Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Kerdeval Menhir, located in Penmarch in Finistère, is a natural block of 6.60 meters long retouched to evoke human legs, belly and navel, while its head resembles that of a horse. Found lying on a bed of pebbles and clay, it was surrounded by debris, suggesting an ancient fall. A striker, the only archaeological object found nearby, attests to an ancient human occupation.

Ranked a Historic Monument by decree of February 2, 1929, this menhir was first mentioned in 1919. Its horizontal position, combined with local traditions, evokes a legendary reversal by Saint-Guénolé. At the turn of the 20th century, fires or candles were lit on the eve of religious holidays to rule out the bad fate, revealing its persistent symbolic importance.

The excavations conducted at the beginning of the twentieth century, notably by Commander Bénard and Abbé Favret, documented this site in the Bulletin of the Société Archéologique du Finistère (1921). Menhir, owned by the commune of Penmarch, illustrates Breton megalithic practices and their re-appropriation by Christian folklore. Its present state and archaeological context make it a rare testimony of neolithic beliefs and their posterity.

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