Brittany (2): dolmen mounds

Dolmen - derived from Breton: 'dol' (table) and 'men' (stone). The flat-topped passage tombs with a narrow entrance tunnel and one or more burial chambers consisting of large uprights with capstones.

Originally, all the tombs were covered by mounds of stone and earth overtopping the stones.

This last one shows a partially eroded mound, with some of the capstones exposed.

These mounds are scattered around the countryside, unprotected and open to the elements and the public. A few have a simple, low fence around them; only two that we visited were protected behind a pay kiosk, with on-site staff.

The mounds with earth and well-grown vegetation seemed to have resident cats, maybe a scattered feral population from an original ancestor - the cats below are different animals, at different mounds, in spite of their striking visual similarity!