Everyone has heard of or seen the prehistoric standing stones at Stonehenge in England. What is not well known is that there are many more standing stones in Britain and continental Europe.
Photo of Carnac, Brittany, France. Many standing stones in a field or paddock!(photo 44)
In the educational portion of our tour of Europe (and you bloggers thought we were on a total holiday!) we have explored the standing stones near Carnac near the coast in Brittany, France and later some Menhir (generic name for standing stones) and Dolmen (large single standing stone) near Castelo de Vide in Portugal, quite close to the Spanish border. It is thought that the stones near Carnac are older than Stonehenge and probably those in Portugal are also older but all the informationat the museum is in Portuguese so we cannot read it!
In the educational portion of our tour of Europe (and you bloggers thought we were on a total holiday!) we have explored the standing stones near Carnac near the coast in Brittany, France and later some Menhir (generic name for standing stones) and Dolmen (large single standing stone) near Castelo de Vide in Portugal, quite close to the Spanish border. It is thought that the stones near Carnac are older than Stonehenge and probably those in Portugal are also older but all the informationat the museum is in Portuguese so we cannot read it!
Photo of Carnac stones in the forest (photo 34)
At Erdevan near Carnac, there are a whole series of Menhir (standing stones) spread over about 30kms along an old walking road or route, which is now mainly forest. They rest quietly in the forest waiting patiently for the tourists. It is a fantastic cycling or walking trail if you wish to follow all the sites. Individual stones are not tall however there are many of them.
At Erdevan near Carnac, there are a whole series of Menhir (standing stones) spread over about 30kms along an old walking road or route, which is now mainly forest. They rest quietly in the forest waiting patiently for the tourists. It is a fantastic cycling or walking trail if you wish to follow all the sites. Individual stones are not tall however there are many of them.
Photo of Mehir in village of Locmariaquer, Brittany (49), near Carnac also
As well as standing stones there are burial mounds in Brittany. Some are now surrounded by housing and farming land, it seems incongruous to have a burial mound or some Menhir in the town behind some houses!
Photo of Menhir in Portugal (251). The lady tourist gives some perspective to the height of the stone
There are also many pre-historic stones in the Iberian Peninsula. We only found some in Portugal but there are also many in Spain nearby. The ones we found were off the beaten track and in the midst of working farmland. It was only the signs that lead us there and we were the only tourists to look at them whilst we were there.
Photo(258) of standing stones (anta in portuguese language) near Costelo de Vide in Portugal
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