Menhir de Kergornec n° 2
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir de Kergornec n° 2, located in Saint-Gilles-Pligeaux (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Saint-Gilles-Pligeaux, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.3704, -3.0694
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089625
A granite sentinel standing at the dawn of mankind, Kergornec menhir no. 2 defies the passage of millennia on the Breton moors of Saint-Gilles-Pligeaux. An exceptional testimony to the Armorican Neolithic, it is listed as a Historic Monument.
History
In the heart of the Kreiz-Breizh, a land of ancient granite and deep forests that forms the hinterland of the Côtes-d'Armor, stands the silent menhir of Kergornec n°2. A stone raised by forgotten hands several millennia ago, it is part of the exceptional megalithic heritage that makes Brittany one of Europe's richest areas for prehistoric monuments. Its very existence is a fascinating enigma: why here, why this size, why this orientation? The place name "Kergornec" speaks for itself: in Breton, "ker" refers to a hamlet or inhabited place, while the root "gornec" evokes a horned or angular shape, perhaps a reference to the silhouette of the menhir itself or the configuration of the surrounding terrain. The numbering 'n°2' indicates that it is part of a local megalithic grouping, which is not uncommon in Brittany, where standing stones are sometimes grouped together in alignments or in groups scattered over the same area. To visit this menhir is to leave the signposted roads and enter an authentic rural landscape. The hedged farmland, fern-lined sunken lanes and gorse-filled moorland surrounding Saint-Gilles-Pligeaux create a setting of austere beauty, perfectly suited to the solemnity of the stone. The experience is one of silent communion with a concrete, tangible prehistory that you can touch with your fingertips. Listed as a historic monument since 1971, Kergornec menhir no. 2 is protected to guarantee its integrity for future generations. This official recognition underlines the irreplaceable heritage value of these stone witnesses, all too often neglected in favour of more spectacular but infinitely more recent monuments. Here, history is counted in millennia, and every visit is a journey back to the origins of Breton civilisation.
Architecture
Kergornec menhir no. 2 belongs to the category of isolated menhirs, standing stones that are either free-standing or form part of a local megalithic complex. Like the vast majority of Breton menhirs in the Côtes-d'Armor region, it is carved from Armorican granite, a magmatic rock of exceptional hardness and durability that occurs in abundance throughout the Armorican Massif. The light grey to bluish colour of this granite, studded with feldspar and quartz crystals, gives it a characteristic appearance that changes according to the lighting and atmospheric conditions. The typical morphology of such a monument is that of an elongated block, extracted from a natural outcrop and standing vertically in a pit dug for the purpose, with the lower third buried in the ground to ensure the stability of the whole. The exposed part generally has an irregular cross-section, tapering slightly towards the top, indicating roughing work using lithic tools - quartzite strikers, wooden wedges - rather than fine cutting. The surface, naturally rough, is now covered with grey and orange lichens that have been slowly colonising the granite for centuries, themselves constituting a form of memory of time. The orientation of the menhir in the landscape, like its precise topographical positioning, could reveal symbolic or astronomical intentions specific to the Neolithic builders, which only an in-depth archaeological study would reveal. The presence of a second Kergornec menhir in the same area (no. 1) suggests a deliberate organisation of the cult or burial space on the scale of the terroir, a practice that is well documented in Brittany, where megalithic complexes still structure the rural landscape to this day.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes du Kreiz-Breizh (vers 3500-2500 av. J.-C.) — communautés agropastorales qui érigèrent le menhirLes érudits de la Société d'Émulation des Côtes-du-Nord (XIXe siècle) — premiers recenseurs des mégalithes de la régionLes inspecteurs des Monuments historiques ayant instruit le dossier de classement (années 1960-1971)Paul du Châtellier (1833-1911) — archéologue breton pionnier du recensement et de l'étude des mégalithes armoricainsZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939) — fouilleur et inventorieur majeur du patrimoine mégalithique breton
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir de Kergornec n° 2 located?
Menhir de Kergornec n° 2 is located in Saint-Gilles-Pligeaux, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Menhir de Kergornec n° 2 open to visitors?
Menhir de Kergornec n° 2 is currently closed to visitors.
