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Origin and history

The Cromlech de Charcé, located in Charcé-Saint-Ellier-sur-Aubance in the department of Maine-et-Loire, is a megalithic site whose remains include a 2.40-metre-high menhir in Eocene sandstone. This menhir, classified as a historical monument in 1889, was part of a set of blocks surrounding a dolmen called the Pierre Couverte de Beaupreau, located 19 metres northwest. The hypothesis of a cromlech surrounding this dolmen was put forward by Godard Faultrier, although this interpretation remains debated.

In 1946, Michel Gruet described a second still visible block, a rectangular prism of 1.65 m wide, located 17 m from the dolmen. According to Celestin Port, these scattered blocks could be the remains of a second menhir or a destroyed dolmen. The site, dated Neolithic, illustrates the funeral and ritual practices of this period, marked by the erection of megalithic monuments.

The cromlech and its remains, protected since 1889, offer a rare testimony to the megalithic constructions of the region. Their disposition and fragmentary state raise questions about their original function, between sacred space and collective burial. Studies conducted in the 20th century, such as those of Gruet or Port, have helped to document these structures, although their exact interpretation remains subject to caution.

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