The oldest well structured tombs in Brittany date back to the Late Mesolithic (6th millennium B.C.). On the Isle of Teviec, more than a dozen tombs were found in the 300 m2 area excavated by M. and S.-J. Péquart.
The majority of these tombs revealed only two or three bodies, but one of them contained six. The most complex structure contained two skeletons in a flexed position, in a small stone slab box sometimes considered as a "protodolmen".
At Grée-de-Cojou at Saint-Just (Ille-et-Vilaine), a strange, small tomb from the Early Neolithic was uncovered by J. Briard near archaic passage graves. A shallow pit, about 1.5 m wide, contained two unspoiled potteries. It was surrounded by a series of post holes and the remains of a rough stone-built "pavement".
The mortuary grave in which the human remains had completely dissolved was probably not covered by heavy materials, which would have crushed the potteries, but was instead protected by a small building, probably with half-timbered earthen walls and covered with thatch.
Mortuary grave from the Early Neolithic with signs of light superstructures, at Croix-Saint-Just (Ille-et-Vilaine).
A tomb on the isle of Teviec.