The growing awareness of these strange monuments coincides with
the emergence of prehistory in general. The word "megalithic"
was first used in 1839 by the Reverend HERBERT, an English scholar.
In France, the word started to be commonly used around 1860
(its use was ratified by the 1867 International Anthropology
Congress, in Paris).
The word "megalithic" comes from the Greek words
Mega (large) and Lithos (stone). The adjective "megalithic"
refers to structures made out of roughly assembled stone blocks.
The word gives no indication of age or function (at the time,
these questions were controversial issues).
Research provided the answer to both those questions. It also
showed that megalithic structures were nothing but the frame
on which much more complex monuments were built, using more sophisticated
building techniques and materials such as drystone masonry, earth
and wood.
Remains of other monuments were identified at the same time:
they obviously belonged to the megalith "family" although
they were no longer built with "large stones". Such
monuments were found even in those areas which had no identifiable
"real megaliths".
Rather than resort to another word, the word "megalithic"
was used for both types.
The word "megalithic" refers either to: building techniques using "large
stones" (the original meaning), or to groups of large ritual monuments
dating back to prehistory, even when only some of the structures
are actually megaliths (derived meaning).
The "convergence" phenomenon
The need to build large monuments bearing a strong symbolic value
is common to every organised society.
The use of huge stones appears to be well adapted to building
these monuments.
"Megalithic" monuments are therefore, not surprisingly,
found all over the world, even though most were built at different
periods in time (right up to the 19th century, in Madagascar),
and are unrelated. However, they are the result of comparable
needs leading to comparable responses. This well-known "convergence
phenomenon" is common and especially in biology.
European megalithic culture
In Europe, megalithic monuments can be found along the length
of the Atlantic seaboard, from the south of Spain to the south
of Sweden, via Ireland, the western part of Britain, Belgium,
the Netherlands, Denmark and northern Germany. Megaliths are
also found in the western Mediterranean basin: in Catalonia,
in the Balearic Islands, in Corsica and in Sardinia.
Even if megalithic monuments can be found throughout France
(even in the Alps), their density, type and age vary greatly
from one region to another.
The megalithic monuments of western France (i.e. the territory
located to the west of an imaginary line joining Caen and Bordeaux)
are outstanding compared to those of other regions in number,
variety, size, chronology and ornamentation.
Megalithic monuments are found mainly in the Caen plain, the
Saumur region, along the Vendée coast and inland between
Niort and Angoulême. However, Brittany stands out as the
main area. Within Brittany, the Morbihan coastal area is where
the largest megalithic concentrations can be found.
building techniques using "large
stones" (the original meaning), or to
