Brittany

Brittany (Bretagne in French), otherwise known as the Armorican peninsula, is the most westerly region of France, reaching into the Atlantic Ocean between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.

Geography

The Armorican peninsula has rocky coasts to the north and south, visually striking in places, but attains no great heights inland, the Monts d'Arrée reaching only 385 metres. The coastline to the west holds the naval port of Brest. In the north is the ferry port of Roscoff.

Pre-history

There are traces of human activity as early as the Lower Palaelothic era. The much later adaptation to new conditions as glaciation retreated and forests took over inland, meant that in Neolithic times, settlement tended to be along the coast. Brittany is particularly noted for its megalithic remains: menhirs both solitary and in long rows, and tombs of various types, including Barnenez on the north coast, the largest cairn in Europe, constructed in two phases hundreds of years apart. During the megalithic period, there was extensive trade with other parts of Europe, but the peninsula seems to have lagged behind other regions in the developing use of metals. A degree of celticisation (how much is uncertain) followed.