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Judi Lynn

(162,437 posts)
Thu Jun 8, 2023, 01:25 PM Jun 2023

Fury in France after 40 ancient standing stones erected by prehistoric humans 7,000 years ago near f

Fury in France after 40 ancient standing stones erected by prehistoric humans 7,000 years ago near famed Carnac archaeological site are destroyed to make way for a DIY store

  • According to locals, the site was to be submitted to UNESCO as a heritage site
  • Some 37 stones standing between half-a-metre and a metre were destroyed

    By CHRISTIAN OLIVER
    PUBLISHED: 08:28 EDT, 8 June 2023 | UPDATED: 08:32 EDT, 8 June 2023


    Fury has erupted in France after dozens of seven-thousand-year-old standing stones erected by prehistoric humans were destroyed to make way for a DIY store.

    Some 37 stones standing between half-a-metre and a metre were each destroyed by the development of the large construction for a Mr. Bricolage outlet in Carnac, in Brittany, northwest France.

    According to local amateur archaeologist Christian Obeltz, the site had been on France's National Archeological map since 2015, as well as being on the town's official list of local megaliths.

    They say the site was also going to be submitted to France's Ministry of Culture with a view to listing it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    Carnac is famous for its ancient menhir - heavy raised standing stones - which spread across three alignments: Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan.

    More:
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12173517/Fury-France-40-ancient-standing-stones-destroyed-make-way-DIY-store.html

    ~ ~ ~

    The mystery of France's 'Stonehenge'

    https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0d0clf2.webp

    By Hugh Tucker

    15th September 2022

    Built 1,000 years before the famed English site, the Alignements de Carnac's 3,000 perfectly aligned stones continue to baffle historians.



    Not far from the wide, sun-drenched beaches of Carnac in France's north-western Brittany region, I stood and looked out at the endless rows of standing stones that make up the Alignements de Carnac (Carnac Alignments). The tall, roughly hewn stones were divided into symmetrical, evenly spaced columns that disappeared into the distance, and I could see how the local legend of Saint Cornély had arisen.

    Supposedly, Saint Cornély (the patron saint of cattle), pursued by a legion of Roman soldiers and finding no other means of escape, had hidden in the ear of an ox and turned the legionnaires to stone. Needless to say, this isn't the true origin of the Alignments. Aside from the unlikely transfiguration, the standing stones predate the Roman Empire by at least 3,000 years. But in a superstitious time, this was probably a plausible explanation for a mystery that baffles experts to this day.

    Stretching 4km along the coast of Brittany and consisting of more than 3,000 menhirs (man-made, often tapered, stones erected in prehistoric times across Western Europe – not unlike those Obelix from the Asterix comics made a career sculpting and delivering), the Carnac Alignments represent the largest group of man-made standing stones in the world. Like Stonehenge, their purpose, what they represent and who placed them are mysteries shrouded in theory and legend. Yet, their place as one of the most important sites of European prehistory is undisputed.

    Radiocarbon dating has determined that the granite menhirs were erected by a Neolithic community around 6,000 years ago (about 1,000 years before Stonehenge). The stones range in size from 0.5m tall to the hulking Giant of Manio, which soars 6m, with an average-sized menhir weighing between five and 10 tonnes. They were generally quarried from the bedrock that lies close to the surface of the site and hauled and erected using pulleys and brute strength. Given the superhuman effort needed to create them, the Alignments would have held enormous significance, but the site's administrator, Olivier Agogué, believes that true purpose of the Alignments will likely remain unknown.

    More:
    https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220914-carnac-alignments-brittanys-mysterious-standing-stones














    ~ ~ ~

    28 april 2021 france
    10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE CARNAC STANDING STONES




    Most people have pondered the mysterious stones of Stonehenge, but the Carnac standing stones in Brittany, France, may be even more fascinating. This UNESCO World Heritage site is comprised of thousands of granite stones perfectly aligned over several kilometres, making it the largest megalithic site in the world. If you haven’t had a chance to visit yet, you should be adding this site to your bucket list and taking advantage of the online virtual tour.

    More:
    http://www.bisousdescaribous.com/2021/04/10-interesting-facts-about-carnac.html

    ~ ~ ~

    Unbelievable!
  • 29 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
    Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
    Fury in France after 40 ancient standing stones erected by prehistoric humans 7,000 years ago near f (Original Post) Judi Lynn Jun 2023 OP
    WTaF? UpInArms Jun 2023 #1
    What you said. 👆 Rebl2 Jun 2023 #13
    either the developers and contractors get away with it Tetrachloride Jun 2023 #2
    Whether they do or don't, the stones are destroyed. Richard D Jun 2023 #19
    This is an outrage Wicked Blue Jun 2023 #3
    I've been there. What a crime! GPV Jun 2023 #4
    This is unimaginable.... Karadeniz Jun 2023 #5
    Too late to save the site, but wnylib Jun 2023 #6
    Looking at the shot from above... 3825-87867 Jun 2023 #7
    It's an ancient order for DIY materials speak easy Jun 2023 #17
    It's obviously a 7-bit baudot code from the early punched tape days erronis Jun 2023 #18
    I think I can make it out... mwooldri Jun 2023 #22
    Or the intergalactic message from Hitchhikers Guide posted on some intergalactic message board erronis Jun 2023 #23
    Ehehe :) :) :) NT mwooldri Jun 2023 #24
    Yet another example of crummy reporting. WHY did they not name the store? PatrickforB Jun 2023 #8
    The store is mentioned - an outlet for Mr. Bricolage (French for "knick-knack"), so a chain store. TheRickles Jun 2023 #9
    WoW-- fascinating site but what a horrific act LymphocyteLover Jun 2023 #10
    That's why I hate most "developers". They only care about $$. Only. Disgusting. Evolve Dammit Jun 2023 #11
    I think the encompassing term is "Capitalists" erronis Jun 2023 #21
    Same principal applies. Amassing/ Hoarding and screwing everyone you can. Starts early huh? Evolve Dammit Jun 2023 #25
    Travesty Wild blueberry Jun 2023 #12
    Incidents such as these need to be brought before an international court. 70sEraVet Jun 2023 #14
    Mound destruction in Ohio, too Marthe48 Jun 2023 #15
    Do they intend to destroy more than 37? SleeplessinSoCal Jun 2023 #16
    There are over 3000 stones in Carnac... druidity33 Jun 2023 #26
    Do we know what the people who created this look like? SleeplessinSoCal Jun 2023 #27
    No. Actually we don't. nt. druidity33 Jun 2023 #28
    Yet, DNA has provided a possibility. SleeplessinSoCal Jun 2023 #29
    Carnac? LudwigPastorius Jun 2023 #20

    UpInArms

    (51,824 posts)
    1. WTaF?
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 01:41 PM
    Jun 2023

    I hope that the spirits of the past destroy the peace of all those who had a hand in destroying this.

    Richard D

    (9,377 posts)
    19. Whether they do or don't, the stones are destroyed.
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 04:12 PM
    Jun 2023

    A fine or any punishment could never make up for that.

    wnylib

    (24,506 posts)
    6. Too late to save the site, but
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 02:56 PM
    Jun 2023

    I'd get vengeance by organizing protests and a boycott of the new store until it goes out of business.

    Might direct some of that at the contractors, too.

    3825-87867

    (1,113 posts)
    7. Looking at the shot from above...
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 03:00 PM
    Jun 2023

    It almost looks as though they are laid out in some binary(?) code!
    6000 year old Extra Terrestrial Visitors leaving a card for our future thoughts?

    erronis

    (16,909 posts)
    18. It's obviously a 7-bit baudot code from the early punched tape days
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 04:11 PM
    Jun 2023

    They just used stones instead of hanging chads.

    mwooldri

    (10,415 posts)
    22. I think I can make it out...
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 04:33 PM
    Jun 2023

    I believe it reads...

    "We've been trying to reach you about your spaceship's extended warranty".

    erronis

    (16,909 posts)
    23. Or the intergalactic message from Hitchhikers Guide posted on some intergalactic message board
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 04:43 PM
    Jun 2023

    Only we can't read it - yet. Give us another 2.71828 cosmic burps...

    PatrickforB

    (15,114 posts)
    8. Yet another example of crummy reporting. WHY did they not name the store?
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 03:16 PM
    Jun 2023

    If it is corporate owned we could do letter writing campaigns and boycott. I know I enjoy calling up corporate offices and discussing things like price gouging...Why not call up a company that is so greed-centered that they do something like this just for PROFITS?

    erronis

    (16,909 posts)
    21. I think the encompassing term is "Capitalists"
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 04:33 PM
    Jun 2023

    Perhaps capitalism has some merit - using tokens to trade instead of actual goods.

    But Capitalists want to hoard these tokens. And they can never have enough or care about those that need a few.

    Makes me think about how I used to play "Crazy-8s". I'd amass all the "8"s and then would generally win the game. Of course, my playmates were in their early years and I was perhaps 12.

    70sEraVet

    (4,171 posts)
    14. Incidents such as these need to be brought before an international court.
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 03:50 PM
    Jun 2023

    This criminal act robbed all of mankind of a great piece of its history.
    I dont doubt that France will issue a harsh punishment, but many governments are uncaring, if not complicit, in such destruction of important historical sights.

    Marthe48

    (19,114 posts)
    15. Mound destruction in Ohio, too
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 03:59 PM
    Jun 2023

    Why can't existing developed property be reused? Updated? Repurposed? With the Internet at hand, who even shops in brick and mortar stores? The stones lasted a lot longer than some hyped-up junk shop will.

    SleeplessinSoCal

    (9,688 posts)
    16. Do they intend to destroy more than 37?
    Thu Jun 8, 2023, 04:02 PM
    Jun 2023

    From images there appears to be many more than 37. Can there not be an urgent cease and desist?

    Question: Who would want to shop for knickknacks there after this?

    druidity33

    (6,568 posts)
    26. There are over 3000 stones in Carnac...
    Fri Jun 9, 2023, 07:24 AM
    Jun 2023

    that encompass several square kilometers. It's more like a galaxy of stones than a constellation of them. It also looks as if these dozens were a smaller "out of the way" grouping. The developer may or may not have known what they were doing when they removed them. I can see how it could have happened accidentally, though it's sad regardless. There's enough documentation that they could be replaced (sort of)... if they can be found.



    Edited to add from article in OP:

    "'The Chemin de Montauban site included two intersecting rows of small granite stelae, each spreading out over fifty meters in length. One had been exactly in its original place for 7,000 years,' Obeltz wrote in a blog post.

    'The small menhirs of the Chemin de Montauban were undoubtedly one of the oldest sets of stelae in the town of Carnac' believed to date between 5480 and 5320 BC, 'the highest dating obtained for a menhir in the west of France'."

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