Kermario Alignments, Carnac

The Kermario alignments extend north of the hamlet of the same name, about 1,5 kilometre north-east of the centre of Carnac, in Morbihan. They form part of the Carnac alignments, erected in the Neolithic, which UNESCO inscribed in July 2025 on the World Heritage List, within the property of the Megaliths of Carnac and the shores of the Morbihan.

A thousand menhirs in rows

The site stretches for a little over 1 100 metres, roughly a hundred metres wide, from south-west to north-east. It contains 982 standing stones arranged in ten roughly parallel rows. As at Le Ménec, the stones are taller towards the west and shrink towards the east. The Kermario dolmen marks the south-western end. Unlike Kerlescan and Le Ménec, no stone enclosure is visible to the west.

Vers l’est, la lecture devient plus difficile. D’anciennes carrières et l’épierrage des champs ont fait disparaître des files, et le creusement de l’étang de Kerloquet au XIX^e siècle a coupé l’ensemble. Au-delà, neuf files de petites pierres, l’alignement de Kerloquet, prolongent peut-être le site, à moins qu’il ne s’agisse d’un ensemble distinct.

A site damaged, then restored

J. Miln carried out the only known excavation there in 1877-1878, with disappointing results. The site was listed as a historic monument in 1889. At the end of the 19th^e century, a count found only 164 menhirs still standing out of 678 recorded at Kermario. The restorations that followed were sometimes haphazard, to the point that some rows now exist where old photographs showed none. A few objects found on site, pottery, flint and a Roman brooch, are held at the Prehistory Museum in Carnac.

Kermario remains the most visited alignment at Carnac. To limit ground erosion, the sites have been fenced off since the 1990s, and Landes de Bretagne sheep have grazed there since 1995. An information point was set up at Kermario in 2011.

The soldiers of Saint Cornély

The best-known legend tells that Cornély, pursued by soldiers, hid in the ear of one of his oxen and turned his pursuers to stone. The rows were in fact known as "the soldiers of Saint Cornély". Another tradition, recorded in 1864, held that the menhirs went to drink at the stream on Christmas night.

Kermario, energy site

Fans of energy sites count Kermario among the exceptional places. Walking along these rows of granite leaves an impression that is hard to describe. Try anyway: your words, below, will help other visitors.