Locmariaquer megaliths
The Grand Menhir also Grand Menhir brisé (grand: big, maen: stone, hir: long) is the largest known menhir in the world. The Neolithic monument was recognized in 1889 as a monument historique.
Location
The overturned stone is within the decorated according to the excavations in the 1980s and 1990s ' archaeological zone ' of Locmariaquer, a small community south of Auray, about 12 km from Carnac, on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany (France).
Origin and extent
The Grand Menhir consists of the granite-like, but compared to real granite easier to be processed, orthogneiss rocks and was from the area of Auray (distance about 10 km) - probably on tree trunks - rolled hither, erected with the help of ropes, levers and Erdanschüttungen and set into a prepared, about 2 feet deep hole. The stone was originally 20.60 meters long and erect reached a height of about 18.50 meters. The outer and flat sides of the stone are rounded, which either - happened yet in the quarry and / or at the site - for the sake of weight savings. Its total weight is about 280 tons. A close look at the surface of leaves traces of stone processing recognize; using stone hammers and other tools, the surface was smoothed. This was probably after the stone had been erected, for the base, which was embedded in the ground, has no machining marks on.
Today, the huge stone consists of four sections: three sections lie in a south-westerly direction; the lower and largest section fell about in the transverse direction. The largest section is about 7 meters long, the middle two sections each measuring about 4.50 m and the upper portion nevertheless still achieved a length of about 4.10 m.
History
The stone was erected around 4500 BC, as part of alignments of 19 stones, which zuführte on a free-standing pedestal - the later main stone of the Table des Marchand. About 200 or 300 years after its erection, the menhir was overturned for unknown reasons - maybe it was intended to reuse sections as ceiling tiles for one or more dolmens, as with other buildings in the area ( Table des Marchand, He Grah, Gavrinish, Mane Rutual ) happened. Overturns he broke into four parts, with nearly straight arose breaklines with largely flat surfaces - as if they had been prepared by breaklines previous notches by human hands.
Ornamentation
In the upright stone or in the upper part of the second largest portion of the presentation of a plow, was possibly also a carved stone ax with a wooden handle, but heavily eroded by wind and weather and thus hardly be seen.
Environment
Another fallen menhir, called Bronzo - Menhir (Men - Bronso ) is located approximately 300 m south. He is also recognized as a monument historique since 1938.