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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Pierre Frite is a menhir located in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, in the department of l'Yonne, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. This megalithic monument, dated from the Neolithic, consists of a block of reddish conglomerate 1.60 m high, 2 m long and 70 cm thick. It is oriented east/northeast and already appears on a document dated 1642, attesting to its recognized seniority. Ranked as historical monuments by order of 7 September 1954, it constitutes a rare vestige of this period in the region.

In the immediate vicinity of the menhir, a protohistoric necropolis was discovered in 1938 about 200 m north. Composed of fifteen circular enclosures, it was partially searched between 1976 and 1982 before being destroyed by the exploitation of a quarry around 1950. The exhumed archaeological furniture, including bracelets, is now preserved at the Villeneuvian Museum. This association between menhir and necropolis suggests a continuous and ritualized human occupation of the site over several millennia.

Menhir, identified under the L 249 cadastre, has enjoyed legal protection for nearly 70 years. Its conservation status and its approximate location (estimated at 5/10) are studied by archaeologists, while remaining accessible to the public. The available sources, including Wikipedia and Monumentum, underline its heritage importance in the historical landscape of Yonne, although the details of its original use remain partially hypothetical.

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