A statue menhir is a type of carved
standing stone
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...
created during the later
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an
Neolithic Period
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...
.
The statues consist of a vertical slab or pillar with a stylised design of a human figure cut into it, sometimes with hints of clothing or weapons visible.
Locations
They are most commonly found in
Southern France
Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
and western
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
,
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
,
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
. A group from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
also is known in
Liguria
Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
and
Lunigiana
The Lunigiana () or Lunesana is a historical territory of Italy that today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, ...
.
There are two in
Guernsey
Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
,
''
La Gran' Mère du Chimquière'' ('the Grandmother of the Cemetery'), a highly detailed example in the churchyard of
Parish of Saint Martin, and another known simply as ''La Gran' Mère'' in the Parish of
Castel. The latter is an earlier, less detailed example found buried underneath the porch of the parish church.
Image:La Dame de Saint-Sernin.jpg, Statue-menhir ''la Dame de Saint-Sernin'', musée Fenaille de Rodez
Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...
Image:Murat Statue menhir paillemalbiau.JPG, Statue menhir of Paillemalbiau (Murat-sur-Vèbre
Murat-sur-Vèbre (; ) is a commune in the Tarn department and Occitanie region of southern France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territo ...
)
Image:Statuamenhirlaconi.jpg, Statue menhir of Laconi, Sardinia
See also
*
Kurgan stele
*
Megalithic art
Megalithic art refers to art either painted or carved onto megaliths in prehistoric Europe and found on the structural elements, like the kerbstones, orthostats, or capstones of megalithic tombs, but recent investigations have included decorati ...
References
External links
Website about statue menhirs in southern FranceSouthern France MegalithsA. Soutou, "La ceinture des statues-menhirs du Haut-Languedoc : essai de datation", in ''Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française'', 1959, Vol. 56 Issue 11-12, pp. 715-721
Further reading
* Maillé, M. 2010 - ''Hommes et femmes de pierre, Statues-menhirs du Rouergue et du Haut Languedoc'', AEP, monographie, 538 pages, 2010.
*Martínez, P.; Fortó, A. Rufo, V. 2010, La estatua-menhir de Ca l'Estrada (Canovelles, Barcelona), una representación con elementos del grupo figurativo de la Rouergue (Aveyron, Francia), Munibe suplemento 32 , data =2007 , pàgines = p. 498-505 , lloc =Beasain
*Martínez, P. 2011, La estatua-menhir del Pla de les Pruneres (Mollet del Vallès) Complutum, 2011, Vol. 22 (1): 71–87. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Madri
*Moya, A.; Martínez, P.; López, J.B. 2010
Èssers de pedra. Estàtues-menhirs i esteles antropomorfes a l'art megalític de CatalunyaCypsela núm 18, pp 11–41. Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya, Girona.
* Servelle, Ch. 2009 - « Étude pétroarchéologique et technologique de la statue-menhir du Baïssas, Le Bez, Tarn », ''Archéologie Tarnaise'', n° 14, 2009, p. 115-121, 4 fig.
* Vaquer, J. et Maillé, M. 2011 - « Images de guerrier au Néolithique final - Chalcolithique dans le midi de la France : les poignards – figurations sur les statues-menhirs rouergates et objets réels », in ''L’armement du guerrier dans les sociétés anciennes : de l’objet à la tombe'', Actes de la table ronde internationale et interdisciplinaire, Sens, CEREP, 4 juin 2009. Dijon, éd. universitaires de Dijon, p. 103-120.
{{Prehistoric technology
Outdoor sculptures
Death customs
*
Prehistoric art
Types of monuments and memorials
Stone Age Europe
Stones
Southern France