Gallery graves

after a short walk
a jump back in history
a necropolis

I knew they were there but, just like with the raised stone fifteen minutes' walk from our home, I had never visited the gallery graves close to Lake Guerlédan and Bon Repos Abbey. This Friday, after my customary coffee in Gouarec, I drove to the start of the short walk to the gallery graves on the Liscuis moor. I always find myself awed by the thousands of years that have gone by since such monuments were built, and amazed by the dedication it must have taken the humans who did raise them to do it: finding the proper flat stones (in the present case), moving them to the desired location, then arranging them without so much as a power crane is an unbelievable feat, testimony to the respect they had for their dead.

I had never really wondered how these graves (on the Liscuis moor, there's a group of three) were organised. I learnt a lot on this walk: to the left, out of the frame, the grave opens with a vestibule that is followed (left of the photo) by the grave itself. The covered part is actually where the dead's possessions were deposited: furniture, tools, weapons. Of course, originally the whole grave was covered.

The graves have probably been pillaged over time, including the covering flat stones. They're now protected under a national (or is it world?) heritage programme. You can't see it in the photo but there's a low railing keeping visitors from getting closer than I was - well, it's only keeping out those who want to be kept out, as I would have had no difficulty stepping over the railing to get closer.


Nature is love