Big menhir from the island

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Grand Menhir of the island is part of a set of four menhirs located on Melon Island, in the commune of Porspoder (Finistery). These megaliths, dated from the Neolithic, are carved into the local granite of the Aber Ildut, a rock extracted on site. The site was mentioned as early as 1842 on the cadastral plane, and the large menhir, estimated to be between 6 and 7 metres high for a weight of 80 tons, was slightly inclined to the northeast. Its surfaces, regulated, had a trapezoidal form before its destruction.

Ranked a historic monument on 22 February 1921, the Grand Menhir survived several attempts to draw water before being energized by the German army on 2 March 1942, on the pretext that it served as a landmark for enemy ships. The fragments remained on site, and the menhir is now lying overturned at the southern tip of the island. A second menhir, smaller (1.20 m high), is located nearby, while traces such as a cupula or bullet strikes testify to its turbulent history.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, archaeologist Alfred Devoir documented the site with photographs and drawings. The main menhir, before its fall, was 2.40 m long after its fragmentation, with a thickness of between 0.50 and 0.60 m. Melon Island, in addition to its megalithic interest, was a major place to extract granite, a material used for these emblematic monuments of the Breton Neolithic.

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