Robert Munro

“ STONE MONUMENTS, PRIMITIVE.— The raising of commemorative monuments of such enduring material as stone is a practice that may be traced in all countries to the remotest times. The highly sculptured statues, obelisks and other monumental erections of modern civilization are but the lineal representatives of the unhewn monoliths, dolmens, cromlechs, &c., of prehistoric times. ”

“ So far as the Ogam inscriptions, found on some of the standing stones in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, have thrown light on the subject they appear to have been the headstones of graves. It is not uncommon to find a monolith overtopping a tumulus, thus simulating the bauta (grave or battle) stones of Scandinavia. Menhirs of all sizes are also met with in Algeria, Morocco, India, Central Asia, &c.
Alignments.—The most celebrated monuments of this class are to be seen in the vicinity of Carnac in Brittany. ”

“ Menhirs.—Rude monoliths set on end appear to have been erected in all ages for a variety of commemorative purposes, such as on the accession of kings and chiefs, or to mark the site of a battle, a grave, or a boundary line, &c. Throughout the British Isles such standing stones are widely interspersed, especially in the less cultivated districts. ”

“ Judging from the large number of the latter that have still survived the destructive agencies (notably those of man himself) to which they have been exposed during so many ages, it would seem that the motives which led to their erection had as great a hold on humanity in its earlier stages of development as at the present time. ”

“ In 1881 M. Felix Gaillard, Plouharnel, made a plan of the alignments at Erdeven, from which it appears that, out of a total of n 20 menhirs which originally constituted the group, 290 are still standing, 740 fallen, and 90 removed. The menhirs here may be traced for nearly a mile, but their linear arrangement is not so distinct, nor are the stones so large as those at Carnac. About 50 alignments are known in France. At Penmarch there is one containing over 200 stones arranged in four rows. Others, however, are formed of only a single row of stones, as at Kerdouadec, Leuré and Camaret. ”

“ In England monoliths are often associated with the cromlechs or stone circles, as the King's Stone at Stanton Drew, Long Meg at Little Salkeld, the Ring Stone at Avebury, &c. One of the finest British monoliths stands in the churchyard of Rudston, Yorkshire.
Menhirs are found in all countries which abound in megalithic structures. In France over r6oo isolated examples have been recorded, of which about the half, and by far the most remarkable, are within the five departments which constitute Brittany. ”

“ Against the theory that any of them were ever used as altars, there is prima facie evidence in the care taken to have the smoothest and flattest surface of the stones composing the chambers always turned inwards. Moreover, cup marks and other primitive markings, when found on capstones, are almost invariably on their underside, as at the dolmens of Keriaval, Kercado and Dol ar Marchant. Also, all the six stones forming the three-sided chamber of the great tumulus of Gavr'inis (Morbihan) and most of those in the sides of its long entrance passage (44 ft.) ”

“ The entire structure comprises 31 monoliths—ten on each side, one at the end and five on the roof. Moreover, the roof is strengthened by three pillars placed along the middle line at the widest part of the chamber. The huge stones are made of the Jurassic limestone of the district and, like those of Stonehenge, appear to have been partly dressed. The entire structure was originally, and still is partially covered by earth, which formed a mound about 100 ft. in diameter. In Africa dolmens are found in large groups in Morocco, Algeria and Tunis. ”

“ The Borger Hunebed, the largest of the group, is 70 ft. long and 14 ft. wide. In its original condition it contained 45 stones, ten of which were capstones. All the Drente monuments are now denuded, but a few show evidences which suggest that they had formerly been surrounded by a mound containing an entrance passage. Only one dolmen has been recorded in Belgium; but in France their number amounts to 3000–4000. They are irregularly distributed over 78 departments, no less than 618 being in Brittany. ”

“ The first three groups are supposed by some archaeologists to be merely portions of one original and continuous series of alignments, which extended nearly 2 m. in length in a uniform direction from south- west to north-east. Commencing at the village of Menec the menhirs extend in eleven rows. At first they stand from ie> to 13 ft. above ground, but as we advance they become gradu- ally smaller till they attain only 3 or 4 ft. in height, and then cease altogether. ”