Locmariaquer
Locmariaquer is a Stone Age site in north-west France distinguished by its two large stone tombs and massive granite standing stone or menhir. The monumental structures, all built within metres of each other, were built in the 5th millennium BCE by the local sedentary farming community and are amongst the most impressive Neolithic monuments anywhere.
Grand-Menhir
The huge igneous stone monolith known as the Grand-Menhir was a single piece of granite 20 metres tall and over 280 tonnes in weight. The engineering skills employed to move and erect such a massive stone are impressive, especially as the nearest source of such stone was 10 km distant. The menhir was carefully positioned, probably using earth ramps, at the end of an alignment of 18 interlocking stones c. 4,500 BCE, now destroyed but indicated at the site today. The menhir would have been finished off and given a smooth surface using quartz hammers. Another large menhir or stele once stood near the Grand-Menhir and two large pieces from it - identified by their ox carvings - were reused in the Table-des-Marchands tomb (tumulus) nearby (see below) and the stone tomb on the small island of Gavrinis across the Gulf of Morbihan 4 km away. The surface of the Grand-Menhir shows deliberate stud marks and a socket was made in the base of the stone to increase its stability when standing. Nevertheless, the giant subsequently toppled over and fractured into four large pieces. Whether this was due to natural causes such as high winds, lightning or an earthquake, or due to a deliberate breakage is unclear. More certain is the fall likely occurred only a few hundred years after its erection, sometime around 4,000 BCE.
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