an estimated 45 tonnes. Maybe he hitchhiked there ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

An orthostat was apparently broken out of the supporting structure deliberately.

 

 

Some helpful supports are already "off the table".

 

 

 

 

Some supports were probably replaced by unsuitable ones.

 

 

 

 

Bevelled rocks with massive machining marks (here, however, without "reasonably" readable use).

 

 

The public reference works are full of dates from around 2,000 to 5,000 years ago. No one knows exactly how this figure was arrived at. At least the geologists are honest enough to admit that they have no idea.
The whole structure was probably once part of a hill (a cairn, to be precise), so it was completely underground. Personally, I object to the inflationary term tumulus. Even if at some point it was indeed misappropriated as a tomb at a much later date. Who wouldn't have done that if one was already offered such a crypt-like opportunity.

 

Free-floating ceiling tiles with rough "tear-off edge".

 

 

 

 

Once again, just in time for the winter solstice, the sun rises directly in front of the entrance to the dolmen. Much to the delight of the visitors, as the bright rays reach all the way to the keystone of the gallery and a maximum of sunlight can penetrate there. I must admit that this day should be used again for one of the coming visits. The orientation of the structure runs from northwest to southeast.

 

What giants are usually supposed to do, fairies have this time probably taken in hand. Legend has it that it only took one night to build this structure. Next time I'm there, I'll count the orthostats. Because the exact number is sometimes said to be subject to deception - caused by the fairies. Then we'll compare it with the official count.

 

 

 

When you look at which ceiling masses meet narrow or pointed support points, the distribution of the mass seems genuinely contrived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Clamps" and sloping positions. Sometimes the dolmen looks as if it has been blown up and arbitrarily reassembled. 

 

 

Small and large breakdowns as well as inappropriate arrangements increase constructive doubts about the current state of affairs.

 

 

According to Ouest-Manche, the local council of the municipality responsible recently decided to cut down the trees in the surrounding area, which include several centenarians, for almost 1,000,000 euros. Presumably, some people are sensing a lucrative timber business that they will pay handsomely for. In spite of the indebted municipalities, funds are being raised to "upgrade" the site - as it is unfoundedly called - and to attract more visitors. Whether this is the case with fewer trees is highly doubtful. Allegedly, the trees pose a danger to the site, which in this case is rather ridiculous. This explanation does not suit Pascal Branchu, chairman of the "Nature in the City" association. "On the contrary, the trees protect the dolmen, the root systems of healthy trees preserve the subsoil and prevent runoff and erosion [...]", he explained in a letter he sent to the president of the municipal administration on 1 October. But they are not interested - the deal has long been done. >> Source <<

 

Such fascinating trees adjacent to the dolmen are to be removed. Sounds like wanton destruction to me.

 

 

The root system impressively encloses the surrounding rocks of the former Cairns.

 

 

Even protests and petitions (14,000 votes) have had no significant influence. As in our country, the government is consistently bypassing the will of the population. It has to be said that the site is in a very idyllic location. It is precisely the charm of the surrounding trees that makes it so appealing, at least nowadays.

 

Other important notes about the dolmen:
It is not known how long it has been known but it was mentioned by de Robien as early as 1756, before being included in Ogé's dictionary in 1778 (Robien, 1756; Ogée, 1843-1853), and is presented in the note of the geological map of La Guerche-de-Bretagne as "one of the most imposing megaliths of western France" (Trautmann and Carn, 1997). Giot et al. (1998) also refer to it as "the largest megalithic monument in Brittany".

 

 

In the following petroglyphs or/and working traces that can be discovered there at first glance.

 

 

 

Orthostats that were probably not used "properly". Notches of the bearing surfaces do not correspond to today's bearing points. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surface structures reminiscent of maritime deposits or sediments. Where exactly did the rocks come from again?

 

 

 

 

Further quotes from the "ruling" geologists:
"As the age of this monument cannot be traced to a recognised cultural group, it remains obscure within the Neolithic period."

 

"The boulders preserved around the edge of the monument suggest that it was originally part of a Cairn-like architectural structure, which would mean that the outsides of the orthostats and the tops of the cover slabs were at times exposed to the direct effects of meteorological erosion."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the back or rear wall of the dolmen.

 

 

I recommend everyone to pay a visit there before the surrounding landscape (especially the trees) changes completely and you only find a parking "idyll" there.