Deux menhirs
MonumentHidden Treasure
Deux menhirs, located in Plomeur (Département 29), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Plomeur, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8451, -4.3338
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090193
Au cœur du pays bigouden, deux menhirs néolithiques dressés vers le ciel breton témoignent d'une spiritualité millénaire. Ces sentinelles de granite, inscrits aux Monuments Historiques, incarnent la densité mégalithique exceptionnelle du Finistère.
History
In the verdant countryside of the Bigouden region, in Plomeur, two Neolithic menhirs stand like immobile guardians of a bygone era. Erected more than five thousand years ago by the farming and stockbreeding communities that shaped this land at the time, these granite monoliths are one of the most striking testimonies to the presence of prehistoric man in southern Finistère, one of Europe's richest regions in terms of megaliths. What makes this site truly unique is the relationship between these two standing stones. Far from being mere scattered blocks, they seem to be in dialogue across space, their alignment possibly calculated in relation to astronomical phenomena - solstices or equinoxes - as can be seen on many Breton megalithic sites. The whole evokes a strong intentionality, a symbolic and collective gesture rooted in a cosmology that is now partly forgotten. The visitor experience is that of a direct confrontation with the immensity of time. There are no walls, no staging, between the visitor and these rough stones that have survived the millennia. You can feel the grain of the granite, the golden or greyish lichens that mark its surface like so many accumulated years, and you intuitively understand why the Breton people have always surrounded these monuments with a rich imagination, peopled with fairies, giants and druids. The natural setting reinforces this timeless impression: southern Brittany, between hedged farmland and the Atlantic coast, offers a special kind of light, often veiled, which gives the menhirs an almost living presence. The Plomeur site is part of a dense megalithic territory, close to Penmarc'h and the Bay of Audierne, whose open landscapes amplify the solitary verticality of the stones. A must for anyone travelling through prehistoric Cornouaille.
Architecture
The two menhirs at Plomeur are monoliths of granite, the dominant rock in the geological bedrock of Finistère. This material, which is remarkably hard and resistant to erosion, is the main reason why these stones have survived for five millennia. The blocks have a tapered profile characteristic of Armorican menhirs: wider at the base, they gradually narrow towards the top, sometimes ending in a slightly flattened point. This shape is not entirely natural - the Neolithic builders used quartzite strikers to roughen the blocks, giving the surfaces a slightly worked texture that is now covered by the patina of time. The dimensions of the Plomeur menhirs fall within the average range for Finistère megaliths, with heights estimated at between two and four metres above ground level, with a buried part representing around a third of the total height - a technical provision that is essential for the stability of the stone. Their relative position in relation to each other probably follows an axis oriented according to sunrise or sunset at a key moment in the Neolithic calendar, a hypothesis frequently verified on the multiple menhir sites of Cornouaille. The surface of the stones is now colonised by communities of crustaceous and foliose lichens - xanthoria, parmelia, rhizocarpon - which bear witness to both the age of the atmospheric exposure and the absence of any major recent disturbance. There are no documented engravings or cupules on these menhirs, unlike some ornate Breton megaliths (such as the stelae at Locmariaquer), which is consistent with the vast majority of simple menhirs in southern Finistère.
Related Figures
Les communautés néolithiques du pays bigouden (5000-2000 av. J.-C.), bâtisseurs anonymes du monumentProsper Mérimée, inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques au XIXe siècle, pionnier de la protection du patrimoine mégalithique bretonJames Miln, archéologue écossais ayant mené les premières fouilles scientifiques sur les mégalithes armoricains au XIXe siècleZacharie Le Rouzic, archéologue breton et conservateur du musée de Préhistoire de Carnac, référence pour l'étude des menhirs finistériensPaul du Châtellier, archéologue finistérien du XIXe siècle ayant inventorié les mégalithes du sud Bretagne
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Deux menhirs located?
Deux menhirs is located in Plomeur, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Deux menhirs open to visitors?
Deux menhirs is currently closed to visitors.
