The Dolmen de Ty-ar-Boudiged

The French name for this monument is the Dolmen de Ty-ar-Boudiged, also known as the House of Fairies. It is a 'V-shaped' chamber tomb located in the commune of Brennilis, in the Finistère department of France. While this type of megalithic construction is common in the south of Finistère, it is relatively rare in the center of the department. The dolmen is recorded on the Napoleonic cadastre in the middle of a large plot of land. It was first mentioned by R.-F. Le Men in 1876. R. de Kerret, a member of the Société archéologique du Finistère, purchased the site in 1876 to ensure its conservation.

In 1878, de Kerret donated the monument to the Société archéologique du Finistère, and a small marker was placed on the top of the structure. Paul du Châtellier produced a first plan of the monument in 1907, though the orientation was incorrect and the architecture was partially extrapolated. To reinforce a cracked covering stone, a masonry pillar was built inside the chamber in late 1929 or early 1930. Pierre-Roland Giot made a first request for the monument's classification in 1956.

In 1965, Jean L'Helgouach identified the building as the best-preserved example of 'V-shaped' burials and created an exact plan, elevation, and cross-section. Michel le Goffic led two excavation campaigns in 1990 and 1991 prior to a partial restoration and public opening. The monument was officially inscribed as a historical monument by decree on September 18, 1995. The dolmen is set within a piriform mound with a west-northwest/east-southeast orientation. It is surrounded by a peristalith, the rear part of which is destroyed.

The dolmen measures 13.40 meters in length. As a 'V-shaped' sepulcher, the chamber widens progressively from a width of 1.20 meters at the entrance to 2.20 meters at the level of the headstone. The height under the stone increases from 1.20 meters at the entrance to 1.73 meters at the back. The north wall is nearly straight, composed of seven orthostates, three of which overlap. The south wall begins by widening and then runs parallel to the central axis, containing six orthostates that lean slightly toward the interior of the chamber.

The structure is covered by three large covering stones. The rear stone is especially massive, measuring 5.50 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 0.70 meters thick, with an estimated weight of 40 tons. This stone has a crack that may have served as an entry point for tomb robbers. The headstone is subtrapezoidal. One orthostate stands in the middle of the chamber, 3.20 meters from the headstone, placed obliquely to the axis without touching the covering stone. It may be a stele or a partition.

The first northern pillar at the entrance contains three notches from a failed attempt at debarking. The stones are made of local granite porphyroid. Although the western part was damaged by agricultural activity, the discovery of an orthostate 4.00 meters from the headstone indicates the maximum extent of the peristalith. This peristalith has two crescent-shaped branches converging toward a 2.35-meter-long stone that barely rises from the ground. Because of its low height, it is unclear if this stone was part of the original peristalith or a threshold stone for a cella located behind the headstone.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons