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Origin and history

La Pierre-Frite, also known as Menhir de Lorey, is an iconic megalith located in the Parc du Château de Lorey, in the commune of Breuilpont (Eure, Normandy). This block of sandstone, measuring 3.2 metres in height for 2.8 metres in width at the base, is distinguished by its north-south orientation and a vertical crack dividing it into two almost equal parts. Its relatively flat west side suggests human work or marked natural erosion.

The first written mention of the Pierre-Frite dates back to 1840, when Louis-Léon Gadebled evokes "two Druidic raised stones" near the hamlet of Lorey. In 1896 Léon Coutil, president of the Société préhistorique française, described him in his Inventoire des menhirs et dolmens de France (département de l'Eure). However, it was only in 1950 that the menhir was officially classified as historic monuments, by order of 26 June, thereby recognizing its heritage value.

The menhir illustrates the importance of megalithic sites in the Eure Valley, an area where neolithic communities have erected stones that are probably ritual or commemorative. Its current location in a private park raises questions about its original location, possibly displaced over the centuries. The characteristic crack and its imposing dimensions make it a remarkable specimen among Norman megaliths.

Available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) highlight its status as a protected historical monument, while noting a geographical impreciseness in official databases (location noted at 5/10 on Monumentum). This ambiguity reflects the documentation challenges of prehistoric sites, often displaced or reused over the millennia.

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