Tumulus de Nillizien, Iron Age burial mound in Pontivy, France

The Tumulus de Nillizien is a dome-shaped mound of flat stones covered with earth, about 5.4 metres in diameter and 1.7 metres high, encircled by a low, slightly conical dry-stone wall. At its centre, a burial chamber with dry-stone walls and corbelled flat stones held three stacked niches, each containing a cinerary urn filled with cremated human bones.

This burial monument was built during the Iron Age around 600 BCE for an important leader. Its interior contained stacked niches and a cinerary urn holding incinerated human remains.

The monument is also called the circular burial of Pontivy, and its Breton name Lann-en-ilizien links it to the hamlet of Nillizien in Silfiac, where it was found. Three cinerary urns were recovered from the chamber; they are now kept at the Museum of History and Archaeology in Vannes, not on site.

This site is located in the western section of Square Lenglier near Saint-Joseph Church and is easy to reach. Since it sits outdoors, visitors should check weather conditions before planning a visit.

The three cremation urns found inside are kept at the Musée d'Histoire et d'Archéologie in Vannes, not in Pontivy. The monument was listed as a monument historique on 8 January 1892, before its 1906 move within the square.