An Archaeological Study Tour
Brittany
September 17 – 30, 2004
Led by Professor Roy Larick, University of Iowa


The presence of some of the oldest human monuments on Earth has long captured the imagination of European travelers. Only recently has archaeology realized the importance of these megalithic tombs and stone circles as material expressions of the Neolithic Revolution, one of the most profound transformations of human development. After working within the limits of natural environments for a half million years, the inhabitants of northwest Europe began to control common plant and animal resources. Remarkable new social, political and religious activity quickly arose on these northern frontiers of domestication. As if to proclaim their cultural dynamism, Neolithic families and religious orders began to turn local bedrock and forest inside out. Millennia later, we may still marvel over massive and mysterious monuments -- and archaeologists can begin to make some real sense of them. Our tour will also delight in the more recent past of this inviting region. We will see how Bretons and Normans have used stone and timber to celebrate both grand beliefs and common sentiments in cathedrals, castles, parish closes and farmhouses. Furthermore, we will experience the wonderful cuisine of the region set amidst picturesque countryside, traditional Breton villages and strikingly beautiful coasts.

Friday, September 17: Depart New York in the evening.

Saturday, September 18: PARIS: Arrive in Paris, where we will be met by our agent and transferred to our centrally located hotel. This evening we will have an orientation meeting with Dr. Larick.
Meals: Dinner

Sunday, September 19: NANTES: After a full morning examining the fabulous collection of prehistoric material at the Musée des Antiquités Nationales in St-Germain-en-Laye, we depart Paris by train to Nantes. Mercure Nantes Central.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Monday, September 20: CARNAC: The morning will be spent touring the 18th-century old quarter of Nantes with visits to St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral and the Ducal Castle, home to the Duke of Brittany. We will also stop at the Museum of Popular Art, where the traditional dress of the region is displayed. We will then continue to the old town of Auray and the port at which Benjamin Franklin landed in 1776. The afternoon will be spent on Rhuis Peninsula visiting typical villages and the Tumulus of Tumiac, an oval barrow, so large that it literally dominates the skyline. We will spend the next three nights at the Hotel Diane.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Tuesday, Wednesday, September 21 & 22: CARNAC: We will spend the next two days exploring the Carnac region, designated a prehistoric capital for its more than 3,000 megalithic monuments. After visiting the Museum of Prehistory, we walk through the amazing Alignments of Kerlescan, Kermario and Ménec, a forest of menhirs stretching over three-quarters of a mile. The 1,099 menhirs are arranged in eleven lines, the tallest being 12 feet high. Standing amid these stone, it is easy to imagine the spiritual atmosphere they might have evoked. Our day continues at the dolmens of Keriaval and Mané-Kerioned, engraved with axes, spirals and coats of arms, the great tumulus of Kercado, a fine passage-grave set inside a stone circle and dated to the early 5th millennium BC, Moustoir and St-Michel. On Wednesday touring begins with the carved dolmens of Mané-Lud and Rethual and the Great Menhir, known for its immense size and weight of over 347 tons, as well as many other carved and spectacular dolmens. We then take small boats to the Island of Gavrinis on the Morbihan Gulf. Here we will visit one of the most lavishly decorated megalithic tombs in Europe.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch daily & 1 dinner

Thursday, September 23: QUIMPER: Our touring today will include some the less ancient sites in Brittany. We will take a scenic route to Le Pouldu to see the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, and its monument dedicated to Gauguin. We then stop in the resort of Pont-Aven, where the Pont-Aven School of painting is represented in the town’s small Art Museum, and Concarneau, a beautiful 14th-century walled town also known for its colorful fish auction. This day ends with a walking tour of the charming town of Quimper, where it is still possible to see women wearing traditional dress. During our two day stay at La Tour D’Auvergne Hotel in Quimper, we will have ample time to visit the town’s fine museum and shop for some of the famous Quimper pottery.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Friday, September 24: QUIMPER: Our day begins at the excellent Finisterian Museum of Prehistory in St-Guénolé on the Penmarc’h Peninsula . In Notre-Dame-de-Tronoen, we will see the oldest calvary of Brittany (1450-1460), and at Menez-Dregan, a wave-cut rock shelter with human occupation dating to 450 thousand years ago. The day ends with a dramatic panoramic view from the storm-battered, westernmost reach of Europe, Pointe du Raz.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Saturday, September 25: ROSCOFF: Today we will visit the Crozon Peninsula, stopping at the lovely square of Locronan with its fine Renaissance-style granite houses and textile workshops, which are still in operation. We continue to Lagatjar’s four intersecting alignments, which are thought to be part of a megalithic complex used for rites involving the sun and moon. We will spend the next two nights at the charming Hotel Le Brittany facing the harbor of Roscoff.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Sunday, September 26: ROSCOFF: Our first stop today is the “allée couverte” of Mougau-Bihan. Set on the slopes of the Montagne d’Arrée, its impressive architecture and delicate art is spectacular. We will also visit some of Brittany’s distinctive parish closes, which typically have at their center a small cemetery around which are grouped the church and its small square, the Calvary, and the charnel house or ossuary, all reached through a triumphal arch. A rivalry between villages produced the two finest closes, Guimiliau and St-Thégonnec. After lunch we return to prehistoric sites, visiting the eleven-chambered Tumulus de Barnenez overlooking the Bay of Térénez, and Crech-Quille Allée Couverte.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Monday, Tuesday, September 27 & 28: ST-MALO: Our day begins with the wonderful fortress of Fougères, a fine example of military architecture. During the Middle Ages the fortress was important for its position on the border of Brittany and France. We then visit Essé, our last megalithic site. These incredible Late Neolithic dolmens, are built of stones weighing over 40 tons and must have been dragged more than 4 kilometers to this location, possibly as a temple for the living rather than a shrine to the dead. Tuesday we will slip into Normandy to visit the spectacular abbey of Mont-St-Michel. We will have the entire day here to visit this masterpiece of architecture together and on our own. We will return to St-Malo with time to walk on ramparts from Port St-Vincent to Port St-Thomas, a highly recommended experience. Our St-Malo hotel, Central Hotel, is conveniently located within the ancient walls.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner daily

Wednesday, September 29: RENNES: Our last day in Brittany will be spent exploring two sites beginning with the caves of Saulges near Angers. These caves contain important Middle and Upper Paleolithic occupations typical of inland Brittany. The Upper Paleolithic painted walls (mammoth and horse) are the farthest northwest example of cave art in all of Europe. Just outside of Rennes, we will visit Jublains, a complete Gallo-Roman city or oppidum. This “Cité des Diablintes” preserves a sanctuary, amphitheater, hypocaust, fortress and baths. We will walk streets that are more than 1,500 years old. The accompanying museum has prehistoric as well as Gallo-Roman objects. We will arrive in Rennes in time to explore its elegant old city, which abounds in classical-style buildings, half-timbered houses, old inns and taverns. This evening we have our farewell dinner at one of Rennes’ fine restaurants.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Thursday, September 30: We will fly to Paris this morning connecting to our flights back to New York.