ABSTRACT
Recent excavations in Brittany have radically altered our vision of the earliest Neolithic in the Armorican area, and have shed important new light on the origins of the megalithic traditions of North-western France. Until recently, it had been thought (cf. Giot et al. 1979) that the earliest megaliths in the region were simple passage graves, such as those found at Barnenez and Ile Guennoc (Finistère) and at Kercado (Morbihan). Then, in an important paper, L’Helgouach (1983) presented evidence to suggest that some of these simple passage graves (notably Mané-Rutual and La Table des Marchand at Locmariaquer, Morbihan) incorporated broken fragments of earlier decorated menhirs. Positive proof for this suggestion was provided only a year later, when Le Roux (1984) discovered carvings on the upper face of one of the capstones of the passage grave of Gavrinis (Larmor-Baden, Morbihan). The carvings on the Gavrinis capstone fit with those on the Table des Marchand capstone, previously discussed by L’Helgouach: these two capstones are fragments of a single carved menhir.
