ROUGH STONE MONUMENTS 



roof at all. It is sometimes paved with slabs and 

 divided into two partitions by an upright with 

 a hole in its centre. Tombs of this kind often 

 contain from forty to eighty skeletons, some of 

 which are in the contracted position. The skulls 

 are in some cases trepanned, i.e. small round 

 pieces of the bone have been cut out of them ; 

 such pieces are sometimes found separate in the 

 graves. No objects of metal occur in these North 

 French tombs. 



There are many fine examples in Brittany of 

 the corridor-tomb with distinct chamber. The 

 best known lies on the island of Gavr'inis (Mor- 

 bihan). It is covered by a tumulus nearly 200 

 feet in diameter. The circular chamber, 6 feet in 

 height, is roofed by a huge block measuring 13 

 feet by 10. The corridor which leads out to the 

 edge of the mound is 40 feet in length. Twenty- 

 two of the upright blocks used in this tomb are 

 almost entirely covered with engraved designs. 

 These are massed together with very little order, 

 the main object having been apparently to cover 

 the whole surface of the stone with ornament. 

 The designs consist of spirals, concentric circles 

 and semicircles, chevrons, rows of strokes, and 

 triangles, and bear a considerable resemblance to 

 those of Lough Crew and New Grange in Ireland. 



Another tomb in the same district, that of 

 Mane-er-Hroeck, was intact when discovered in 

 1863. It contained within its chamber a hoard 



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