96 CORNISH DOLMENS. 



of Crusano is 24 feet long, and that of Bier Groali is 34 feet 

 long, while one of the stones of that near Sanmur, in the 

 department of Maine et Loire, attains the extraordinary length 

 of 71 feet. These gigantic dolmens throw those of Coi'nwall 

 quite into the shade. Some of the huge stones of the French 

 dolmens were also brought from great distances. Thus, the 

 great capstone of the dolmen of Saint-Fort-sur-le-Ne, in the 

 department of Charente, was brought from a region at least 15 

 miles distant.^" Many other enormous stones have been con- 

 veyed 10 miles in order to construct dolmens. LIow was the 

 transport effected ? It is easy to talk of ancient Egypt, and to 

 say how in that countiy monoliths were dragged by slave-labour 

 or floated down the Nile. But Egypt was a flat and open 

 country, Avitli a broad and gently flowing river. Erance on the 

 other hand was, when the dolmens were erected, hilly and 

 covered with dense forests. The climate was moist, the soil soft, 

 the valleys were full of marshes, and there were no roads By 

 what means then were these enormous slabs of stone brought 

 from a distance of 15 miles ? Moreover, some of them were 

 actually conveyed uphill, that is to say — from a lesser to a greater 

 elevation.*^ This complicates the problem. In some instances 

 also, the capstones are formed of one kind of rock and the 

 uprights of another, both uprights and capstones being brought 

 long distances. In Cornwall we have only granite dolmens, but 

 in Erance they are built of all kinds of stone such as granite, 

 gneiss, basalt, sandstone, limestone, and even conglomerate. 



Whoever the dolmen builders were, I believe that their stay 

 in Cornwall was of only brief duration. I am led to this 

 conclusion because our Cornish dolmens are so few in number. 

 How many does Cornwall possess? Mr. W. C. Borlase '^ 

 describes only eleven, and the Eev. W. C. Lukis, ^ does not 

 think it necessary to notice more than seven. In France, 

 however, matters are entirely different. In Brittany, which is 

 about three times as large as Cornwall, there are nearly six 



50. A/e7)toirs siw Les Restes d' Industrie de la Charente, by A. de Rochebrune, 

 p. 94. 



51 yioxWW&t—Le Prehistorique Antiquite de V Homme, p. 595. 



52- Ncenia Cormibia:, pp. i6-6g. 



53. Prehistoric Stone Monuments of Cornwall. 



