Fury in France after 40 ancient standing stones are destroyed to make way for a DIY store
Anger in France after 40 ancient standing stones erected 7,000 years ago by prehistoric people near the famous archaeological site of Carnac were destroyed to make way for a hardware store
- According to locals, the site would be submitted to UNESCO as a heritage site
- About 37 stones between half a meter and a meter were destroyed
Anger has erupted in France after dozens of 7,000-year-old standing stones built by prehistoric humans were demolished to make way for a DIY store.
About 37 stones that were between half a meter and a meter high were each destroyed by the development of the large construction for a Mr. Bricolage site in Carnac, in Brittany, North West France.
According to local amateur archaeologist Christian Obeltz, the site has been on France’s national archaeological map since 2015 and on the city’s official list of local megaliths.
They say the site would also be submitted to the French Ministry of Culture for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Carnac is famous for its ancient menhir – heavy standing stones – which are scattered over three alignments: Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan.
About 37 stones that were between half a meter and a meter high were on the site before it was destroyed, in Carnac, in Brittany, northwestern France
Dozens of seven-thousand-year-old standing stones built by prehistoric humans were destroyed to make way for a hardware store. The photo shows the construction work
Obeltz, like many local residents, was outraged by the construction work on the site. “There’s nothing left at all,” he said.
“I drove by three weeks ago. Then I saw that everything was destroyed. Overnight a bulldozer came and it was over. It’s unheard of.
“The worst thing is that the site could have been preserved because it was not under the building being built, but behind it.”
Obeltz originally expressed concern about “brutal developments” threatening the prehistoric site.
‘The Chemin de Montauban site included two intersecting rows of small granite stelae, each more than fifty meters long. One of them had been in its original position for 7,000 years,” Obeltz wrote in a blog post.
‘The small menhirs of the Chemin de Montauban were undoubtedly one of the oldest stelae in the city of Carnac’ believed to be between 5480 and 5320 BC, ‘the highest date obtained for a menhir in the west of France’.
The region of Brittany has a dense collection of megalithic sites, including about 3,000 prehistoric menhirs erected by the pre-Celtic people.
The area also has a selection of stone tombs and burial mounds and is believed to be the largest such collection in the world
Carnac is famous for its ancient menhir – heavy standing stones – which are spread over three alignments: Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan (file image)
East France reported that the local Koun Breizh Association has decided to file a complaint with the Vannes Public Prosecutor for deliberate destruction of sites related to archaeological heritage.
The group said: ‘The purpose of the complaint is not so much to harm our councilors as to try to understand how such a decision could germinate and succeed, despite all the protections afforded by the law.
‘The fate of our menhirs is of paramount importance to the Breton people, as far as our historical and human heritage is concerned. We also more or less come from this civilization.’