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Origin and history

The Menhir de Squividan, also known as Menhir du Reun or Skividan, is an imposing stone block located in the municipality of Treffiagat in Finistère. Measuring about 6 meters high for a width exceeding 2 meters, it was erected at the top of a small rocky eminence overlooking a coastal plain. Its toponyme Breton Le Reun evokes precisely this high position, typical of the megalithic sites of the region.

The monument was excavated around 1880 by archaeologist Paul du Châtellier, who discovered a deep caling pit of nearly 1 metre, filled with small blocks to stabilize the menhir. Exhumed artifacts – drills, flint fragments, quartz arrow frames, and coarse pottery teeth – suggest human occupation related to domestic or ritual activities. Close by, a tumulus now extinct and petroglyphs discovered in 1967 reinforce the hypothesis of a larger monumental ensemble.

Ranked a historic monument by decree of November 4, 1975, the menhir of Squividan may have marked a prehistoric salt production area, a major activity on the Breton coast in the Neolithic. Its erection reflects the technical skills of the communities of the time, able to transport and build blocks of several tons. The site thus illustrates the symbolic and practical importance of megaliths in the territorial and social organization of ancient Brittany.

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