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The island of Hoedic in southern Brittany has numerous archaeological remains of later prehistoric date. It became famous through the discovery in the 1930s of a Mesolithic cemetery, but the island also has abundant archaeological evidence from the earliest Neolithic period onwards. These include several megalithic monuments, the most significant being alignments of standing stones. One of these alignments has recently been excavated, and investigation of another is in progress. The discoveries resulting from this work provide new insights into the origin of the phenomenon, its chronological and cultural context and the techniques that were used to create these structures. Above all, it offers a new approach to considering the meaning of these alignments.Hoedic in southern Brittany is the easternmost of the islands of Mor Bras, a major navigation channel leading from the mouth of the Vilaine river in the east to the Morbihan Gulf at the north-west. With a surface area of 209 ha, Hoedic has a character distinct from the other islands of the granitic chain that extends to the north-west and includes the Quiberon peninsula. There are, in fact, dramatic contrasts between cliffs in the east, and low smooth slopes and marshy areas behind sandbanks in the north and in the south. The entire island is covered with sand, from which here and there granitic outcrops protrude. Hoedic also has freshwater sources (Fig. 1). Its geographical position is unusual, being situated at the southern extremity of the arc of land closing off the Mor Bras. As the English navy understood during the successive conflicts with the French, Hoedic is the key position for anyone seeking to control navigation in Quiberon Bay.Farming populations were present on the island from the fifth millennium BC. They left indelible marks on the landscape, including numerous monuments most of which are still standing. This population succeeded an earlier one that left strong evidence of impact on the natural resources and is likely (given its geographical isolation) to have been settled permanently on the island. During the sixth millennium, Hoedic was already an island, probably connected to its neighbour Houat by a depression between the two, although this was rapidly submerged by rising sea-level. The Hoedic-Houat territory saw its area shrink to one-sixth of its former extent during this millennium, forcing the fisher-gatherer population to become sedentary (Marchand OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 28 (3) 239-254 2009

Résumé Le site des Châtelliers du Vieil-Auzay, à Auzay (Vendée), a connu plusieurs phases d'occupations humaines entre le quatrième et le premier millénaire av. J.-C. Il ne sera traité ici que des aménagements datant du Néolithique récent, c'est-à-dire concernant la deuxième moitié du quatrième millénaire av. J.-C. Au moins un fossé a isolé l'éperon du plateau calcaire. Sur la bordure externe de ce fossé, une aire sépulcrale a été fouillée pendant les années 80. Trois tombes y ont été découvertes. Il sera question de la description de cet ensemble, de sa chronologie, de sa contemporanéité, des traumatismes recensés sur le squelette des individus inhumés. Enfin, une discussion concernant l'interprétation des dépôts funéraires clôturera cet article.

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