Menhir du Champ de la Pierre et menhir du Champ Horel
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir du Champ de la Pierre et menhir du Champ Horel, located in Le Sel-de-Bretagne (Département 35), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Le Sel-de-Bretagne, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8941, -1.6153
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090885
Stone sentinels erected since Neolithic times, the menhirs of Champ de la Pierre and Champ Horel stand watch over the hedged farmland of Ille-et-Vilaine, silent witnesses to a sacred Brittany five thousand years old.
History
In the heart of the agricultural landscape of the Sel-de-Bretagne, in this Upper Brittany where the horizons open onto a gentle, undulating bocage, two menhirs emerge from the earth like shoots of an inexhaustible memory. The menhirs of Champ de la Pierre and Champ Horel form a rare megalithic ensemble in Ille-et-Vilaine, a department less renowned than Morbihan for its standing stones, but which nonetheless conceals prehistoric gems of remarkable integrity. What sets this site apart is precisely its dual presence: two distinct menhirs, each bearing the name of the field in which they stand, bear witness to ritual or memorial occupation of this particular area from the Middle Neolithic. Their coexistence in close proximity suggests that this area may have been used for symbolic or ceremonial purposes by the agro-pastoral communities who were clearing the Armorican forest at the time. The experience of visiting the site is one of contemplation and self-denial. You approach these monoliths from country lanes, between hedgerows and cultivated fields, in a silence that invites contemplation. The stone, rough and massive, imposes an unexpected physical presence: its verticality contrasts with the horizontality of the landscape and creates an almost supernatural presence, enhanced tenfold at dawn or dusk when the low-angled light makes the roughness of the granite vibrate. Listed as historic monuments since 1945, these menhirs are protected to ensure that they are preserved in an agricultural environment that is still very much alive. Far from the crowds that flock to Carnac or Locmariaquer, they offer an intimate and privileged face-to-face encounter with Breton prehistory, without tourist mediation, in the authenticity of a preserved rural setting.
Architecture
The Champ de la Pierre and Champ Horel menhirs belong to the category of simple menhirs, vertical monoliths with no apparent secondary features. Like the vast majority of Armorican standing stones, they are probably carved from local granite or metamorphic sandstone derived from the Brioverian geological formations characteristic of the Armorican Massif. The surface of the rock, marked by five millennia of wind and rain erosion, has an irregular, lichenised patina, giving it a lively texture that changes with the light. Their overall shape is typical of the classic Armorican type: elongated shafts, tapering slightly towards the top, with a sub-quadrangular or oval cross-section, set into the ground on a broad base to ensure stability. The dimensions, typical for this geographical area, probably range from two to four metres in height above ground, with a total mass of up to several tonnes, which implied a collective organisation for their transport and installation. The position of each menhir in its respective field is not insignificant: studies carried out on comparable sites in Ille-et-Vilaine show that Neolithic builders chose slightly elevated positions or on the edge of natural terraces, maximising the visibility of the raised stone in the landscape. This logic of long-distance visual signalling contributes to the symbolic and territorial coherence of these monuments, designed to be seen and recognised by communities on the move in a territory that was in the process of being appropriated.
Related Figures
Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques au XIXe siècle, pionnier du recensement des mégalithes bretonsRené Galles — archéologue morbihannais du XIXe siècle, dont les méthodes influencèrent l'étude des menhirs d'Ille-et-VilainePopulations néolithiques armoricaines — bâtisseurs anonymes de ces monolithes vers 3500-2500 av. J.-C.Érudits de la Société archéologique d'Ille-et-Vilaine — responsables de l'inventaire et de la signalisation de ces pierres au XIXe siècle
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir du Champ de la Pierre et menhir du Champ Horel located?
Menhir du Champ de la Pierre et menhir du Champ Horel is located in Le Sel-de-Bretagne, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Menhir du Champ de la Pierre et menhir du Champ Horel open to visitors?
Menhir du Champ de la Pierre et menhir du Champ Horel is currently closed to visitors.
