Large menhir located between Millstreet and Ballinagree, Co Cork, Ireland.

A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Standing stones, orthostats, liths or more commonly Megaliths ' because of their large and cumbersome size are solitary stones set vertically in the Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. A monolith is a geological feature such as a Mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock or a single piece of rock placed as or within a monument Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top. Menhirs are widely distributed across Europe, Africa, and Asia, but are most numerous in Western Europe; in particular in the British Isles and Brittany. The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into They originate from many different periods across pre-history, and were erected as part of a larger Megalithic culture that flourished in Europe and beyond.

The function of Menhirs has provoked more debate than practically any other issue in European pre-history. Prehistoric Europe refers to prehistorical period of the History of Europe. Over the centuries they have variously been thought to have been used by Druids for human sacrifice, used as territorial markers or elements of a complex ideological system, or functioned as early calendars. A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic societies ^[1] Until the nineteenth century, antiquarians did not have substantial knowledge of prehistory; and their only reference points were provided by Classical literature. The developments of radiocarbon dating and tree-ring calibration have done much to further human knowledge in this area. Radiocarbon dating is a Radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring Radioisotope Carbon-14 (14C to determine the age of Dendrochronology (from Greek grc δένδρον dendron, "tree" grc χρόνος khronos, "time" and grc -λογία

The word menhir was adopted from French by 19th century archaeologists. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people It is a combination of two words found in the Breton language; men (stone), and hir (long). The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany In Modern Welsh they are described as maen hir, or "long stone. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic " In modern Breton, the word peulvan is used.

Description & History

The Géant du Manio, a 6. 5 metre menhir in Carnac, Brittany. The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of Megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of alignments

The shape of a menhir tends to be square, narrowing toward the top. Some have vertical grooves and certain of those at Carnac appear to have been partially smoothed.

Practically nothing is known of the social organization or religious beliefs of the people who erected the menhirs. We have no trace even of these peoples' language, however we do know that they buried their dead, and had the skills to grow cereal, farm, and make pottery, stone tools, and jewelry. Speculation as to their use remains speculation, however it is likely that many had a functionality involving fertility rites and seasonal cycles. Until recently, menhirs were associated with the Beaker people, who inhabited Europe during the later third millennium BC; the European late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. The Bell-Beaker culture (sometimes shortened to Beaker culture, Beaker people, or Beaker folk; Glockenbecherkultur) ca The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for However, recent research into the age of megaliths in Brittany strongly suggests a far older origin, perhaps back to six to seven thousand years ago. ^[2]

Many menhirs are carved with megalithic art. Megalithic art refers to the use of large stones as an artistic medium This often turned them into anthropomorphic stelae, although images of objects such as stone axes, ploughs, shepherd crooks and yokes were common. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely Human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings natural and supernatural phenomena material states and objects A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela With the exception of the stone axe, none of these motifs are definite, and the name used to describe them is largely for convenience. Some menhirs were broken up and incorporated into later passage graves where they had new megalithic art carved with little regard for the previous pictures. passage grave (sometimes hyphenated or passage tomb is a tomb usually dating to the Neolithic, where the burial chamber is reached along a distinct passage It is not known if this re-use was deliberate, or if the passage grave builders just saw menhirs as a convenient source of stone (Le Roux 1992).

In Scandinavia, menhirs are called bautasten or bautastenar and continued to be erected during the Pre-Roman Iron Age and later, usually over the ashes of the dead. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe ( 5th / 4th century BC - 1st century BC) designates the earliest part of the Iron Age in Scandinavia They were raised both as solitary stones and in formations, such as the stone ships and few stone circles. The Stone ship was a Germanic burial custom typical of Scandinavia, built from tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones The Stone Circles of the Iron Age (ca 500 BC - ca 400 AD were a characteristic burial custom of southern Scandinavia especially on Gotland and in Götaland

Sometimes, they were raised only as commemoration to great people, a tradition which was continued as the runestones. A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock

The tradition was strongest in Bornholm, Gotland and Götaland and appears to have followed the Goths, during the 1st century, to the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, (now Northern Poland) where they are a characteristic of the Wielbark culture. Bornholm (b̥ʌnˈhʌlˀm or [bɔʀnˈhɔlˀm]) ( Old Norse: Burgundarholm ' is a Danish Island in the Baltic Sea located is a county, province and municipality of Sweden and the largest Island in the Baltic Sea. Götaland ( Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gotland, Gautland, Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. Wielbark culture also known as Willenberg culture (Wielbark/Willenberg-Kultur Kultura wielbarska Вельбарська культура ( Vel’bars’ka kul’tura ^{[3] [4]}

In many areas, standing stones were systematically toppled by Christians; of the many former standing menhirs of northern Germany, scarcely one stands today. Standing stones, orthostats, liths or more commonly Megaliths ' because of their large and cumbersome size are solitary stones set vertically in the A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

tillhörande Bautasten

Menhirs in Sweden

In Sweden by the 13th century menhirs were erected as markers for the graves of warriors. The following lines are taken from the introduction of the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson;

As to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the Age of Burning; because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were raised standing stones. Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse Kings' sagas. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician

For men of consequence a mound should be raised to their memory, and for all other warriors who had been distinguished for manhood a standing stone; which custom remained long after Odin's time. ^[5]

In the same work, Sturluson wrote that the Swedes burnt their dead king Vanlade and raised a stone over his ashes by the River Skyt (one of the tributaries of the River Fyris):

The Swedes took his body and burnt it at a river called Skytaa, where a standing stone was raised over him. Vanlandi or Vanlande was a Swedish king at Uppsala of the House of Yngling in Norse mythology. Fyrisån (in English 'the Fyris river' is a river in the Swedish province of Uppland, which passes through the city of Uppsala and ends in Lake ^[6]

The tradition is also mentioned in Hávamál. Hávamál (" Sayings of the high one " is presented as a single poem in the Poetic Edda.

Prominent menhirs

The Kerloas menhir, at 9. 5 metres, the tallest standing menhir in Brittany

Brittany stands out in the distribution of menhirs by virtue of both the density of monuments and the diversity of types. The largest surviving menhir in the world is located in Locmariaquer, Brittany, and is known as the Grand Menhir Brisé (Great Broken Menhir). Locmariaquer (Lokmaria-Kaer is a village and commune of western France, on the western shore of the Gulf of Morbihan, in the département Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into The Broken Menhir of Er Grah is an ancient Megalith in Locmariaquer, Brittany. Once nearly 20 meters high, today, it lies fractured into four pieces, but would have weighed near 330 tons when intact. It is placed third after the Thunder Stone in St. Petersburg and the Western Stone in the Western Wall as the heaviest object moved by humans without powered machinery. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River The Western Stone, located in the northern section of Wilson's Arch, is a stone block forming part of the lower level of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The Western Wall (הכותל המערבי translit: HaKotel HaMa'aravi) sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall or simply the Kotel (lit

Alignments of menhirs are common, the most famous being the Carnac stones in Brittany, where more than 3000 individual menhirs are arranged in four groups, and arrayed in rows stretching across four kilometres. http//enwikipediaorg/wiki/ImageKnocknakilla_25jpgView of part of the megalithic complex at Knocknakilla, a 3 The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of Megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of alignments Each set is organised with the tallest stones at the western end, and shorter ones at the eastern end. Some end with a semicircular cromlech, but many have since fallen or been destroyed. ^[2]

The second largest concentration of menhirs in France is at the Cham des Bondons, located on high open limestone plain in the granitic Cévennes. The Cévennes are a range of mountains in south-central France, covering parts of the départements ' of Gard, Lozère, Ardèche The site is today protected by the Parc National des Cévennes. The Cévennes National Park (Parc national des Cévennes is a National park, located in southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes. From the time pastoralism was established, the site was kept open by controlled burning and grazing. ^[7]

Sources

Rudston Monolith, the tallest menhir in the UK

• Le Roux, C. The Rudston Monolith at over 25 feet (76 metres is the tallest Megalith ( Standing stone) in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located T. 1992. “The Art of Gavrinis Presented in its Armorican Context and in Comparison with Ireland. ” in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland vol. 122, pp79-108
• Mohen, Jean-Pierre. 2000. Standing Stones. Stonehenge, Carnac and the World of Megaliths. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-30090-9

Notes

See also

• List of menhirs
• Statue menhir
• Dolmens - megalithic tombs
• Standing stone
• Megalith

External links

• Dolmenes y megalitos del mundo
• Menhires del mundo
• Some Sardinian's menhirs in panoramic QTVR
• Dolmens, Menhirs & Stones-Circles in the South of France
• The Menhirs of Dartmoor
• New Theory - Henges - Engineering in Prehistory
• Rows of Menhirs in Russia, South Ural
• List of Menhirs and their related stories in Czech Republic