Construction of menhir Néolithique (≈ 4100 av. J.-C.)
Estimated erection period for the monument.
1851
Addition of a Christian niche
Addition of a Christian niche 1851 (≈ 1851)
Crucially on the indication of Abbé Rousselot.
1888
Displacement of the menhir
Displacement of the menhir 1888 (≈ 1888)
Transportation to the Mail Garden.
6 janvier 1976
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 6 janvier 1976 (≈ 1976)
Registration by official order.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Abbé Rousselot - Vicar of Saint-Pierre
Sponsor of the niche in 1851.
Millet de la Turtaudière - Gravel (1865)
Documented the menhir still vertical.
Origin and history
The Great Menhir of the Guard, also known as the Great Stone of the Home of the Guard or the Vinegar Stone, is a local granite menhir, known as the Granite des Aubiers, originally located southwest of Cholet, near the Maulévrier road. A height of 3.60 m (including 70 cm buried), it presented itself as a prism with almost square sections, with rounded angles. His move in 1888 to the garden of the Mail, on a cart drawn by sixteen oxen, was motivated by his gradual collapse towards the road, requiring even night lighting to avoid accidents.
Originally, the menhir was oriented differently: its northeast face, wearing a niche dug in 1851 at the request of Abbé Rousselot, housed a statuette of the Virgin, now extinct. This niche was added to Christianize the monument, a common practice at the time to reinterpret pagan remains. The nickname Vinegar Stone comes from a local tradition of wine libations on the stone, accompanied by a joke consisting of crushing the nose of the victims against it to make them feel a sour smell, a ritual attested in other French regions.
A second menhir, the little menhir of the Field of the Guard, remains in place about 300 m southwest of the original location of the Grand Menhir. The latter, classified as Historical Monument in 1976, illustrates the importance of megalithic sites in Anjou, where granite was widely used to erect these funerary or symbolic monuments as early as Neolithic. Its transport in 1888, covering 5 km for a mass of 30 tons, reflects the logistical challenges of the time and the growing interest in preserving the heritage.
Menhirs, like the Guard, were often associated with collective beliefs or practices, although their exact functions (territorial marker, place of worship, funeral monument) remained under discussion. In Cholet, this monument embodies both a prehistoric heritage and subsequent cultural transformations, marked by Christianization and popular legends. Its movement in the 19th century also highlights the evolution of the perception of megaliths, passed from simple mysterious stones to objects of heritage to protect.
