"Lanterns of the Dead (French: Lanternes des morts) are small stone towers found chiefly in the centre and west of France, pierced with small openings at ...
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the top, where a light was exhibited at night to indicate the position of a cemetery.
These towers were usually circular, with a small entrance in the lower part giving access to the interior, so as to raise the lamps by a pulley to the required height. One of the most perfect in France is that at Cellefrouin (Charente), which consists of a series of eight attached semicircular shafts, raised on a pedestal, and is crowned with a conical roof decorated with fir cones; it has only one aperture, towards the main road. Other examples exist at Ciron (Indre) and Antigny (Vienne)." - (en.wikipedia.org 04.04.2021)
