Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Beaumirault Stone is a menhir erected during the Neolithic period, located in the commune of Bruyères-le-Châtel, in the Essonne department (Île-de-France). Consisting of a block of sandstone of Fontainebleau, it is about 1.90 m high for a base of 2 m wide, and stands on an artificial peninsula near the river Orge. Strongly inclined since an indefinite period, it was mentioned in 1619 as a stone of the Beau Miroir, before being deformed in Beaumirault or Mirou.

The menhir was listed as historic monuments on 7 September 1978, with a protected area of 15 metres around. A communal property, it is associated with local legends, especially that of Gargantua: according to one version, it would be a stone extracted from its shoe, or a petrified etron of the giant. These folk tales illustrate the popular imagination associated with megaliths, often interpreted as traces of mythical giants.

The site is located in a wooded environment near the Trévoix Basin, an artificial reservoir created on the Orge. Its exact location is 1 Chemin de Saint-Arnoult, at the border of the municipalities of Breuillet and Egly. Archaeological studies, such as those of John Peek (1975) or Alain Bénard (2012), list him among the megaliths of the Paris region, highlighting his interest in understanding neolithic funeral or ritual practices in Île-de-France.

External links