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Les Pierres Jumelles
Trip No.203 Entry No.283 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5
Les Pierres Jumelles submitted by theCaptain on 24th Jan 2011. The two stones are both about 4 metres high, but that is where the similarity between them ends.
One is a tall pointed grey stone.
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Log Text: The Pierres Jumelles, or twin stones, are set into a little area beside the old road (which has now been bypassed twice) opposite to the aptly named Chateau Pierre Levée. The two stones are both about 4 metres high, but that is where the similarity between them ends.
One of the stones is a rounded block of lovely pink granite, while the other is a tall pointed grey stone. They are set about 6 metres apart from each other. The pink stone really does shine and sparkle in the evening sunlight - it really is a wonderful stone, and is one of my favourites of all I have seen. There is wonderful lichen growing on both menhirs.
Puy Durand menhir
Trip No.203 Entry No.282 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Couldn't find on 6th Jun 2005
Puy Durand menhir submitted by Rubis on 22nd Jul 2010. Puy Durand menhir
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Log Text: They sell postcards of this menhir, and it looks massive. I found Puy Durand, and had a good look all around, but could not find any signs of the menhir. There are lots of private and fenced off areas here, so the menhir is probably inside one of these.
C.A.I.R.N.
Trip No.203 Entry No.281 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Museum
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 5
C.A.I.R.N. submitted by thecaptain on 2nd Jul 2005. Ethiopian dolmen reconstruction.
When I visited the wonderful CAIRN Museum, St Hilaire-la-Foret, Vendée, France, there was a fabulous exhibition of megaliths recently discovered in Ethiopia. The similarity between some of the Ethiopian exhibits, and some of those found in France was immediately apparent, which makes you realise how similar people from all over the world are.
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Log Text: What a nice find this is. In an area of numerous menhirs and dolmens is this lovely “living” museum which is easily found and signposted from all around. CAIRN (Centre Archéologique d'Initiation et de Recherche sur le Néolithique) is not only a museum with the usual displays of things and exhibitions but is a research and learning centre which delights in demonstrating ancient ways to people especially children.
When I Visited there was a fabulous temporary exhibition of megaliths in Ethiopia as well as one of the best displays of neolithic life and times in the locality with very interesting models and explanations of the types and developments of dolmens. The similarity between some of the Ethiopian exhibits and the local was immediately apparent which makes you realise how similar people from all over the world are.
But where this museum rates really world class is in its outdoor exhibits and reconstructions. I think the demonstrations are only done on days in July and August or if an occasion has been organised beforehand and I was lucky in that a school party was there for the day. Demonstrations are done showing how life was several millennia ago and there is a reconstruction Neolithic house and there are representative crops grown on site preparing and cooking with the children getting involved with things like grinding corn.
They have a new dolmen and tumulus they are building the erection of menhirs is demonstrated making of a log boat flint knapping stone polishing. It’s all here. They even have a set aside area for excavations to be made which is a sort of large sandpit split into metre squares with certain planted objects for the kids to dig up and discover. I saw one of the demonstration team lighting fire with sticks and hay in two minutes and the look on the children’s faces as he was doing this was just wonderful as if magic were being done.
When I said what I was doing it was suggested that I came back later to talk to the chap doing the demonstrations which I did. He seemed very interested in what I was doing trying to get as many French megalithic sites known and on the internet for all to see and said he thought exactly the same way in that the more these places are known the better protected they will be. He told me of many places in the vicinity which have been destroyed in recent years particularly the 1960’s and 1970’s despite them being scheduled monuments in the greed for farmers to make bigger more open fields. He told me of a story where he knew people who were living where there were two big menhirs within sight of their house and they were woken early one morning by them being dynamited in order to get rid of them.
Fontaine Saint Gré menhirs
Trip No.203 Entry No.279 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Fontaine Saint Gré menhirs submitted by thecaptain on 10th Dec 2005. Near to the Fontaine Ste Gré spring there are two menhirs to be seen.
In the hedge beside the lane which leads to the Fontaine Ste Gré, just beside the entrance to the field within which the spring is, can be found this menhir, about 2.5 metres tall, but very well hidden and overgrown within the hedge.
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Log Text: In the hedge beside the little lane which leads to the Fontaine Ste Gré, just beside the entrance to the field within which the spring is, can be found this menhir. It is about 2.5 metres tall, but very well hidden and overgrown within the hedge.
The other menhir is somewhere in a hedge beside the big pond below the spring, inside a private garden. I couldn’t find this one.
Fontaine Saint Gré tumulus
Trip No.203 Entry No.278 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 4
Fontaine Saint Gré tumulus submitted by thecaptain on 10th Dec 2005. Not far from the Fontaine Saint Gré spring, is the remains of a large long mound.
At the eastern end of this mound is a large granite slab, which is the remains of a burial chamber.
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Log Text: Not far from the Fontaine Ste Gré spring is the remains of a large long mound. At the eastern end of this mound is a large granite slab, which is the remains of a burial chamber.
Fontaine Saint Gré
Trip No.203 Entry No.277 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 4
Fontaine Saint Gré submitted by thecaptain on 10th Dec 2005. This is an ancient spring with little pond in amongst some large granite blocks near to the village of Avrillé.
The spring water seeps into the pond from out of a fissure in one of the granite slabs at the side, from quite well above the water line.
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Log Text: This is an ancient spring and little pond in amongst some large granite blocks. The spring water seeps into the little pond from out of a fissure in one of the granite slabs at the side, from quite well above the water line.
There are two menhirs, a tumulus and ruined dolmen within a hundred metres of the spring, although they are quite difficult to determine amongst the natural stone in the area. The Fontaine is signposted from nearby and in the village.
La Garnerie menhir
Trip No.203 Entry No.276 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Access 2
La Garnerie menhir submitted by thecaptain on 13th Dec 2005. La Garnerie menhir is a great big menhir in a field of barley, and there was no way I was going to get to it.
I would estimate it to be 4 to 5 metres tall and it is nicely rounded.
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Log Text: This is a great big menhir in a field of barley, and there was no way I was going to get to it. I would estimate it to be 4 to 5 metres tall and it is nicely rounded. My gps position is to the field gate from where it can be seen.
Alignement dit de La Petite Pierre
Trip No.203 Entry No.275 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5
Alignement dit de La Petite Pierre submitted by thecaptain on 5th Jul 2005. Alignement de la Pierre, near the wonderfully rich megalithic centre of Avrillé in Vendée.
The central stone is about 5.5 metres tall.
This is only one of many such arrangements in the locality.
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Log Text: Just outside the grounds of the chateau, along the little lane which runs to the south west from Avrillé, can be found this nice setting of three stones at the roadside in a little grassy clearing. Two 2.5 metre tall stones are positioned either side of a 5.5 metre high monster. All have been shaped, and the back face of all three stones is very flat. Thinking about this, it is probably the front face of each stone which is flat, and these face towards the east, although this is currently forested.
This is a really nice setting of stones, of which there were once many more similar examples in the region, and indeed perhaps lines up with the Bois de Fourgon Alignments in the grounds of the Chateau, and the Camp de César menhir in the centre of Avrillé which itself was once the mid stone of a three stone setting. While here, there was a donkey going off loudly nearby, and several cockerels having a lot to say about matters.
Menhirs du Bois du Fourgon
Trip No.203 Entry No.274 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Couldn't find on 6th Jun 2005
Menhirs du Bois du Fourgon submitted by Flickr on 31st May 2016. Avrillé - Alignement mégalithique G2 du Bois de Fourgon Image copyright: jpdelalune, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.
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Log Text: There are several sets of alignements to be found in the grounds of the Chateau, of which you have to pay for entry to be able to get in and see them. I didn’t have tome to do a tour of the Chateau, so was not able to visit these stones, of which at least three rows exist.
La Sulette Dolmen
Trip No.203 Entry No.273 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5
La Sulette dolmen submitted by thecaptain on 13th Dec 2005. La Sulette dolmen, St Hilaire-la-Foret, Vendée
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Log Text: This is a pleasant find, as it has been fully excavated and restored in 1989 to 1991, and is now found completely within its mound. It is a small Angevin dolmen, with a 2 metre by 2 metre chamber made using 4 side stones with drystone walling between them. It has a single capstone, and again, it has a smoothed slab on the floor. The chamber opens to the outside at the east, where there is a small entrance portal.
Créchaudes Dolmen
Trip No.203 Entry No.272 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4
Créchaudes dolmen submitted by thecaptain on 13th Dec 2005. Créchaudes dolmen
This dolmen is either a wreck, not much more than several stones in a field, or alternatively, it may still be in its mound, of which there is an overgrown example at the side of the field.
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Log Text: Unless I somehow missed this dolmen, it is a wreck, not much more than several stones in a field. Alternatively, it may still be in its mound, of which there is an overgrown example at the side of the field.
Menhirs du Plessis
Trip No.203 Entry No.270 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4
Menhirs du Plessis submitted by thecaptain on 13th Dec 2005. Menhirs du Plessis, Le Bernard, Vendée
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Log Text: At this site, there was once an equilateral triangle of three large menhirs, each 100 metres apart, but now only two remain after the eastern one was destroyed in 1860. They are easily found and well signposted in the locality.
The northern stone is a lovely dressed menhir 7.5 metres tall. It fell and was re-erected in 1977.
The southern menhir is much smaller than its neighbour, at about 4 metres high, but again is a very nicely dressed piece of granite. It is said that there was once a stone block with engravings at its foot, but this stone has now disappeared.
Pey de Fontaine
Trip No.203 Entry No.268 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4
Pey de Fontaine submitted by thecaptain on 15th Dec 2005. The largest prehistoric monument in the departement of Vendée, this is a large stone cairn which contains two dolmen chambers with entry passageways.
The two chambers each have entry corridors of 20 metres length, opening out to the southeast.
However, the monument is not much to look at at present, as it is undergoing excavations prior to restoration, and it looks a bit like an empty building site.
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Log Text: The largest prehistoric monument in the departement of Vendée, this is a large stone cairn which contains two dolmens with entry passageways. Estimated to be 6000 years old, the cairn is rectangular, about 35 metres by 30 metres and is built with several drystone wall steps. The two chambers each have entry corridors of 20 metres length, opening out to the southeast.
However, the monument is not much to look at at present, as it is undergoing excavations prior to restoration, and it looks a bit like an empty building site. it is found at the end of a long farm lane, and there was nowhere to turn my campervan around near the monument.
Pierre qui Vire (Russelet)
Trip No.203 Entry No.267 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5
Pierre qui Vire (Russelet) submitted by thecaptain on 10th Dec 2005. Pierre qui Vire (Russelet)
I thought I'd found a stone row here, but it turns out that the other stones lined up with it in the field are relatively modern placements by the local farmers as field clearance.
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Log Text: The Pierre qui Vire is a nice lichen covered stone, about 4 metres tall, 3 metres wide, and made from Gris rock - the only large menhir in this region which is, all others being made from granite.
The Pierre qui Vire, or the turning stone, is said to turn around each night, either at midnight, or the first call of a cockerel. I thought I'd found a stone row here, but it turns out that the other stones lined up with it in the field are relatively modern placements by the local farmers as field clearance.
Dolmen du Grand-Bouillac
Trip No.203 Entry No.266 Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Dolmen du Grand-Bouillac submitted by thecaptain on 10th Dec 2005. Grand Bouillac dolmen is a mid sized dolmen with entrance passageway just to the north of St Vincent-sur-Jard in Vendée
Dolmen du Grand-Bouillac
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Log Text: This is a mid sized dolmen with entrance passageway. The main chamber is about 3 metres square with its single capstone slightly fallen. As with many of the dolmens around here, it has a smoothed limestone slab as a floor. There are a couple of entrance passage stone pairs, one of these still with its capstone.
There is a sign which states that until a century ago, there were many menhirs within a few hundred metres of this dolmen, which was still within a large mound at that time.
Shaugh Moor South Cairn Circle
Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 25th Aug 2008
Shaugh Moor row submitted by thecaptain on 25th Aug 2008. This stone row is about 180 metres long, running uphill to a cairn with remnants of a surrounding circle.
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Log Text: None
Holne Ridge 2
Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 5th Oct 2010
Holne Ridge 2 submitted by TheCaptain on 5th Oct 2010. Holne Ridge cairn 2 looking west.
I didn’t think I was going to be able to find this as the area it’s in is all covered by fern and bracken, but it was quite obvious once I got near.
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Log Text: None
Holne Ridge 6
Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 5th Oct 2010
Holne Ridge 6 submitted by TheCaptain on 5th Oct 2010. Holne Ridge cairn 6, looking east.
This is a nice ring cairn about 12 metres diameter, with a clear ring of stones and rubble surrounding a flat platform within it. There seems to be remnants of a kerb in places.
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Log Text: None
Holne Ridge 5
Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 5th Oct 2010
Holne Ridge 5 submitted by TheCaptain on 5th Oct 2010. Holne Ridge cairn 5.
This is a fairly large and prominent round cairn, about 14 metres diameter and 1.5 metres tall. However, I wasn't going to look too closely, as there were some stroppy looking guard cows staring me down!
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Log Text: None
Menhir du tumulus du Moustoir
Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 10th Jun 2006
Menhir du tumulus du Moustoir submitted by thecaptain on 10th Jun 2006. The Moustoir tumulus has a small menhir on the top at the eastern end, about 2.1 metres high and quite slender, and of a sort of circular section.
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Log Text: None