Le Déhus, Guernsey, United Kingdom

Le Déhus is a fine Neolithic bottle shaped Passage Chamber with four side chambers off the entrance passage. Today there are six side chambers but two were erronously constructed during restoration. Side chamber first on the right was found to contain the bones of two individuals, kneeling side by side and facing in opposite directions, their bodies being supported by tightly packed earth and shells.

The sixth capstone, originally supported by a granite pillar has the engraved depiction of a male, 'Le Gardien du Tombeau'. Eyes, mouth, beard, hands, bow and numerous other symbolic shapes can be seen with the use of oblique lighting.A large quantity of finds were recovered during excavtion. Cremated human remains, pottery, a stone axe, a copper dagger and vast quantities of limpet shells. Evidence of re-paving showed that the chamber was in use for a considerable period of time. The whole tomb is covered by a mound with a peristalith made of large stones and dry-stone walling.

References:

Prehistoric Jersey

User Reviews

Katie Pike (3 years ago)
Really interesting history on the island definitely worth looking at would love to know more

Luke Inderwick (4 years ago)
Interesting place to visit and it's free! The carving is on the right on the roof. No parking but there are close beach car parks you can walk from.

john robilliard (4 years ago)
Spooky ancient relic

Andrew Cooper (4 years ago)
The place is a monument so it is what it is. It would probably be good to know that the entire interior is about 4ft high so if you're older than 10 you'll struggle to stand.

Nicholas John Nicolle (5 years ago)
If you like old stones, historical interesting I suppose

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Le Déhus

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus