Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The menhir dit La Pierre Righte, also named Menhir d'Écuelles or Pierre aux Couteaux, is a megalithic monument located in the commune of Écuelles, in the department of Seine-et-Marne (77). Consisting of a slab of Fontainebleau sandstone measuring 3.50 m high for 2.20 m wide and 0.80 m thick, it was moved from its original location. His official report dates back to 1848 by E. Paty, before his classification as historical monuments in 1889.

Excavations carried out around 1860 by an anonymous man, then in 1875 by E. Chouquet, revealed archaeological remains: a skeleton covered with ashes accompanied by a possible polished axe, as well as flints of flint and a fragment of deer wood. These findings suggest a funeral or ritual use of the site at an indefinite time.

Local folklore attributes to the menhir various legends: one claims that striking its top dropped seven knives, while another associates to the mythical battle of Lato Fao between the Brunehaut and Frédégonde queens. These accounts, though not historical, illustrate the cultural anchoring of the monument in the regional imagination.

Menhir is now owned by the municipality of Ecuelles. Its exact location, near the rue du Port in Veneux-les-Sablons (comune of Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne since 2015), remains subject to poor cartographic accuracy (level 5/10 according to Monumentum). It is one of the emblematic megalithic sites of Seine-et-Marne, listed in the works of archaeologist Alain Bénard.

Ranked among the first French historical monuments by the list of 1889, the Right Stone embodies a rare prehistoric heritage in Île-de-France. His study continues to feed research into neolithic practices in the Paris Basin, although his precise dating and erection context remain unknown.

The available sources (Wikipedia, Merimée database, Monumentum) underline its archaeological and symbolic importance, while noting the lack of data on its original use or exact meaning for ancient communities.

External links