What are menhirs?

A menhir is a standing or an upright stone, which is usually tapered at the top. It is man-made, in that it is sculpted and placed by humans, and usually quite large — the largest surviving menhir, the Grand Menhir Brisé or the Great Broken Menhir in Brittany, France, once stood at 20.6 m tall.

The term ‘menhir’ is derived from the Brittonic “maen” meaning “stone”, and “hîr” meaning “long”, and entered the archaeological lexicon in the late 18th century. It was first used by French military officer and Celticist antiquarian Théophile Corret de la Tour d’Auvergne.

Most people know of menhirs today as the stones that Obelix carries on his back. The affable Obelix, from the French comic book series Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, is bestowed with superhuman strength, allowing him to single-handedly sculpt and deliver menhirs to customers. Of course, he often uses these stones to thump any passing Roman soldiers, at times to protect his fiercely independent village, at times simply for some fun.

How old are menhirs? Why were they erected?

The ones in Europe were originally associated with the Beaker culture who lived during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age — roughly 4,800 to 3,800 before present (BP). But the oldest European menhirs are today dated to as early as 7,000 BP. The ones in Mudumal, dated to roughly 3,500 to 4,000 BP, are the oldest known menhirs in India.

Menhirs can either be found alone, or as a part of a larger complex of prehistoric megaliths, simply, large stone structures. While the exact purpose of many megalithic sites is debated, they likely served ceremonial functions. Some were markers of graves, while others might have served some astronomical purposes.

The Mudumal site has been described as a “megalithic astronomical observatory” by the UNESCO dossier. “… Some menhirs are aligned with the rising and setting sun during the summer and winter solstices, suggesting their use as an ancient observatory,” the dossier says. Today, the Mudumal menhirs are closely associated with local legend, with “one particular menhir being worshipped as Goddess Yellamma”.

Why do some old stones deserve UNESCO recognition?

Two reasons.

First, they give us insight into the ingenuity of early humans. Not only do these tonnes-heavy stones need a solid understanding of physics to be sculpted and move to precise locations, the precision of their placement itself tells us how much our ancestors knew about astronomy and solstices.

Second, they give us insight into how the cultures who built them saw and understood the world. The effort taken to build these megalithic structures tells us that they were undoubtedly meaningful to the people who built them. This in turn can help us better understand these cultures who have left no written material for the historical record.