Dolmen de Penhap

Located on a promontory in the part of Ile aux Moines, the Penhap dolmen belongs to the series of passage tombs which mark out the ancient beds of the Vannes and Auray rivers. With a lower sea level of 6 to 7 m, the Gulf of Morbihan appeared as a wide valley irrigated by two rivers, the island was still attached to the land.

Neolithic men erected their large megalithic burials on high points. Thus from Locmariaquer to Arzon, the perimeter of the gulf presents numerous dolmens, menhirs and mounds from this period.

The Pen Hap dolmen:

The megalithic tomb of Penhap is set in the southern end of a long mound of 80 m by 40 m. What remains of this vast ensemble, damaged by the borrowing of materials over the centuries, is enough to allow us to imagine the presence of an elevation of earth whose height could reach from 6.00 to 8.00 m.

The burial chamber has a trapezoidal plan, it is served by an entrance facing south-east. The granite used here is similar to the underlying rock.

The engravings :

The few engraved lines represent a decoration which can be seen as the representation of an ax engaged in its fitting sheath. A second sign recalls the figures qualified as "" axes plows "".

The Pen Hap dolmen would have, according to the study of its type of architecture, between 5,500 and 6,000 years old.

The excavations carried out by Dr Mauricet in 1877 revealed archaeological material preserved in the museum of history and archeology of Vannes.

The Penhap dolmen has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1979.