Menhir dit la pierre levée de Charbonneau
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir dit la pierre levée de Charbonneau, located in La Renaudière (Maine-et-Loire), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- La Renaudière, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.1052, -1.0804
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109244
Sentinelle de pierre dressée depuis le Néolithique en Anjou, la Pierre Levée de Charbonneau témoigne d'un rite mégalithique millénaire au cœur du bocage manceau, classée Monument Historique depuis 1983.
History
At the bend in a country lane in La Renaudière, in the heart of the Mauges region of Angers, stands the Pierre Levée de Charbonneau, a silent monolithic boulder that has defied time for several thousand years. This menhir, whose dark silhouette emerges from a landscape of rolling hedged farmland, belongs to the galaxy of standing stones that dot the Maine-et-Loire region and bear witness to the religious and social vitality of Neolithic societies in western France. What makes this menhir truly unique is its relative isolation and the fact that it has been preserved in a farming area that is still very much alive. Unlike the great megalithic complexes of Morbihan or the Carnac plain, the Pierre de Charbonneau stands out as an intimate, almost secret monument, which visitors discover with the sensation of a personal encounter with prehistory. Its location at a place called Charbonneau gives it a strong local identity, rooted in the memory of the bocage. The experience of visiting the site is one of quiet immersion in an unspoilt landscape. Geology buffs will appreciate the texture and colour of the boulder - probably made of local sandstone or shale - while archaeology enthusiasts will appreciate the logistical feat involved in extracting, transporting and erecting this mass of several tonnes over five thousand years ago. The silence of the site invites contemplation. The Mauges region, historically marked by its dense hedged farmland and deep-rooted rural traditions, has preserved a number of megalithic remains. The Pierre Levée de Charbonneau is part of this common heritage of the west of Angers, close to the great megalithic centres of the Loire-Atlantique and Poitou regions. It has been protected as a Historic Monument since 1983, guaranteeing the continued existence of this irreplaceable witness to prehistoric mankind.
Architecture
The Pierre Levée de Charbonneau is a menhir, a block of rough stone quarried from a local geological outcrop and erected vertically by human intervention alone. Its morphology is typical of the Loire basin and the Mauges: a slightly tapered shaft, wider at the base than at the top, with the exposed face bearing the traces of several thousand years of weathering - orange and grey lichens, slight surface exfoliation, micro-relief carved by acid rain. The constituent rock is probably shale or sandstone extracted from a nearby outcrop, typical of the geological substratum of southern Maine-et-Loire. The boulder has a characteristic grey-brown colour. Its height, estimated at between two and three metres above ground - in line with regional standards for isolated menhirs in Anjou - makes it a modest-sized monument, but one that is clearly visible in the flat landscape of the surrounding bocage. The buried portion, which ensured its stability, generally represents a third of the block's total length. No engraved decoration has yet been recorded on the surface of the menhir, which distinguishes it from the large ornate stelae of Brittany or Poitou. This sobriety is characteristic of the majority of isolated menhirs in Anjou, whose symbolic power lay more in the gesture of erection than in the ornamentation. The orientation of the block and its possible relationship with other structures that have now disappeared remain open questions for local archaeologists.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes du Néolithique moyen (4500-3500 av. J.-C.), communautés agricoles de l'Anjou à l'origine de l'érection du menhirLes érudits de la Société des Antiquaires de l'Ouest, actifs dès le XIXe siècle dans le recensement des mégalithes du Maine-et-LoireRené Crozet, historien de l'art et archéologue angevin, contributeur à la documentation du patrimoine préhistorique de la région au XXe siècleLes agents du service régional de l'Archéologie des Pays de la Loire, responsables de l'instruction du dossier d'inscription en 1983
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir dit la pierre levée de Charbonneau located?
Menhir dit la pierre levée de Charbonneau is located in La Renaudière, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
Is Menhir dit la pierre levée de Charbonneau open to visitors?
Menhir dit la pierre levée de Charbonneau is currently closed to visitors.
