The Carved Tomb of Gavrinis
On a small island in Brittany, a mound hides a stone passage covered from floor to ceiling in swirling carved patterns, 5,500 years old. No one can read them.
What was reported
Gavrinis is a small island in the Gulf of Morbihan, in Brittany. On it is a large burial mound of stones, and inside, a long passage leads to a chamber. Almost every stone in the passage is covered with carved patterns: concentric arcs, spirals, zigzags and shapes like axes, like fingerprints in stone.
The passage is aligned so that the sun shines into it at sunrise around the winter solstice.
Explanations offered
The tomb was built around 3500 BC by Neolithic people. Some of its stones were reused from older monuments, including one that matches a broken standing stone nearby. What the carvings meant is unknown. It's often compared to Newgrange in Ireland.
- When
- Built about 3500 BC
- Where
- Gavrinis, Gulf of Morbihan, Brittany, France
- Witnesses
- Archaeologists and visitors
- Status
- Meaning unknown
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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