Menhir dit de la Touche-Bude, ou Fuseau de Margot
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir dit de la Touche-Bude, ou Fuseau de Margot, located in Plédran (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Plédran, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4284, -2.7503
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089402
A stone sentinel since the Neolithic period, the Fuseau de Margot in Plédran is one of the most unusual menhirs in the Côtes-d'Armor, steeped in Celtic legends and listed as a Historic Monument.
History
In the heart of the Briochin bocage, a few kilometres from Saint-Brieuc, the menhir known as the Touche-Bude - more poetically nicknamed Margot's Spindle - rises out of the rural landscape of Plédran like a granite finger reaching for the sky. This Neolithic monolith, planted over five millennia ago, belongs to the family of solitary megaliths that dot the Breton landscape in such a characteristic way, silent witnesses to a prehistoric humanity whose beliefs and practices still largely elude us. What makes Fuseau de Margot particularly remarkable is first and foremost its nickname: "Margot" is a recurring figure in Breton and Central-West France folklore, often associated with supernatural female beings - witches, fairies or nocturnal spinners - who are said to have petrified or erected these stones in the course of their legendary wanderings. The term "spindle" evokes the slender, slightly tapered shape of the monolith, reminiscent of the tool used to spin wool, reinforcing the imaginary image attached to the stone. This double name - place name and legendary nickname - is in itself a precious document of oral history. Visiting the site is like coming face to face with prehistory. The menhir can be discovered at the bend in a rural path, without excessive tourist staging, which preserves its rare authenticity. Visitors are invited to ponder the original purpose of the monument: to mark out a territory, a funerary marker, an astronomical landmark or a place of worship? There is no definitive answer, and it is precisely this ambiguity that fuels the fascination. The natural setting plays a full part in the emotion of the place. The fields and hedgerows of the Costarmorican bocage surround the stone with dense vegetation that changes with the seasons. In spring, the flowering broom and white hawthorns create a golden, fragrant setting; in autumn, the morning mists that cling to the embankments give the menhir an almost mystical atmosphere. Photographers and lovers of natural heritage will find it a subject as graphic as it is moving.
Architecture
The Touche-Bude menhir is a monolith of granite, a rock characteristic of the Armorican basement, quarried and shaped - or more accurately, selected for its natural shape - by the Neolithic populations of the area. Its slender silhouette, slightly bulging towards the base and earning it the nickname "spindle", is typical of large Breton menhirs: the stone has an irregular cross-section, barely roughed out, retaining the rough appearance of granite with its inclusions of feldspar, quartz and mica visible in low-angled light. The above-ground height of the monolith, probably between two and four metres, is within the norm for isolated menhirs in the Côtes-d'Armor region, without reaching the exceptional dimensions of the giants in the Morbihan region. The menhir is set deep into the ground: in accordance with Neolithic practices that have been well documented at other sites, around the bottom third of the stone is buried, ensuring the vertical stability of the whole without the need for any binders or masonry foundations. The face that has been exposed to the elements for thousands of years has a characteristic patina, covered in orange, grey and black lichens that colonise the granite surface and contribute to the monument's venerable appearance. No engraved decoration - cupules, polished axes or zigzags - has been reported on this menhir, unlike some ornate Breton examples, which remains the majority situation for isolated menhirs in this region.
Related Figures
Margot — figure légendaire du folklore breton, fileuse surnaturelle ou fée pétrifiée à laquelle la tradition populaire attribue l'érection de la pierrePopulations néolithiques du bassin de Saint-Brieuc — bâtisseurs anonymes du monument, entre le IVe et le IIIe millénaire avant J.-C.Érudits antiquaires bretons du XIXe siècle — premiers inventeurs et descripteurs savants du menhir, dans le cadre du renouveau d'intérêt romantique pour les mégalithesService des Monuments Historiques — acteur de la protection officielle du site, classement prononcé en 1965
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir dit de la Touche-Bude, ou Fuseau de Margot located?
Menhir dit de la Touche-Bude, ou Fuseau de Margot is located in Plédran, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Menhir dit de la Touche-Bude, ou Fuseau de Margot open to visitors?
Menhir dit de la Touche-Bude, ou Fuseau de Margot is currently closed to visitors.