Islanders hop on the "dolmen bus" for a day trip back in time

Saturday 17 September 2016

Islanders will be catching a bus back in time from La Hougue Bie this morning.

The time travellers are setting off on the annual Fête des Dolmens for a dolmen discovering day trip.

They'll spend the morning in the eastern parishes visiting Le Couperon, La Pouquelaye Faldouët and Mont Ubé. 

Then they'll head west to explore Ville és Nouaux, La Sergenté, Les Mont de Grantez and the Great, Little and Broken menhirs in the sand dunes.

As well as visiting the dolmens built 6,000 years ago, the travellers will also discover what a dolmen is, who built them and when, why they were built, what rituals took place inside, where the stones came from and what the landscape would have looked like.

Jersey Heritage Curator of Archaeology Olga Finch said: "The event will give a rare opportunity to explore Jersey’s network of dolmens and to learn their importance – not just for the Island’s history but to the people who built them 6,000 years ago. The great dolmens with which we are all familiar are one of the few achievements of prehistoric people which have left such a permanent mark on the landscape and are without doubt the most impressive aspect Jersey’s archaeology."