Carnac, France - Alignement de Kermario, standing stones - postcard c.1910s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Carnac - vue generale des Alignements de Kermario [standing stones]
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• Postally used: no
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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Carnac (Breton: Karnag) is a commune beside the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany in the Morbihandepartment in north-western France.

Its inhabitants are called Carnacois in French. Carnac is renowned for the Carnac stones – one of the most extensive Neolithic menhir collections in the world – as well as its beaches, which are popular with tourists.

Located on a narrow peninsula halfway between the medieval town Vannes and the seaside resort Quiberon, Carnac is split into two centres - Carnac-Ville and Carnac-Plage (the beachfront). In total there are five beaches, including la Grande Plage, and further to the east, Plage Men Dû and Beaumer.

Carnac is famous as the site of more than 10,000 Neolithic standing stones, also known as menhirs. The stones were hewn from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. Local tradition claims that the reason they stand in such perfectly straight lines is that they are a Roman legion turned to stone by Pope Cornelius.^[1]

The Carnac stones were erected during the Neolithic period which lasted from around 4500 BC until 2000 BC. The precise date of the stones is difficult to ascertain as little dateable material has been found beneath them, but the site's main phase of activity is commonly attributed to c. 3300 BC. One interpretation of the site is that successive generations visited the site to erect a stone in honour of their ancestors. 

n 1864, La Trinité-sur-Mer and its port were separated from the commune to create their own commune and parish. The fishermen found the church in Saint-Cornély to be too far from the port, and had one built in a more convenient location. La Trinité-sur-Mer thus became both a parish and a separate commune.

In 1903, a seaside resort was created on the old salt flats, developing extensively through the 1950s to create the split Carnac of today: Carnac-ville and Carnac-plage. In 1974, a renowned hydrotherapy centre was sponsored by champion cyclist Louison Bobet, retiring after having won the Tour de France three times from 1953 to 1955.

The Carnac stones (Breton: Steudadoù Karnag) are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the village of Carnac in Brittany, consisting of alignments, dolmens, tumuli and single menhirs. More than 3,000 prehistoric standing stoneswere hewn from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany, and form the largest such collection in the world.^[1]Most of the stones are within the Breton village of Carnac, but some to the east are within La Trinité-sur-Mer. The stones were erected at some stage during the Neolithic period, probably around 3300 BCE, but some may date to as early as 4500 BCE.^[2]

Although the stones date from 4500 BCE, modern myths were formed which resulted from 1st century AD Roman and later Christian occupations. A Christian myth associated with the stones held that they were pagan soldiers in pursuit of Pope Cornelius when he turned them to stone.^[3][4][5] Brittany has its own local versions of the Arthurian cycle. Local tradition claims that the reason they stand in such perfectly straight lines is that they are a Roman legion turned to stone by Merlin.^{[citation needed]}

In recent centuries, many of the sites have been neglected, with reports of dolmens being used as sheep shelters, chicken sheds or even ovens.^[6] Even more commonly, stones have been removed to make way for roads, or as building materials. The continuing management of the sites remains a controversial topic.^[1][7]

This fan-like layout recurs a little further along to the east in the Kermario (House of the Dead)^[8] alignment. It consists of 1029 stones^[9] in ten columns, about 1,300 m (4,300 ft) in length.^{[citation needed]} A stone circle to the east end, where the stones are shorter, was revealed by aerial photography.^[10]