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Origin and history

The menhir dit La Pierre Clouée or Pierrefritte is a megalithic monument located in Nanteau-sur-Lunain, in the Seine-et-Marne department in Île-de-France. This large sandstone slab is 4.20 metres high, with a rectangular base and a pointed top. Its name would come from a popular tradition of pushing nails into it for a votive or prophylactic purpose, often associated with healing rituals for animals or sick people.

Ranked as historical monuments in 1889, this menhir has several vernacular names, including Pierre Fritte, Pierre Fiche, and Quiille du Bon Dieu. According to local beliefs, the peasants turned the sick around the stone while uttering magical formulas, before planting a nail they broke or adorned with plants like vervein. A legend also tells that Saint George would have faced Satan in a palet game, leaving a mythical imprint on a nearby rock, the Rock to the Devil.

The menhir illustrates symbolic and magical practices related to megaliths, where the nail played a central role as an object of protection or offering. Studies, such as those of Armand Viré or Marcel Baudouin, highlight his connection with ancient totemic rites, perhaps inherited from a cult of the sacred tree. Today, there remains a remarkable testimony of the beliefs and social uses of Neolithic in Île-de-France, while being a key element of the local megalithic heritage.

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