Menhir de Champ-Dolent
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| Menhir de Champ-Dolent | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location in Brittany, France | |
| General information | |
| Location | Dol-de-Bretagne, Brittany, France |
| Coordinates | 48°32′06″N 1°44′21″W / 48.5350°N 1.73917°W |
| Years built | c. 4500 BC |
| Height | |
| Height | c. 9.4 meters |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Granite |
The Menhir de Champ-Dolent (French: [meniʁ də ʃɑ̃ dɔlɑ̃]; Breton: Maen-hir dolenn) is a menhir, or upright standing stone, located in a field outside the town of Dol-de-Bretagne. It is the second largest standing stone in Brittany and is around 9.4 metres high.
The Menhir de Champ-Dolent is 2 kilometres (1 mile) south of Dol-de-Bretagne in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine.[1][2] It is in a small picnic area fenced off among the fields near the D795 road.[3][4]
Description
The menhir is the second tallest of Brittany's standing stones.[1] Its height above ground is between 9.3 and 9.5 metres (about 31 feet).[5] It is made of pinkish granite,[4] quarried about 2.5 mi (4.0 km) away,[6] and has an estimated weight of around 100 tonnes.[5] It is oval in shape with a smooth surface.[2] A cross was once placed on top to Christianize it.[7] It is not precisely dated, but recent scholarship suggests that Brittany's menhirs were erected c. 5000–4000 BC.[8]
It has been registered as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1889.[9]
In folklore
According to legend, the menhir rose from the ground to separate two feuding brothers who were on the point of killing each other.[3][7] This legend is said to account for the name "Champ Dolent" which means "Field of Sorrow".[1] In reality, the word dolent is more likely to derive from Breton dolenn ("meadow").[10]
Another legend states that the menhir is slowly sinking into the ground, and the world will end when it disappears altogether.[3]
According to tradition, in the year 560, Chlothar I, King of the Franks, is said to have met his rebel son, Chram, here.[11]
