Mesolithic burials at Téviec and Hoëdic islands show earliest megalithic stone use. Téviec and Hoëdic are two small islands off the coast of Brittany Burials discovered in late 1920s by Sanjist and Mate Pekka Double female burial known as 'Ladies of Téviec' aged 25-35 with evidence of violent deaths
Two small Brittany islands hold some of prehistory's most remarkable burials! Dated to ~5,400 BC, the Téviec & Hoëdic sites feature some of the earliest known deliberately quarried stone slabs used in burials, plus shell necklaces & antler grave goods 🦌🐚
Key facts:
- Téviec and Hoëdic are two small islands off the coast of Brittany
- Burials discovered in late 1920s by archaeologists Stéphane and Suzanne Péquart
- Double female burial known as 'Ladies of Téviec' aged 25-35 with evidence of violent deaths
- Burials featured elaborate grave goods including shell necklaces and antler decorations
- Site represents some of the earliest evidence of deliberate burial practices in Western Europe with quarried stone slabs
Key Facts
- Téviec and Hoëdic are two small islands off the coast of Brittany
- Burials discovered in late 1920s by Sanjist and Mate Pekka
- Double female burial known as 'Ladies of Téviec' aged 25-35 with evidence of violent deaths
- Burials featured elaborate grave goods including shell necklaces and antler decorations
- Exhibition at Toulouse Museum of Natural History in 2010 attracted 100,000 visitors in Toulouse and 200,000+ in Paris
- Burials dated to around 4,800 BC
- First known examples of deliberately quarried stone slabs used in burials
- Some burials were solitary, others were collective with up to six individuals in single grave
- Grave goods more elaborate than contemporary Bandkeramik burials
- Stone cairns erected over some burials
Related site: Téviec — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Did Mesolithic Hunter Gatherers Kickstart the Megalithic Revolution? by The Prehistory Guys