Background

At the end of the second ice age Jersey became an island as the land that once made it a part of France was flooded.
Neolithic people from the Mediterranean started to move north through Spain and France up to the coast of Brittany and eventually settlements appeared around the coast of Jersey.
These early settlers came from a megalthic tradition of erecting stone monuments, known locally as dolmens or menhirs. They also introduced 'passage' graves that led from a narrow entrance and passage way to the burial chamber.
These stone monuments are a common attribute of Neolithic man and their exact function is still clouded in mystery, what is certain is they were clearly a focus of religous rituals.

Dolmen des Monts Grantez

Waliking distance from the quarry in the parish of St. Ouen, in a field with panaromic views of the nearby bay, is the dolmen at Les Monts Grantez.
An example of a passage grave, all of the stones are local granite and it dates from between 4000-3250BC.
In 1912 the covering mound was excavated to reveal a roofed passage leading to an oval chamber in which the remains of six adults, a child and bones from cows and horses were discovered.

Location

Follow Grande Route des Mielles following the inland road up to Le Mont Pinel. Turn right, past the group of houses on the top of the hill, into La Rue de Grantez.
Travel for about a quarter of a mile along the road is a sign to the dolmen, on the wall of a farm house on the right. Turn right into Le Chemin des Monts and follow the road to the car park at the end. The dolmen is to the left of Le Chemin des Monts in a field a short walk away.

Comments

[Cindy Calvert]

Hi, just looking through your web site and wandered if you could possible tell me what Grantez means. So far I have been told that it is Jersey french for sand banks or it means granite?. Thankyou for your time.
Regards Cindy