Another photo from our jolly twinning trip..... the tallest standing stone in Europe?
This is seriously a monster. The Kerloas menhir (near Plouarzel in Brittany -- not far from Finisterre) is the biggest megalithic standing stone in France, at about 10 m high. It stands as a landmark on the top of a hill, but isn't easy to find since there are trees all around. It used to stand about 12 m high before lightning struck it, and there are supposedly at least 2m of the stone embedded beneath the ground surface. Its original length must have been about 14m. Its current weight is thought to be 150 tons, and it was erected about 4500 years ago. So it would been put up by a Late Neolithic / Bronze Age community.
I couldn't possibly comment... and best of luck with the hollyhocks.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a terrific blog.
ReplyDeleteBurl gives the height of Kerloas as 9.5m, so don't overlook Champ Dolent menhir ( http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=8583 ) which Loie and I visited in September, 2004. Only a half-meter smaller, and possibly more massive.
And I assume we're not counting the fallen Grande Menhir Brisé?
Yours truly,
Bucky Edgett
Thanks Bucky -- well, I didn't count that famous stone that's in several bits, because it seems that they never did manage to get it upright. Not surprising really. But one has to admire their ambition.....
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