La great Pierre Levée
La grosse Pierre Levée ( German "upright stone" - also Pierre levée des Fées de Gouffern called) is a menhir at the edge of the forest 'Forêt de Petite Gouffern ", southeast of Silly-en-Gouffern at Argentan in Orne in Normandy in France .
The Neolithic monolith made of red sandstone has a height of about 5.4 meters and a thickness of about one meter. There are indentations on the flat top, some of which appear to be man-made bowls ( French cupules ).
An excavation was carried out on the monolith in the 19th century. It spawned several wolf skulls. The sandstone blocks also found there are believed to be the remains of a dolmen that stood near the Pierre Levée.
The menhir was classified as a monument historique in 1889 .
Legend
In Lower Normandy, Brittany, Scotland and Ireland it was believed that the fairies acted as midwives . Legend has it that the holes at the top of the menhir are fairy prints.
Nearby is La Pierre-Levée (Bourge-Saint-Leonard).
Web links
- Menhir dit la Pierre Levée in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- Description and picture (English)
Coordinates: 48 ° 44 ′ 7.1 ″ N , 0 ° 6 ′ 26.4 ″ E