created that nation which, as the Venetians, at one time was supreme upon the sea.

Carnac is the name of a district having a population of 3,000 inhabitants, dwelling in about ninety hamlets, and the name is also given to a townlet having some 1,500 residents in and about it.

Just outside the town of Carnac is a very large tumulus called Mont St. Michel, which, about 500 ft. high, forms an interesting and excellent specimen of the varied objects of interest which present themselves to the inquiring mind of the archæologist in every direction. When excavated in 1862 by Mons. René Galles, he found, on sinking a shaft some 26 ft., a chamber containing eleven stone axes in jade, with two larger ones of coarser material, several smaller ones, some pendants, and about a hundred beads in jasper and turquoise. Later on (in 1875), and really almost forming part of the base of the tumulus, considerable remains of a Roman villa were discovered, including a house, a small temple, and a bath; and from the arrangement of some preCeltic relics upon shelves and the indication of tablets attached to them, it would appear that the Roman owner had been somewhat of an antiquary himself, collecting and assorting these treasures of a people whose history was almost unknown even in the days of Rome. To crown all, an early Christian church, dedicated to St. Michael as the patron saint associated with all lofty eminences, has been built on the summit of the tumulus : so that one has, as it were, the Stone age, the GalloRoman period, and the early Christian era, all within a few yards of each other.

The origin of the name of Carnac, according to the late Mr. Miln-the value of whose researches in this district cannot be over-estimated-is from this carn, or cairn, of Mont St. Michel just outside the town, which I have briefly described. This is borne out, too, by the fact that the little village actually at the foot of the tumulus is called Cru-carnac, signifying in the Breton tongue, "The Rocky Hill of the Carn".

A curious custom obtains at the period of the summer solstice every year in connection with this tumulus, for

on the top of it a huge bonfire is lighted at eventide, which is the signal for others to be kindled on other prominent eminences in the district for a distance of

quite twenty or thirty miles; and about the same time fires are also lighted in the farmyards and the animals made to pass through the smoke this being considered a charm against disease and illness, which would other

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wise fall to their lot during the coming year. These fires are called in the Carnac Breton patois "Tan Heol" = "The Fire of the Sun", and also-but obviously by a later introduction-"Tan Sant Jan" "The Fire of St. John"." Locmariaquer (i.e., "the place of the Virgin Mary") is a poor village situated some eight miles from Carnac, the country around consisting of a wild heathland, if possible more arid, stony, and sterile than the land which lies. around Carnac. It is supposed to be the ancient Dariorigum of the Veneti, to whom I have previously referred.

Locmariaquer stands on a promontory stretching out between the Morbihan Sea and the ocean, forming the most prominent arm of the Bay of Quiberon, as will be seen from the map of the district, taken from an able little guide-book to the locality, prepared by Mons. Zacharie le Rouzic, curator of the Miln Museum at Carnac to whose courtesy and information I was much indebted during my visits there.

About ten miles from Carnac lies the town of Auray, whence excursions may be made in different directions to inspect the megalithic remains. It is in the centre of the Morbihan, the wildest part of Brittany, and King Arthur is reputed to have built the castle of Auray, of which, however, no trace can be seen now. Under its walls and just outside the town was fought, in 1364, the battle which confirmed the Duke de Montfort, son-in-law of Edward III, in the dukedom of Brittany; and, in passing, it may be mentioned that the English forces, commanded by Sir John Chandos, took part in the combat, and captured the renowned Breton chief, Bertrand Duguesclin.

The

From Auray, then, let us start first to Carnac. scenery during the first few miles is distinctly pastoral, and very similar to what may be seen every day in England; but gradually to this succeeds a country of almost savage aspect in its wildness and stony nature, until at last we come upon one or two of the outlying

1 This custom seems to have been almost universal among Celtic and pre-Celtic races, and is undoubtedly connected with sun and fireworship. It lingered on in out-of-the-way parts of Scotland till well into this century, being known as "Bel Tan"=" Baal's Fire”; and I myself witnessed it among the Basques, near Bayonne, on St. John the Baptist's Eve, in the year 1874.-ED,

cromlechs and menhirs. However, with so much to choose from, I do not propose to discuss their formation : for though elsewhere they would be of undoubted interest, here, in view of what awaits us, they become relatively unimportant.

The three great heads into which the megalithic remains may be divided are:

1. Menhirs, or single stones, in most cases upright, but in other instances overthrown. These, when they appear in circles, are known as cromlechs.

2. Dolmens, from Dol Men, a table-stone, consisting of one flat stone with two or three others upright to support it; and the local subdivision of these dolmens is as follows:

(a) "Dolmen â galérie", i.e., with an entrance-way, e.g., Mané Kerioned, which is of sufficient size to allow a person to walk inside of it.

(b)" Gal-gal"a dolmen â galérie occurring in a smaller form, as in the case of Gavr' Inis.

(c) "Dolmen a l'allée couverte", where menhirs form the sides and table-stones the roof, e.g., Pierres Plattes Locmariaquer.

(d) "Kist-vaen" forms perhaps another subdivision, as when a dolmen diminishes into what is nothing more than a stone coffin called as above, being nearly always hewn out of one piece of stone.

in

3. Alignments. These are lines of menhirs set up regular rows, and they form the chief objects of interest around Carnac, the finest dolmens being found about Locmariaquer.

The wonderful feature in addition to their size is the immense number of stones represented by these different headings, for in the Morbihan district there can be no less than six or seven thousand of these monuments.

After inspecting a few menhirs and dolmens which, rare in another country, recede here relatively to a matter of less interest, we first come to the Dolmen de Mané Kerioned, which is the principal one out of about fifty in the district, and forms a good example of the "Dolmen á galérie", there being one chamber leading to another.

Possessing also a peculiar interest of their own are the wonderful menhirs with which the country is dotted;

and we have on the present page a representation taken from a photograph of one of the finest specimens

of these majestic monuments, known as the "Géant de Kerderf". Standing 5.82 metres in height, its relative size to an ordinary person is shown by the figure of the woman standing beside it; and I may mention that even