Le Déhus Dolmen
Le Déhus Passage Grave · Le Dehus Dolmen · Borough House Dolmen
Middle Neolithic (c.3500–3000 BCE)·Channel Island Neolithic (Norman-Breton passage grave)·🇬🇬 Guernsey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom
About
About Le Déhus Dolmen
Finest passage grave on Guernsey, on north coast near Bordeaux Harbour, Vale parish. Large mound 20 m diameter covering cruciform passage tomb: 10.5 m gallery passage leading to side-chambers east and west and main terminal chamber north with capstone carved with rare anthropomorphic figure 'Le Gardien du Tombeau' (Tomb Guardian) — bowed human face with hands — one of few Neolithic anthropomorphic carvings in Channel Islands. Built c.3500–3000 BCE (Norman-Brittany passage grave tradition). Excavated 1837–47 and 1932. Mound restored with modern capstones and access passage. Managed by States of Guernsey; most visited megalith on island.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Identity of 'Guardian' figure — ancestor, deity or tomb guardian spirit
- 02Whether mound deliberately incorporated natural granite outcrop
Theories
- 01Guardian carving apotropaic — warding tomb entrance as psychopomp symbol
- 02Guernsey passage graves reflect Brittany connections via Jersey corridor before sea-level rise isolated islands c.9000 BCE
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3500–3000 BCE
- Period
- Middle Neolithic (c.3500–3000 BCE)
- Culture
- Channel Island Neolithic (Norman-Breton passage grave)
- Purpose
- Collective passage grave with rock art and guardian carving
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 3500–3000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1210 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
49.4972° N · 2.5065° W · 15 m · 3 mapped features
Capstone with Le Gardien (Guardian)
decorated stoneCapstone in main chamber carved with bowed anthropomorphic face and hands
49.4972° N · 2.5065° W10.5 m Gallery Passage
passageLong gallery with side chambers east and west leading to terminal chamber
49.4971° N · 2.5065° WMound and Entrance
moundRestored 20 m mound with modern entrance portal and chamber cover
49.4972° N · 2.5066° W
Gallery