Menhir de Caëlonan, ou Caillouan
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir de Caëlonan, ou Caillouan, located in Plésidy (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Plésidy, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4240, -3.1509
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089422
A stone sentinel that has stood guard over the countryside of Plésidy since the Neolithic period, the Caëlonan menhir is one of the most striking landmarks in the Trégor region. A striking, crude monolith, it was listed as a Historic Monument in 1889.
History
In the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, in the tranquil commune of Plésidy, the Caëlonan menhir - sometimes spelt Caillouan - rises with quiet authority from a typically Breton landscape of hedged farmland. This standing stone, a silent witness to several millennia of history, belongs to the constellation of megaliths that make Brittany one of Europe's richest areas for prehistoric monuments. To see this monolith for the first time is to feel the weight of time in all its brutality and beauty. What makes Caëlonan so special is its relative isolation. Whereas some Breton menhirs are built in spectacular alignments or imposing cromlechs, this one stands alone, like a character in its own right in the landscape. This solitude gives it an almost meditative presence: the stone speaks for itself, with no set, no staging. Visitors are invited into a direct confrontation with the raw fact of Neolithic erection - the human act of planting a stone in the earth to mark a space, a time, a belief. The visitor experience is intimate and silent. Far from the crowds that flock to Carnac or Locmariaquer, Caëlonan can be discovered in almost absolute calm. The paths that lead there cross meadows and hedgerows, offering a total immersion in the rural landscape of the Côtes-d'Armor. The atmosphere changes with the seasons: misty and mysterious in autumn, bright and green in spring. Photographers will particularly appreciate the golden hours of late afternoon, when the low-angled light sculpts the rough granite. The surrounding natural setting adds to the enigmatic character of the site. Plésidy, a commune in the Pays du Centre-Bretagne region, has preserved its rural identity, echoing the timelessness of the megalith. Here, modernity seems to stand at a respectful distance, as if the presence of the stone imposed its own law of time. The Caëlonan menhir is not just an archaeological object: it's a point of convergence between the distant past and the sensitive present, an invitation to think about our own place in time.
Architecture
The Caëlonan menhir is a monolith of granite, a metamorphic rock abundant in the Armorican massif, whose hardness and resistance to climatic agents largely explain the remarkable preservation of the monument over the millennia. The stone has the characteristic bluish-grey hue of Breton granite, often enhanced by golden and silvery lichens that slowly colonise its surface, giving it an organic patina that changes with the light and the seasons. Like most of the isolated menhirs in Central Brittany, Caëlonan's silhouette tapers towards the top, widening at the base to ensure its stability in the ground. This slightly tapered shape, far from being accidental, bears witness to careful selection of the original block and minimal but deliberate roughing. The surface is not carved in the architectural sense of the term: it retains much of its natural state, with its fractures, quartz veins and irregularities, which radically distinguishes Neolithic menhirs from the polished stone sculptures of later periods. Its height, estimated at between two and four metres above ground according to local sources, makes it a medium-sized specimen for the region, neither the colossus of Locmariaquer nor the modest milestone, but a strong and memorable presence in the flat landscape of Plésidy.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes du Centre-Bretagne (vers 3500-2500 av. J.-C.) — communautés agro-pastorales à l'origine de l'érection du monolitheProsper Mérimée (1803-1870) — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques, initiateur de la politique nationale de recensement et de protection des mégalithes bretonsPaul du Châtellier (1833-1911) — archéologue breton prolifique ayant contribué au recensement des mégalithes des Côtes-du-Nord au XIXe siècleLes membres de la Société d'Émulation des Côtes-du-Nord — érudits locaux du XIXe siècle ayant documenté et signalé le menhir aux autorités avant son classement en 1889
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir de Caëlonan, ou Caillouan located?
Menhir de Caëlonan, ou Caillouan is located in Plésidy, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Menhir de Caëlonan, ou Caillouan open to visitors?
Menhir de Caëlonan, ou Caillouan is currently closed to visitors.