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Origin and history

The Menhirs des Pierres Chevêches, also called Pierres-Longgues or Bosné alignment, are a megalithic site located in Saint-Just, Ille-et-Vilaine. This alignment, described for the first time in 1886 by P. Bézier, initially extended over 70 to 80 metres, consisting of about fifteen blocks of quartz pudding and quartz. The first eight menhirs, to the west, formed coarse pyramids from 1.30 m to 2.50 m high, spaced 4 to 7 m apart. The following blocks, moved or mutilated, drew a slight curve towards the south, some lying or reduced to debris.

The alignment was inscribed in the historic monuments in 1978, but a subsequent re-memberment led to the abrupt displacement of the menhirs on the edge of their original plot. Today, there is only one massive menhir of 2.50 m surrounded by blocks piled up for about 30 meters. Materials, mainly quartz, reflect neolithic construction techniques, although the integrity of the site has been significantly altered by modern agricultural activities and human intervention.

Historical descriptions, such as that of P. Bézier in his Supplement to the Inventory of Ille-et-Vilaine Megalithic Monuments (1886), highlight the already degraded state of the site in the nineteenth century. The blocks, initially accurately aligned, have undergone progressive displacements, reflecting both natural erosion and anthropogenic disturbances. Despite its official protection, the site illustrates the challenges of preserving megalithic monuments in the face of agricultural pressures and territorial boundaries.

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