Cairn de Barnenez: One of the Oldest Structures in the World

The Cairn de Barnenez (known also as Barnenez Mound or Barnenez Tumulus) is a prehistoric monument located on the Kernéléhen peninsula in northern Finistère, Brittany, France. This is one of the oldest structures in the world that is still standing. Additionally, the Cairn de Barnenez is the “largest megalithic mausoleum” in Europe. The French writer and politician André Malraux once called the Cairn de Barnenez the “Prehistoric Parthenon”, though this appellation may be a bit questionable, as the two structures are not quite alike.

The Cairn de Barnenez was built during the early Neolithic period. Based on radiocarbon dating, the cairn was constructed during the first half of the 5th millennium BC, though different dates are given by different sources. Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that the Cairn de Barnenez was constructed in two phases.

The Construction Phases

In one source, for example, the first phase of the monument is said to have lasted from 4850 BC to 4500 BC, whilst its second phase began in 4200 BC and ended in 3900 BC. Another source, on the other hand, claims that the construction of the first cairn began in 4500 BC, whilst the second started several centuries later. The Cairn de Barnenez is about 2000 years older that the Great Pyramid of Giza, and “only a little younger than the Tower of Jericho”.