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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

La Pierre de Saillé is a menhir located in Guérande, in the Loire-Atlantique department, in the Pays de la Loire region. This almost rectangular megalith is about 1.60 m high, 1.20 m wide and 0.35 m thick. As early as 859 it was mentioned as Petra Congor in a Charter of the Redon Abbey, attesting to its seniority and local importance from the early Middle Ages.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the archaeologist Pitre de Lisle du Dreneuc hypothesized that the stone could be a vestige of dolmen, while in 1911, historian Henri Quilgars reported that it was lying in a ditch. Although his move to La Baule-Escoublac was envisaged, the menhir was finally straightened on the spot. It is registered as a historical monument by order of 13 February 1984, consolidating its heritage protection.

The menhir bears several names according to the sources, perhaps reflecting local traditions or different interpretations over the centuries. Its history illustrates the challenges of conserving megaliths, often threatened by modern arrangements or changing interpretations of their original function, ranging from the funeral marker to the symbolic element of the landscape.

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