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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The menhirs of the Talma property, also called alignment of the Fritte Stones, are a megalithic ensemble located in Brunoy, in the Essonne department. This alignment, represented on a plane dating from 1480, consists of three menhirs on the left bank of the Yerres, about 100 metres upstream of the Perronet Bridge. Oriented on a west-northwest/east-southeast axis, these menhirs once belonged to the Talma property. Two of them, nicknamed "Loth's wife and daughter", have been listed as historical monuments since 1889.

The first menhir, partially submerged in the river, has 71 cups on its upper face visible during low water. Its dimensions are estimated at 4.40 metres in length with a width of 2.85 to 0.66 metres. The second menhir, 2.50 meters away from the first, is a slab of 2.50 meters high, with a width between 1.90 and 1.10 meters. The third, located 3 metres from the previous one, is 1 metre high and 1.40 metres wide. A second line, also called Pierres Frittes, is 750 metres further east.

The site is now protected under a natural area preserved by a decree of 2006, pursuant to the Landscapes Act of 1930. It is freely accessible, subject to respect for fauna and flora, as an ecological corridor. Menhirs illustrate the importance of megalithic construction in Neolithic, a period marked by the emergence of agriculture and sedentary societies in Île-de-France.

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