Menhir

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A menhir is a large, single upright standing stone (monolith or megalith), of prehistoric European origin.

The two Kergadiou menhirs, Brittany, France
The two Kergadiou menhirs, Brittany, France

The word menhir was adopted, via French, by 19th century archaeologists on the basis of words in the Breton language meaning "long stone" (compare Modern Welsh: maen hir = long stone). In modern Breton the word peulvan is used.

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[edit] Prominent menhirs

The largest surviving menhir is at Locmariaquer, Brittany, the Grand Menhir Brisé ("Great Broken Menhir") which was once about 20 meters high. It lies broken in four pieces but would have weighed around 330 tons when intact and is thus ranks after the Western Stone in the Western Wall, to be the second heaviest object ever moved by humans without powered machinery. Alignments of menhirs are also known, the most famous being the Carnac stones in Brittany, where more than 3000 menhirs are arranged in three groups and arrayed in rows stretching for several kilometres.

The Kerloas menhir, at 9.5 meters the tallest standing menhir in Brittany
The Kerloas menhir, at 9.5 meters the tallest standing menhir in Brittany

The second largest concentration of menhirs in France is the Cham des Bondons on a high open limestone plain in the granitic Cévennes, a site now protected in the Parc National des Cévennes. From the time pastoralism was established, the site was kept open by controlled burning and grazing [1]. The site contains natural features, such as a pair of domed hills, suggestive of the female form.

[edit] Description & History

The shape of a menhir tends to be square, tapering toward the top. They are generally roughly hewn to shape. Some have vertical grooves and certain of those at Carnac appear to have been partially smoothed.

The Géant du Manio, a 6.5 metre menhir in Carnac, Brittany.
The Géant du Manio, a 6.5 metre menhir in Carnac, Brittany.

Practically nothing is known of the cultural context in which the menhirs were erected. We have no trace even of their language. Until recently, they were associated with the Beaker people, who inhabited Europe during the later third millennium BC during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. However, more recent research (see Le Roux 1992 for an example) into the age of megaliths in Brittany strongly suggests a far older origin, six to seven thousand years ago.

Some Brittany menhirs were carved with megalithic art. This often turned them into anthropomorphic stelae, although images of objects such as stone axes, ploughs, shepherd crooks and yokes were also common. It should be noted that with the exception of the stone axe, none of these motifs are definite and the name used to describe them is largely for convenience of discussion. Some menhirs were broken up and incorporated into later passage graves where they had new megalithic art carved with little regard for the previous pictures. It is not known if this re-use was deliberate, or if the passage grave builders just saw menhirs as a convenient source of stone (Le Roux 1992).

In Scandinavia, menhirs continued to be raised during the Pre-Roman Iron Age and later, see Menhir (Iron Age), usually over the ashes of the dead. They were raised both as solitary stones and in formations, such as the stone ships and the stone circles. In the 1st century, the tradition was brought to Northern Poland, probably by the Goths (see the Wielbark Culture).

In some areas, standing stones were systematically toppled by Christians: of the many former standing menhirs of northern Germany, scarcely one stands today.

According to Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla (see e.g. Vanlade), the menhirs were raised in commemoration of great men. The tradition of raising stones evolved into the runestones [2], through intermediaries such as the Björketorp Runestone.

[edit] Menhirs in modern thought

  • Menhirs are favorite objects for speculations of pseudoarchaeology.
  • Menhirs are mentioned in the national anthem of Denmark due to their historical importance in the viking age.
  • The French monument commemorating the First Battle of the Marne is modeled on the menhir of the ancient Gauls. Work was begun on the monument in 1931 and completed in 1939. World War II delayed its dedication until 1951. It is located south of Epernay and north of Sezannes. A picture is available at [3].
  • The Gallic character Obelix in Goscinny and Uderzo's popular comic series The Adventures of Asterix was a menhir craftsman. Unfortunately, there was never a large demand for the enormous objects.
  • Also see Paul Celan's German poem Le Menhir. For an English translation, see Jonathan Skolnik, "Kaddish for Spinoza: Memory and Modernity in Heine and Celan" NEW GERMAN CRITIQUE 77 (1999)

[edit] Partial list of menhirs

Spellenstein (St. Ingbert, Germany)
Spellenstein (St. Ingbert, Germany)

[edit] England


[edit] Scotland

  • Machrie Moor, Isle of Arran.
  • Drybridge, North Ayrshire.
    The menhir at Drybridge.
    The menhir at Drybridge.
  • Gigha Island, Kyle & Bute.
  • Lochmaben Stone, Dumfries.
  • Cuff Hill, Near Beith, North Ayrshire.
  • Draffen, Stewarton, East Ayrshire.
  • Callanish, Isle of Lewis
  • Millport on Cumbrae, Firth of Clyde.

[edit] Czech Republic

  • Dolní Chabry
  • Drahomyšl
  • Družec
  • Horoměřice
  • Jemníky
  • Kersko
  • Klobuky
  • Klůček
  • Ledce
  • Louny (Selibice)
  • Libenice
  • Orasice
  • Slaný
  • Slavětín
  • Tuchlovice
  • Vinařice
  • Žatec (Březno)

[edit] France

[edit] Germany

  • Gollenstein, Blieskastel (6.6 m high)
  • Spellenstein, St. Ingbert (5 m high)

[edit] Italy

[edit] Portugal

[edit] Romania

Histria Museum
Histria Museum

[edit] Scandinavia

[edit] Switzerland

[edit] References

  • Le Roux, C.T. 1992. “The Art of Gavrinis Presented in its Armorican Context and in Comparison with Ireland.” in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland vol. 122, pp79-108
  • Mohen, Jean-Pierre. 2000. Standing Stones. Stonehenge, Carnac and the World of Megaliths. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-30090-9

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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