Menhir
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir, located in Pédernec (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Pédernec, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6101, -3.3003
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089370
A stone sentinel since the Neolithic period, the Pédernec menhir has stood guard over the Breton lands of Trégor for over 5,000 years. A listed megalithic monument, imbued with mystery and telluric power.
History
In the heart of the Trégor countryside in the Côtes-d'Armor department, the menhir at Pédernec stands out as one of the silent witnesses to prehistory in Brittany. A raised stone of great stature, it belongs to the remarkable family of standing monoliths that dot Brittany, a region where the concentration of megaliths is one of the highest in Europe. Its presence in this unassuming village in the Guingamp area makes it an invaluable landmark on the mental map of lovers of ancient heritage. What immediately sets this menhir apart is the permanence of its verticality: after five millennia of weathering, freezing and thawing, agricultural and human upheaval, the stone stands firm. It defies time with absolute sobriety, without ornament or legible inscription - its only eloquence is its mass, the shadow it casts on the ground depending on the time of day, and the silent dialogue it maintains with the Breton sky. It's easy to imagine the Neolithic communities that built it, mobilising considerable social organisation to extract, transport and erect such a block. A visit to the Pédernec menhir is a rare contemplative experience. Far from the crowds that flock to Carnac or Stonehenge, here visitors find themselves almost alone in front of the stone, in an unspoilt natural setting that restores something of the original atmosphere of the sacred site. The sound of the wind in the surrounding foliage and the changing light of Armorique all contribute to an intimate encounter with prehistory. The village of Pédernec itself, not far from Guingamp, retains the charm of inland Breton villages, far from the touristy coastline. To get there is to cross a territory of hedges, sunken lanes and outcropping granite - a geography that hasn't fundamentally changed since the first Neolithic farmers erected their monument here. The menhir has been protected since 1889, recognised from the earliest days of French heritage legislation as a legacy to be preserved.
Architecture
The menhir at Pédernec belongs to the purest type of megalithic architecture: a single monolith, standing vertically, with no apparent ancillary structure or alignment with other stones. Carved from local granite - the dominant rock in the Armorican subsoil, both abundant and weather-resistant - it has the characteristic bluish-grey hue of Trégor stone, enhanced by the golden and grey lichens that patiently colonise its surface. The morphology of the menhir meets the typical criteria for its category: a broad, thickened base, gradually tapering towards the top, which ends in a pointed or rounded shape depending on the hazards of the raw rock. This slightly tapered shape, found in the majority of Armorican menhirs, is not entirely natural: the Neolithic builders used flint and quartzite tools to roughen the block, then worked it by percussion to give it a deliberate silhouette. Like most of the menhirs in the region, the one at Pédernec is anchored in the ground to a depth estimated at a third of its total visible height, guaranteeing its stability for thousands of years. The exact dimensions of the monument have not been widely published, but menhirs in the Trégor region average between two and four metres in height and weigh between five and fifteen tonnes. The surface of the stone bears the marks of time: wind erosion, frost cracks, multicoloured lichenic crusts that bear witness to the slow geological biography of this monolith. No rock carvings have been reported on this menhir, unlike some examples in Morbihan decorated with anthropomorphic figures or polished axes.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques du Trégor (4500-2000 av. J.-C.) — communautés agro-pastorales organisées ayant érigé le monumentProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques, pionnier du recensement des mégalithes bretons au XIXe siècleThéophile de la Tour d'Auvergne — érudit breton du XVIIIe siècle, l'un des premiers à documenter scientifiquement les pierres levées armoricainesPaul du Châtellier — archéologue finistérien du XIXe siècle, dont les travaux ont contribué à la reconnaissance du patrimoine mégalithique des Côtes-du-Nord
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir located?
Menhir is located in Pédernec, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Menhir open to visitors?
Menhir is currently closed to visitors.