Carnac

Carnac, village in northwestern France, in Morbihan Department, on the southern coast of Brittany. Within the village and the surrounding area are thousands of megalithic monuments consisting of menhirs, dolmens, and tumuli. The monuments were arranged in three groups that archaeologists believe were joined at one time. The principal group lies northwest of the village and has some 1100 monoliths of granite. They are arranged in 11 roughly parallel rows (about 1030 m/3380 ft long) and end in an arc, the extremities of which touch the outer horizontal rows. Although their origin and object remain a mystery, they are generally considered to have been associated with Druidism. The Bossenno, about 1.6 km (about 1 mi) east of Carnac, is the site of numerous burial mounds and the remains of a Gallo-Roman villa. Population (1999) 4,444.