Menhir dit du Petit Vauridel
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir dit du Petit Vauridel, located in Plaintel (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Plaintel, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.3995, -2.7946
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089391
A stone sentinel erected since the Neolithic period in the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, the Petit Vauridel menhir bears witness to the ritual power of the prehistoric peoples of Brittany. A listed monument, discreet and bewitching.
History
At the bend in a country lane in the commune of Plaintel, in the Côtes-d'Armor department, the menhir known as the Petit Vauridel stands out in the Breton bocage landscape with the immemorial sobriety that characterises large Neolithic standing stones. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1963, it is one of a constellation of megaliths that make Brittany one of Europe's richest regions in terms of prehistoric remains. What makes this menhir so special is precisely its apparent isolation. Far from the spectacular alignments of Carnac or the dolmens celebrated by tourist guides, Petit Vauridel is an intimate, almost confidential stone, whose evocative name refers to a jealously preserved land and rural memory. Its slender silhouette, planted in the earth for over five thousand years, imposes a presence that only time can bestow. A visit to the site offers a rare experience of contemplation, away from the crowds and hustle and bustle of modern life. Approaching the menhir, walking slowly around it, trying to gauge the magnitude of the human gesture it represents - men and women moved this mass of granite and erected it with precise intent - is enough to provoke a gentle, lasting vertigo. The surrounding bocage setting, with its dense hedgerows, sunken lanes and the subdued light of the Armorican skies, adds to the charged atmosphere of the place. The Petit Vauridel menhir is just as much for the curious walker as it is for the amateur archaeologist or photographer in search of an unusual composition. At dawn or late afternoon, when the low-angled light animates the rough texture of the rock, the monument reveals all its plasticity and visual power. A must for anyone exploring the megalithic heritage of central Brittany.
Architecture
The Petit Vauridel menhir is, in its very conception, the manifestation of an architecture of the essential: a single stone, extracted from its natural deposit, roughly squared or left rough, then erected vertically in the ground. In keeping with the typical characteristics of Armorican menhirs, the rock used is most likely granite or metamorphic sandstone, materials that are abundant in the subsoil of the Côtes-d'Armor and renowned for their exceptional resistance to weather and time. The silhouette of the monument, slender and tapering towards the top like an index finger pointing towards the sky, is characteristic of the menhirs of central Brittany. Its dimensions, within the usual range for isolated menhirs in the region, are probably between two and four metres high above ground, with a significant part of the shaft buried in the ground to ensure its stability over the millennia. The surface of the rock, patinated by centuries of exposure to the Breton rains, has a texture rich in grey and orange lichens, which in themselves constitute a living chronology. No sculpted decoration has been recorded on Petit Vauridel, which distinguishes it from ornate menhirs such as those at Locmariaquer. Its architectural interest lies in the purity of its verticality, in the dialogue that its mineral mass maintains with the horizontality of the surrounding bocage, and in the technical feat that its erection represented for Neolithic communities devoid of metallurgy - using only wooden levers, ropes and collective strength.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes de l'Armorique (vers 4000-2500 av. J.-C.)Prosper Mérimée, inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, pionnier de la protection des mégalithes bretons (XIXe siècle)Théophile Malo Corret de La Tour d'Auvergne, patriote breton et premier admirateur romantique des pierres levées armoricainesPaul du Châtellier, archéologue finistérien ayant contribué à l'inventaire des mégalithes de Bretagne (XIXe-XXe siècle)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir dit du Petit Vauridel located?
Menhir dit du Petit Vauridel is located in Plaintel, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Menhir dit du Petit Vauridel open to visitors?
Menhir dit du Petit Vauridel is currently closed to visitors.