Perched on the highest point of the Gulf of Morbihan (24 meters), the cairn of Gavrinis (Gavriniz in Breton), alone on its island, rests from its long journey through time. Neolithic monument, its age is estimated at around 5,500 years. This pile of stone, the cairn, covers a tumulus, in other words a funerary corridor, made up of 27 stones placed vertically.
On the walls of the inner path of the tumulus, almost every stone bears engravings, some of which are marvelous and very fascinating. In the famous words of a famous unknown, this monument is “The Sistine Chapel of the Neolithic”. The Neolithic corresponds to this period of humanity which revolutionized our destinies, making us pass from the stage of hunter-gatherer to that of farmer-breeder. Humans settled down and began to build cities and monuments, some of which are dedicated to their prestigious dead. Such is the history of the tumulus of Gavrinis, contemporary of the famous alignments of Carnac. After extensive research I found drawings of these engraved stones dating from the mid- 19th century. My job was, for 6 months, to recreate these patterns probably drawn by candlelight. Using graphics software, I overlaid these very low- quality original drawings with hundreds of thousands of dots to achieve the graphic quality of the drawings you see today, and to reveal their beauties in a more obvious way. Six months was a long time, but so little compared to the 5,500 years of these engravings. Have a good trip.
