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Zacharie Le Rouzic (born 24 December 1864, Carnac; died 15 December 1939, Carnac) was a French archaeologist and prehistorian, who devoted himself mainly to the study and preservation of megalithic sites in Morbihan, Brittany.

Life

The last child in a family of nine whose father was a rag-and-bone man, Zacharie Le Rouzic, despite his humble origins, attended the convent school in Carnac until the age of 10. Carnac having become a famous seaside town, he met foreign holidaymakers there as a child, such as the painter Théodore Valerio, whose artistic equipment he carried during his walks, and the archaeologist James Miln, who came to study the numerous megalithic sites of Carnac. Noting Le Rouzic's interest in his work, Miln taught him how to collect and classify the discovered pottery and Le Rouzic thus became his main collaborator, assisting in all his excavations.

After Miln's death in 1881 Le Rouzic became at the age of eighteen the caretaker of the J. Miln Museum, founded in 1882 by Robert Miln to present his brother James's collections to the public. After completing his military service in the Navy, he returned to his position at the museum, where he led tours during the tourist season, an activity he continued until his death. From 1887 to 1895, he enriched the museum's collections by buying finds from farmers in their fields and he began to systematically record the megalithic sites in the surrounding area, but without undertaking any excavations because he did not have the necessary financial means. His activity was encouraged by Gustave de Closmadeuc, president of the Polymathic Society of Morbihan and excavator of several Morbihan sites (Carnac, Locmariaquer). In 1889, Closmadeuc entrusted him with the counting of the menhirs of the Carnac alignments.

References

• Bailloud, Gérard; Boujot, Christine; Cassen, Serge; Le Roux, Charles-Tanguy (2009). Carnac, les premières architectures de pierre (in French). Paris: CNRS. ISBN 9782271068330. Retrieved 1 August 2025.