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Origin and history

La Pierre Fiche is an iconic menhir located in Boyer, in the department of Saône-et-Loire, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. This monument, erected during the Neolithic period, is distinguished by its height of 4.60 meters and its inclination eastward. The site houses a second menhir, smaller (3.90 m), which was rearranged in 1990 after being found half buried. These two blocks of local Jurassic limestone show intense megalithic activity in the area, with rocky outcrops less than 2 km away.

According to historical sources, the Pierre Fiche is one of the few menhirs of Burgundy to have remained standing since its erection. In the 19th century, Leopold Niepce reported that the inhabitants of Tournus tried to overthrow him, without success. In 1989, archaeological excavations carried out by the research group of Tournus allowed to discover neolithic artifacts, including more than 700 flint tools and ceramic teasses. These objects, dated from the Middle Neolithic (2848–2290 BC), suggest a prolonged human occupation around the site.

The site also contains traces of a circular hollow structure, interpreted as a calving pit for a wooden pole. Carbon dating 14 of the bone and charcoal remains found in this pit reveals a subsequent occupation between the final Bronze and the beginning of Hallstatt (902–431 BC). These discoveries highlight the reuse of the site throughout the ages, well beyond its initial megalithic function.

Ranked a historic monument since 23 February 1923, the Pierre Fiche is surrounded by local legends. One of them says that the menhir would be a palet launched by Jesus from the Mount of Justice during a challenge against Satan. Another tradition combines the monument with the tomb of a Gaulish chief. These folk stories illustrate the symbolic importance of menhir in the regional collective imagination.

The site is part of a larger archaeological landscape, with discoveries of menhirs and burials less than 1 km north, dated from 1937–38. These elements, combined with neolithic artifacts and subsequent structures, make the Pierre Fiche a major testimony of prehistoric and protohistoric human occupation in Burgundy.

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