Overview

Bâtisseurs de mégalithes aims to develop and test a new methodology for Prehistory to enhance architectural analysis. A review of research into the European megalithic phenomenon from the 5th to the 3rd millennium BC in relation to western France reveals a disparity in our knowledge of megalithic sites. Technological data related to the construction process is almost non-existent compared to architectural data focusing on formal and ornamental aspects. Similarly, there is more data available for monoliths (orthostats and capstones) than for masonry. However, the study of more recent constructions provides crucial information for understanding their architecture, particularly through the use of building archaeology. This approach has been employed to read historical buildings for about thirty years and has demonstrated its full potential. Its application to megalithic architectures requires adaptation. Firstly, the vocabulary and construction principles were aligned with the dry stone masonry generally used. Secondly, the study includes an analysis of monoliths, which play a major role. The results highlight the architectural biography of Neolithic tumuli and the technology used in their construction. They also demonstrate that megalithic sites in western France underwent architectural modifications throughout the Neolithic period, requiring significant expertise from the builders. Overall, megalithic building archaeology can be seen to provide a promising methodology for understanding monumentality in later Prehistory.

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9781803276342

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Florian Cousseau is an archaeologist whose research focuses on the megalithism of Western Europe. His PhD dissertation, carried out in western France, received international attention, winning the dissertation prize of the UISPP. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher and leads a major European excavation on the cairn of Goasseac’h in Brittany, France.

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