Armorican Souterrains of the Iron Age (France)

A large number of souterrains (underground passages) dated from the Iron Age (6th - 2nd century BC) have been studied and excavated in Brittany. These Armorican souterrains are mainly found in the west of the peninsula and are the work of the Celtic populations who occupied the region at the time: the Osismii, the Veneti and the Coriosolites. Characteristic of these territories and this period, these cavities opened under the enclosed farms which then dotted the west of Brittany. Dug into crystalline rocks, schists, gneiss and altered granites, they most often consist of an access shaft leading to several rooms dug in a row and connected to each other by narrow or even bottleneck passages. Due to their great age, more than 2100 years, very few of these underground structures are still intact and accessible. We studied or visited some of them. In our opinion, the characteristics of these structures relate them to the group of underground refuges. The book "Des monuments sortis de l’ombre, les souterrains-refuges" [Jérôme and Laurent Triolet, Errance & Picard publishing house, Arles, 2022] includes a chapter devoted to Armorican Souterrains of the Iron Age.

Suite of rooms

Bottleneck passage

Bottleneck passage

Corridor

Gallic stele

Gallic stele

Gallic stele

Communication

Into the granite

Door

Door

Carefully carved