A menhir is a large, single upright standing stone (monolith or megalith), of prehistoric European origin. The word menhir was adopted, via French, by 19th century archaeologists on the basis of words in the Breton language meaning "long stone" (compare Modern Welsh: maen hir = long stone). In modern Breton the word peulvan is used. The largest surviving menhir is at Locmariaquer, Brittany, the Grand Menhir Brisé ("Great Broken Menhir") which was once about 20 meters high. It lies broken in f ...

Including:

• Menhir - Partial list of menhirs
• Menhir - England
• Menhir - France
• Menhir - Germany
• Menhir - Malta
• Menhir - Portugal
• Menhir - Scandinavia
• Menhir - Wales

Read more here: » Menhir: Encyclopedia - Menhir

Menhir

ÒLong Stone. Ó See Stonehenge.

(See also: Menhir, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Menhir

ÒLong Stone. Ó See Stonehenge.

(See also: Menhir, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Menhir - England. Drizzlecombe, Dartmoor Beardown Man, Dartmoor Laughter Tor, near Two Bridges, Dartmoor Menhir - France. Carnac, Brittany Filitosa, Corsica Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens, Gironde [3] (5 m high and 3 m wide, can be found at the nearby port of Pierrefite) Cham des Bondons, [[Lozère Menhir - Germany. Gollenstein, Blieskastel (6.6 m high) Spellenstein, St. Ingbert (5 m high)See also:

Menhir, Menhir - Partial list of menhirs, Menhir - England, Menhir - France, Menhir - Germany, Menhir - Malta, Menhir - Portugal, Menhir - Scandinavia, Menhir - Wales

Read more here: » Menhir: Encyclopedia II - Menhir - Partial list of menhirs

For many thousands of years our ancestors have been visiting and venerating the power places of Europe. One culture after another has often frequented the same power sites and the story of how these magical places were discovered and used is filled with fairies and nature spirits, sages and astronomers, and enigmatic myths of world destroying cataclysms.

Read more here: » Sacred Sites: Pilgrimage in Ancient Europe - Megalithic and Celtic Sacred Space

The Almendres Cromlech megalithic complex, located near Evora - Portugal, is one mankind’s first public monuments. It's the largest existing group of structured menhirs in the Iberian Peninsula, and one of the largest in Europe. This megalithic monument consisted originally of more than an hundred monoliths, some of which over the ages were taken away for other uses. A recent digging showed that there were several ...

Including:

• Almendres Cromlech - Almendres Menhir
• Almendres Cromlech - Related topics

Read more here: » Almendres Cromlech: Encyclopedia - Almendres Cromlech

The Björketorp Runestone (DR 360 U) in Blekinge, Sweden, is part of a grave field which includes menhirs, both solitary and forming stone circles. It is one of the world's tallest rune stones measuring 4.2 metres in height, and it forms an imposing sight together with two high uninscribed menhirs. Björketorp Runestone - Inscription. The runes were made in the 6th or the 7th century and in Proto-Norse (a similar message is given on the Stentoften Runestone). It i ...

Including:

• Björketorp Runestone - Inscription
• Björketorp Runestone - Analysis
• Björketorp Runestone - Tradition
• Björketorp Runestone - Bibliography

Read more here: » Björketorp Runestone: Encyclopedia - Björketorp Runestone

A few kilometers from the megalitc complex stands the Almendres Menhir, a single standing menhir from the same period. ...

See also:

Almendres Cromlech, Almendres Cromlech - Almendres Menhir

Read more here: » Almendres Cromlech: Encyclopedia II - Almendres Cromlech - Almendres Menhir

The French archaeologist Jean-Pierre Mohan in his book Le Monde des Megalithes described the unusual concentration of stone circles in the British Isles as follows: British Isles megalithism is outstanding in the abundance of standing stones, and the variety of circular architectural complexes of which they formed a part...strikingly original, they have no equivalent elsewhere in Europe - stron ...

See also:

Stone circle, Stone circle - Stone circles in the British Isles, Stone circle - Links

Read more here: » Stone circle: Encyclopedia II - Stone circle - Stone circles in the British Isles

The French archaeologist Jean-Pierre Mohan in his book Le Monde des Megalithes described the unusual concentration of stone circles in the British Isles as follows: British Isles megalithism is outstanding in the abundance of standing stones, and the variety of circular architectural complexes of which they formed a part...strikingly original, they have no equivalent elsewhere in Europe - stron ...

See also:

Stone circle, Stone circle - Stone circles in the British Isles

Read more here: » Stone circle: Encyclopedia II - Stone circle - Stone circles in the British Isles

British enthusiasts, such as the editors of the Penguin Dictionary of Archaeology, claim that henges are unique to the British Isles and that similar, much earlier, circles on the Continent, such as Goseck circle are not proper "henges". Another such enthusiast is Julian Cope whose book, The Megalithic European, proposes that the henge was a regional development from the Europe-wide causewayed enclosure, appearing following a cultural upheaval in around 3000 BC which inspired the peoples of Neolithic Europe to develop more inde ...

See also:

Henge, Henge - Distribution, Henge - Forms, Henge - Theories about henges, Henge - Sources

Read more here: » Henge: Encyclopedia II - Henge - Distribution

They are classified as Class I henges which have a single entrance created from a gap in the bank; Class II henges, which have two entrances, opposite each other; and Class III henges which have four entrances, facing each other in pairs. Sub groups exist for these when two or three internal ditches are present rather than one. Henges are usually associated with the Late Neolithic, especially the grooved ware culture, the Peterborough culture and the beaker people. Sites such as Stonehenge also provide evidence of activity from the l ...

See also:

Henge, Henge - Distribution, Henge - Forms, Henge - Theories about henges, Henge - Sources

Read more here: » Henge: Encyclopedia II - Henge - Forms

Henges may have been used for rituals, or astronomical observation rather than being areas of day-to-day activity. The fact that their ditches are located inside their banks indicates that they would not have been used in a defensive function and that the barrier the earthworks provide is more likely to have been symbolic rather than functional. It has been conjectured that whatever took place inside the enclosures was intended to be separate from the outside world and perh ...

See also:

Henge, Henge - Distribution, Henge - Forms, Henge - Theories about henges, Henge - Sources

Read more here: » Henge: Encyclopedia II - Henge - Theories about henges

The site was discovered in 1946 by the owner of the land, Charles-Antoine Cesari. Systematic excavations started in 1954. Finds of arrow heads and pottery date earliest inhabitation to 3300 BC. Around 1500 BC, 2-3 metre menhirs were erected. They have been carved with representations of human faces, armour and weapons. It is thought the menhirs may have been erected to ward of an invasion of a group of people called the Torréens (Torreans). However this was unsuccessful: the menhirs were cast down, broken up and reused in some cases ...

See also:

Filitosa, Filitosa - Location, Filitosa - Site history and features, Filitosa - Layout

Read more here: » Filitosa: Encyclopedia II - Filitosa - Site history and features

Rising sea levels transformed Guernsey into the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the emergent English Channel until about 6000 BC, when Guernsey and other promontories were cut off from continental Europe, becoming islands. At this time, Neolithic farmers settled the coasts and created the dolmens and menhirs that dot the islands. The island of Guernsey contains three sculpted menhirs of great archaeological interest; the dolmen known as L'Autel du ...

See also:

Guernsey, Guernsey - History, Guernsey - Politics, Guernsey - Geography, Guernsey - Economy, Guernsey - Demographics, Guernsey - Culture, Guernsey - Sport in Guernsey

Read more here: » Guernsey: Encyclopedia II - Guernsey - History

In Western Europe and the Mediterranean, megaliths are generally constructions erected during the Neolithic or late stone age and Chalcolithic or Copper Age (4500 - 1500 B.C.E). Perhaps the most famous megalithic structure is Stonehenge in England, although many others are known throughout the world. The French Comte de Caylus was the first to describe the Monuments of Carnac. Legrand d'Aussy introduced the terms menhir and dolmen, both taken from the Breton language, into antiquarian ...

See also:

Megalith, Megalith - Distribution of megaliths, Megalith - Nabta Playa, Megalith - Western European megaliths, Megalith - Types of megalithic structures, Megalith - Megalithic graves, Megalith - Astronomical use, Megalith - Modern megaliths, Megalith - Examples of megaliths

Read more here: » Megalith: Encyclopedia II - Megalith - Western European megaliths

The tradition of raising runestones probably evolved from the old tradition of raising menhirs in honour of a deceased during the Pre-Roman and Roman Iron Ages. The tradition is both mentioned in the Heimskringla and Hávamál. The menhirs probably had painted inscriptions which disappeared over time, but they were later replaced by carvings that lasted longer.[1] Long before their conversion to Christianity, Old Norse-speaking peoples, like other Germanic peoples, had their own mode of writing with its own distinctive alphabet –– ...

See also:

Rune stone, Rune stone - Traditions, Rune stone - Locations, Rune stone - Types, Rune stone - Colorization, Rune stone - List of Rune Stones articles, Rune stone - Sweden, Rune stone - American Rune Stones, Rune stone - External link

Read more here: » Rune stone: Encyclopedia II - Rune stone - Traditions

Late Neolithic standing stones called the menhirs of the Cham des Bondons, the largest concentration of menhirs in the south of France, bear mute witness to the long prehistory of human occupation here. The village was a fief of the Knights Hospitaller. Guillaume de Grimoard, future pope under the name of Urban V, was born in the Château de Grizac here in 1309. The picturesquely-sited structure, no larger than a farm, reveals its defensive nature by its narrow windows, perched high in its granite walls, and its four-square tower, now topless. Charles V exempted the seigneurie de Grizac from all taxes, a privi ...

See also:

Le Pont-de-Montvert, Le Pont-de-Montvert - Sights, Le Pont-de-Montvert - History, Le Pont-de-Montvert - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Le Pont-de-Montvert: Encyclopedia II - Le Pont-de-Montvert - History

Brittany is famous for its megalithic monuments, which are scattered over the peninsula, the largest alignments are near Carnac. The purpose of these monuments is still unknown, and many local people are reluctant to entertain speculation on the subject. The words dolmen (from "daol" table and "maen" stone) and menhir (from "maen" stone and "hir" high) come from the Breton language, even though they are hardly used in Breton. Brittany is also known for its (calvaries), elaborately carved sculptures of crucifixion scenes, to be found in churchyards of villages and small tow ...

See also:

Brittany, Brittany - History, Brittany - Sights, Brittany - Language, Brittany - Culture, Brittany - Religion, Brittany - Gastronomy, Brittany - Climate, Brittany - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Brittany: Encyclopedia II - Brittany - Sights

Mull has been inhabited since around 6000 BC. Bronze Age inhabitants built menhirs, brochs and a stone circle. In the 14th century Mull became part of the Lordship of the Isles. After the collapse of the Lordship in 1493 the island was taken over by the clan MacLean, and in 1681 by the clan Campbell. In 1588 one of the ships of the Spanish Armada, Florenica, was moored in Tobermory Bay and blown up there, reputedly with £300,000 of gold bullion on board. During the Highland Clearances in the 18th and 19th centuries, the popula ...

See also:

Isle of Mull, Isle of Mull - Features, Isle of Mull - History, Isle of Mull - Tour of Mull, Isle of Mull - Movies and TV, Isle of Mull - Geography, Isle of Mull - Settlements, Isle of Mull - Islands

Read more here: » Isle of Mull: Encyclopedia II - Isle of Mull - History