US EditionFrance's Carnac Stones Vie for UNESCO World Heritage List Spot
MORBIHAN, BRITTANY, JUL 12 – The recognition highlights the cultural and historical significance of these sites, promoting their preservation and global awareness of European heritage.
- On July 12, 2025, UNESCO added the banks of Morbihan and the megalithic sites at Carnac in western France to its World Heritage List.
- This inclusion followed recognition of the Neolithic megaliths as exceptional evidence of the skill and technical sophistication of ancient communities over more than two millennia.
- The site spans 1,000 square kilometers and contains over 550 monuments, including famous long avenues of standing stones called menhirs whose origin and purpose remain mysterious.
- UNESCO highlighted that these megalithic structures demonstrate the advanced expertise of Neolithic people, who were capable of quarrying, moving, and shaping large stones and earth to establish a complex symbolic environment reflecting their connection with the surrounding landscape.
- Carnac's addition brings France's total heritage sites to 54 and could boost tourism with about 300,000 annual visitors while unlocking preservation funding.
26 Articles
26 Articles
French prehistoric site makes UNESCO world heritage list
The UN’s cultural organization on Saturday included the megaliths of Carnac and the banks of Morbihan, a vast area including famous alignments of menhirs in western France, on its World Heritage List. Erected over more than two millennia during the Neolithic period, they cover an area of 1,000 km² with more than 550 monuments spread across the Morbihan region. READ: Most world heritage sites at risk of drought or flooding: UNESCO Among them are …
Built for more than two millennia during the Neolithic period, they extend over a territory of 1,000 km2 with more than 550 monuments distributed in 28 municipalities of Morbihan.
The megaliths of Carnac and the banks of Morbihan, a vast group comprising the famous menhir alignments, 6,000 years old, were ranked Saturday 12 July by UNESCO World Heritage, becoming the first Breton site to join the prestigious list.
The megaliths of Carnac and the banks of Morbihan join the UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the first place entirely Breton to be inscribed on the list. France now has 54 World Heritage Sites. - The megaliths of Carnac registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Traditions and Heritage).
On Saturday, July 12, the World Heritage Committee incorporated the famous menhirs erected more than two thousand years ago in Morbihan.
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