630 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The Great Menhir, Lock.mariaquer, Brittany. 



surmounted by a menhir. In Brittany always, and probably generally, 

 if not always, elsewhere, the dolmen was covered with a mound of 

 earth or small stones. Those dolmens which stand exposed have prob- 

 ably had the earth removed by natural or artificial agencies. In 

 Brittany many of the dolmens show no trace of mounds, standing bare 

 upon the surface of the ground; but it is known that the soil has been 

 removed by the peasants to spread upon their fields, the soil in this 

 part of France being scanty, and the mounds furnishing an available 

 supply. Many of the dolmens and covered passages are still partly 

 underground, the whole of the tumuli not having been removed. 



The menhirs vary greatly in size, from a small stone, not over two 

 feet high, to larger ones many times that dimension, and weighing many 

 tons. The greatest of all menhirs is the ' Great Stone ' or ' Grand 

 Menhir ' at Locmariaquer, in Brittany. It is no longer standing, and 

 is broken into several pieces, but Avas 70 feet high and weighed 300 tons. 



The lechs are considered to be comparatively recent, for all these 

 stone monuments, even in the same region, do not belong to the same 

 period, some dating as far back as the stone age, while others can claim 

 no greater antiquity than the age of bronze or even than a still later 

 time. 



The dolmen may be a simple chamber or a number of connecting 

 chambers, and may open directly or may be preceded by a gallery or 

 covered passage of varying length, but it is always open at one end. 



