Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Fury in France after 40 ancient standing stones erected by prehistoric humans 7,000 years ago near f [View all]
Fury in France after 40 ancient standing stones erected by prehistoric humans 7,000 years ago near famed Carnac archaeological site are destroyed to make way for a DIY storeBy CHRISTIAN OLIVER
PUBLISHED: 08:28 EDT, 8 June 2023 | UPDATED: 08:32 EDT, 8 June 2023
Fury has erupted in France after dozens of seven-thousand-year-old standing stones erected by prehistoric humans were destroyed to make way for a DIY store.
Some 37 stones standing between half-a-metre and a metre were each destroyed by the development of the large construction for a Mr. Bricolage outlet in Carnac, in Brittany, northwest France.
According to local amateur archaeologist Christian Obeltz, the site had been on France's National Archeological map since 2015, as well as being on the town's official list of local megaliths.
They say the site was also going to be submitted to France's Ministry of Culture with a view to listing it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Carnac is famous for its ancient menhir - heavy raised standing stones - which spread across three alignments: Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan.
More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12173517/Fury-France-40-ancient-standing-stones-destroyed-make-way-DIY-store.html
~ ~ ~
The mystery of France's 'Stonehenge'
https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0d0clf2.webp
By Hugh Tucker
15th September 2022
Built 1,000 years before the famed English site, the Alignements de Carnac's 3,000 perfectly aligned stones continue to baffle historians.
Not far from the wide, sun-drenched beaches of Carnac in France's north-western Brittany region, I stood and looked out at the endless rows of standing stones that make up the Alignements de Carnac (Carnac Alignments). The tall, roughly hewn stones were divided into symmetrical, evenly spaced columns that disappeared into the distance, and I could see how the local legend of Saint Cornély had arisen.
Supposedly, Saint Cornély (the patron saint of cattle), pursued by a legion of Roman soldiers and finding no other means of escape, had hidden in the ear of an ox and turned the legionnaires to stone. Needless to say, this isn't the true origin of the Alignments. Aside from the unlikely transfiguration, the standing stones predate the Roman Empire by at least 3,000 years. But in a superstitious time, this was probably a plausible explanation for a mystery that baffles experts to this day.
Stretching 4km along the coast of Brittany and consisting of more than 3,000 menhirs (man-made, often tapered, stones erected in prehistoric times across Western Europe – not unlike those Obelix from the Asterix comics made a career sculpting and delivering), the Carnac Alignments represent the largest group of man-made standing stones in the world. Like Stonehenge, their purpose, what they represent and who placed them are mysteries shrouded in theory and legend. Yet, their place as one of the most important sites of European prehistory is undisputed.
Radiocarbon dating has determined that the granite menhirs were erected by a Neolithic community around 6,000 years ago (about 1,000 years before Stonehenge). The stones range in size from 0.5m tall to the hulking Giant of Manio, which soars 6m, with an average-sized menhir weighing between five and 10 tonnes. They were generally quarried from the bedrock that lies close to the surface of the site and hauled and erected using pulleys and brute strength. Given the superhuman effort needed to create them, the Alignments would have held enormous significance, but the site's administrator, Olivier Agogué, believes that true purpose of the Alignments will likely remain unknown.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220914-carnac-alignments-brittanys-mysterious-standing-stones
~ ~ ~
28 april 2021 france
10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE CARNAC STANDING STONES
Most people have pondered the mysterious stones of Stonehenge, but the Carnac standing stones in Brittany, France, may be even more fascinating. This UNESCO World Heritage site is comprised of thousands of granite stones perfectly aligned over several kilometres, making it the largest megalithic site in the world. If you haven’t had a chance to visit yet, you should be adding this site to your bucket list and taking advantage of the online virtual tour.
More:
http://www.bisousdescaribous.com/2021/04/10-interesting-facts-about-carnac.html
~ ~ ~
Unbelievable!
29 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read