Prehistoric museum, Archaeological museum in Carnac, France
The Prehistoric Museum in Carnac is an archaeological museum that displays objects spanning roughly half a million years of human history. The collection focuses especially on the Neolithic period, when people constructed megalithic monuments like dolmens and menhirs.
James Miln, a Scottish archaeologist who moved to Brittany in 1873, died in 1881; his brother Robert then paid for a building to house the finds and gave it to the town of Carnac. The museum opened in 1882, with Zacharie Le Rouzic as keeper, and he became official curator in 1910. In 1926 Le Rouzic left his own collection of 3,000 objects to the museum, whose name was then extended to include his.
The museum is named after James Miln and Zacharie Le Rouzic, the Scottish archaeologist and the young Carnac man he trained, who became the first curator. Le Rouzic gave guided tours during the tourist season until his death and left his own collection of 3,000 archaeological objects to the museum in 1926, after which the town added his name to it.
The museum is located in the town center and is easily accessible on foot, with clear signage and barrier-free entrance. Visitors should allow about two to three hours to explore the collections at a relaxed pace and read the informational panels.
The museum holds one of Europe's largest prehistoric collections: 350,000 objects from 200 sites, 120 of them megalithic, drawn from 30 communes between the Étel ria and the Rhuys peninsula. In 1926 Zacharie Le Rouzic left his own 3,000 archaeological objects to the museum, and the town council then added his name to its title.
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