47.6208°N 3.0482°W[41] A large dolmen measuring 12 by 5 m (39 by 16 ft), with a 5 m (16 ft) long broken capstone.[6] It is named after the nearby Chapelle de La Madeleine, which is still used.
Dolmen of Kercado. Though smaller than St. Michel, older by many centuries before 4800 BC.
A rare dolmen still covered by its original cairn. South of the Kermario alignments, it is 25 to 30 metres (82–98 ft) wide, 5 m (16 ft) high, and has a small menhir on top. Previously surrounded by a circle of small menhirs 4 m (13 ft) out,[39] the main passage is 6.5 m (21 ft) long and leads to a large chamber where numerous artifacts were found, including axes, arrowheads, some animal and human teeth, some pearls and sherds, and 26 beads of a unique bluish Nephrite gem. It has some Megalithic art carved on its inner surfaces in the form of serpentines and a human-sized double-axe symbol carved in the underside of its main roof slab. In ancient cultures, the axe and more precisely the bi-pennis used to represent the lightning powers of divinity. It was constructed around 4600 BC and used for approximately 3,000 years.[39]
A roughly rectangular mound, with only one capstone remaining. It is aligned east-to-west, with a passage entrance to the south.[42]
On a small hill, has two separate chambers.
(Pixies' mound or Grotte de Grionnec[39]):A group of three dolmens with layout unique in Brittany,[39] once covered by a tumulus. Whereas most groups of dolmens are parallel, these are arranged in a horseshoe. The largest of the three is at the east, 11 metres (36 ft).[38]
The Crucuno dolmen
A "classic" dolmen, with a 40-tonne (44-short-ton), 7.6-metre (24 ft 11 in) tablestone resting on pillars roughly 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) high. Prior to 1900, it was connected by a passage making it 24 m (79 ft) long.[39]
Crucuno stone rectangle
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47.625°N 3.122°W: A classic 3, 4, 5 rectangle of 21 menhirs varying in height from 0.91 metres (3.0 ft) to 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) that is aligned along its diagonal to the midsummer sunrise. Alexander Thom suggested it measured forty by thirty of his megalithic yards.[43]
The Manio quadrilateral arrangement
The Manio "Giant"
There are some individual menhirs and at least one other formation which do not fit into the above categories.
Manio quadrilateral
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An arrangement of stones to form the perimeter of a large rectangle. Originally a "tertre tumulus" with a central mound, it is 37 m (121 ft) long, and aligned to east of northeast. The quadrilateral is 10 m (33 ft) wide to the east, but only 7 m (23 ft) wide at the west.[44]
47.603°N 3.056°W[45] Near the quadrilateral is a single massive menhir, now known as the "Giant". Over 6.5 m (21 ft) tall, it was re-erected around 1900 by Zacharie Le Rouzic,[39] and overlooks the nearby Kerlescan alignment.[46]
Excavation and analysis
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Large upright in the Ménec alignment
From the 1720s increasing interest was shown in these features.[47] In 1796, for example, La Tour d'Auvergne attributed them to druidic gatherings.[39] In 1805, A. Maudet de Penhoët claimed they represented stars in the sky.[39]
Englishmen Francis Ronalds and Alexander Blair made a detailed survey of the stones in 1834.[48] Ronalds created the first accurate drawings of many of them with his patented perspective tracing instrument, which were printed in a book Sketches at Carnac (Brittany) in 1834.[49]
Miln and Le Rouzic
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The first extensive excavation was performed in the 1860s by Scottish antiquary James Miln (1819–1881), who reported that by then fewer than 700 of the 3,000 stones were still standing.[50] Towards 1875, Miln engaged a local boy, Zacharie Le Rouzic [fr] (1864–1939), as his assistant, and Zacharie learnt archaeology on the job. After Miln's death, he left the results of his excavations to the town of Carnac, and the James Miln Museum was established there by his brother Robert to house the artifacts. Zacharie became the director of the Museum and, although self-taught, became an internationally recognised expert on megaliths in the region. He too left the results of his work to the town, and the museum is now named Le Musée de Préhistoire James Miln – Zacharie le Rouzic.[51][52]
The Ménec alignments of some 1,100 stones in 11 columns
In 1887, H. de Cleuziou argued for a connection between the rows of stones and the directions of sunsets at the solstices.[39]
Among more recent studies, Alexander Thom worked with his son Archie from 1970 to 1974 to carry out a detailed survey of the Carnac alignments, and produced a series of papers on the astronomical alignments of the stones as well as statistical analysis supporting his concept of the megalithic yard.[51][53] Thom's megalithic yard has been challenged.[54][55]
There are also general theories on the use of the stones as astronomical observatories, as has been claimed for Stonehenge. According to one such theory, the massive menhir at nearby Locmariaquer was linked to the alignments for such a purpose.[15]
Sheep grazing around the Kerlescan alignment, part of a new management strategy
The Musée de Préhistoire James Miln – Zacharie le Rouzic is at the centre of conserving and displaying the artefacts from the area.[52] It also contains the "world's largest collection [of] prehistoric[al] exhibits"[38] with over 6,600 prehistoric objects from 136 different sites.
The monuments themselves were listed and purchased by the State at the start of the 20th century to protect them against quarrymen, and while this was successful at the time, in the middle of the century, redevelopment, changes to agricultural practices and increasing tourism bringing visitors to the stones led to rapid deterioration. The Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (Heritage Ministry) re-examined the issue starting in 1984, and subsequently set up the 'Mission Carnac' in 1991 with the aim of rehabilitating and developing the alignments. This involved restricting public access, launching a series of scientific and technical studies, and producing a plan for conservation and development in the area.[56]
As with the megalithic structure of Stonehenge in England, management of the stones can be controversial. Since 1991, the main groups of stone rows have been protected from the public by fences "to help vegetation growth",[38] preventing visits except by organised tours. They are open during winter, however.[57] When James Miln studied the stones in the 1860s, he reported that fewer than 700 of the 3,000 stones were still standing, and subsequent work during the 1930s and 1980s (using bulldozers) rearranged the stones, re-erecting some, to make way for roads or other structures. In 2002, protesters invaded the site, opening the padlocks and allowing tourists free entry.[50] In particular, the group Collectif Holl a gevred (French and Breton for "the everyone-together collective") occupied the visitor centre for the Kermario alignment, demanding an immediate stop to current management plans and local input into further plans.[58]
In recent years, management of the site has also experimented with allowing sheep to graze among the stones, in order to keep gorse and other weeds under control.[59]
In June 2023, 39 menhirs still outside the UNESCO protected site were destroyed to construct a DIY store of the Mr. Bricolage franchise, which obtained a building permit from the local town hall in August 2022. The affected stones are located in the town of Montaubin, separate from the primary tourist locations of Ménec and Kermario, which are situated a little over 1.5km (1 mile) away. The town's mayor, Olivier Lepick, told AFP that he had "followed the law" and pointed to the "low archaeological value" of objects found during checks before the construction process began. He also admitted to being unaware that the site was listed on the Heritage Atlas, despite reportedly presiding over the group that applied for UNESCO status for the prehistoric sites. While Lepick blamed the region's complex zoning situation, the researcher Christian Obeltz claimed that "elected officials in the area and the department are in a hurry to build up anything because once it is classified with UNESCO, it won't be possible anymore". The local Koun Breizh association has decided to lodge a complaint with the public prosecutor of Vannes for willful destruction of sites that relate to archaeological heritage.[60][61][62][63]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnac_stones 
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