The mystery behind the megaliths of France’s Brittany region

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France's western Brittany region is home to a mysterious phenomenon, a series of “standing stones” known as megaliths. These fascinating structures are proof of a civilization that existed 7,000 years ago. Questions are still being asked about why they were built, what they symbolise and what they tell us about how people lived at that time. Many experts like Yves Coppens, who co-discovered the skeleton Lucy in 1974, are still trying to unlock the stories behind the vertical stones.
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[@LuisAldamiz]

Too short for such a magnificent pre-Indoeuropean landscape, deserving much longer and detailed documentaries. Latin Europpeans don't pay enough attention to pre-Roman history.

[@JosephBara1793]

the mayor of the commune of Carnac had 39 menhirs destroyed for a DIY store

[@lucasp1813]

Asterix and Obelix did it.

[@philvanderlaan5942]

Obelix didn’t do it he got hungry and wandered off to find some boar

[@lucasp1813]

@@philvanderlaan5942 :)

[@embodyingpt]

These are so similar to the site at Newgrange, in county Meath.

[@81STAINLESS]

Yes - the markings on the stones are very similar to those on the stones at Bru na Boine. These sites are all astro-geometrically related.

[@henrimourant9855]

I think they are from the same neolithic culture.

[@LuisAldamiz]

That's because British and Irish megalithism directly derives from Brittany's (and nearby areas such as Upper Normandy and lower Loire region). In Eastern England however there is another tradition (henges, called "rondels" in France, earth and wood monuments) which originated from Northern France, near Belgium. The former is ultimately original from Southern Portugal (it seems) and derived from the southern or maritime branch of mainline (Vasconic) European Neolithic (rooted in Asia Minor), while the latter is derived from the Central European "Danubian" or "Linear Pottery" culture, which is in turn derived from the Balcanic Painte Pottery one. Both branches diverged at the Balcans but met again at North France a thousand years later (so maybe they could still understand each other) and later proceeded to colonize the North, not just Britain but also parts of Scandinavia favored by the Neolithic climate optimum c. 6000 years ago.

[@Christophe-pl5xu]

Same civilization. Ancesters of brittonic people. I m.breton in france and.dna say i m.... irish 97%

[@MilesBellas]

Definitely a world heritage site....

[@gc6096]

MilesBellas indeed

[@KernowekTim]

Without reservation.

[@claudiuspereira3194]

the word "ritual" is code for " I have no clue whatsoever--Most academics are extremely fond of "rituals " !!

[@richardsleep2045]

lol

[@LuisAldamiz]

The word "ritual" may be abused but it also means things people and societies actually do all the time and that bring us together, confirming a society with shared beliefs and traditions, reinforcing the people understood as collectivity or polity. Every society has rituals, even ours, which are very much atomized and de-socialized do, for example the ritual of a president taking posession, a minister swearing an oath, a homage to a socially relevant dead person, etc. Notice that I'm hilighting secular rituals, not even religious ones, which do also exist and were pretty much the same as "secular" ones in the past (even medieval guilds operated largely on religious grounds and with religious rituals/feasts).

[@reginadelgraal]

This statue is very tall, but the amazing fact is it works like a Menhir!:

[@ellen4956]

Karnak in Egypt is a procession with various pillars and statues leading eventually to (or through) a temple. I've wondered if Carnac was named after Karnak because of the way it looks like a procession to walk through, or if it really was for processions during some long lost ceremony. Does anyone know who named Carnac?

[@j0ker366]

Which mic are u using?

[@randylaffy7679]

It was he nephiliam that build these megalithic building. As the days of Noah the FLOOD.

[@1helluvaguy738]

Damn you pre indo-Europeans! Why didn’t you leave any written records?

[@luddon5449]

they didn't leave Any written record, THEY didn't exist when ANY of these mega structures were built,.. ONLY THE. ¶ BLACK. RACE

[@henrimourant9855]

To be fair the Indo-europeans in Europe also didn't leave any written records (at least until the classical period).

[@nikoknowledge6660]

But didn’t they? Look at the basques for example they were in Iberia since 40,000 bc and they did have a written language along with an extensive mythology and history which was erased by the Spanish. Not sure when they came up with the language but the Spanish made sure I’ll never find out going so far as to erase gravestones with basque writing.

[@nikoknowledge6660]

Pre-Proto-basque specifically

[@LuisAldamiz]

There's an oral tradition in Basque Mythology, however AFAIK it's only recollected in Basque and Spanish and has no English translations yet. There may be differences with the Brittany tradition because the Basque one was one of "dolmens for all" (smallish ones), while the Breton one (and British/Irish by extension) was originally more elitist it seems, maybe with a priestly caste of "proto-druids" on top. Also there's the Greek deepest layer of mythology, the one that talks of Gaia and Eros (arguably the same as Python) emerging from the primordial Chaos first of all. Then there's also secondarily Uranos, which is surely the same as Basque Urtzi = the sky personified (by extension all sky gods such as Jupiter or the Christian Deus, "et Deus vocant Urcia" wrote the pilgrim) and probably even the legendary Atlas (sometimes confused with Uranus and holding the sky in place anyhow). Incidentally Gaia reads perfectly well in modern Basque as "the matter" but also as "the potential" (excellent name for Mother Earth). Furthermore, it has been argued (Stephany 2012) that Loki = Prometheus and I'd add that both are the same as Basque Sugaar the male aspect of the gender-binary God of Basque tradition, whose name means either "male snake" or "flame of fire", depending how you split the word (suge-ar or su-gar). He's the dragon or snake god of old, the one the Indoeuropean and Christian dragon-slayers are always wanting to kill. Ultimately it was more or less a gender-binary monotheism in which the Goddess (Gaia, Mari = Morrigan) and the God (Eros-Python, Sugaar = Prometheus = Loki) regularly are believed to mate at the local holy mountain and (for example) conceive Odei (the storm cloud), which fertilizes the fields, etc. And this was ritually enacted in the akelarres or witches' sabbat festivals, etc. This is not essentially different from Shaktism/Shaivism in (pre-Indoeuropean) Indian traditions or (in more abstract form) the Yin-Yang ideas in East Asia. Of course, there should be more nuance and complexity, especially after the introduction of astronomy and the Uranus = Urtzi = Atlas deity of the sky, etc. But in the essentials it should be something like that.

[@serviustullus7204]

Traveling to Britain in the Neolithic. That is how the Phoenicians learned to sail ships.

[@Infamous41]

Now i see why we have tombstones

[@lalifilipovic9166]

these stones look like headstones to me, maybe this is ancient cemetery ???

[@ckjamn]

It is A Toll Booth

[@AbAb-th5qe]

I'm surprised the area isn't already a world heritage site. Some of the stone engravings remind me of newgrange in Ireland.

[@KernowekTim]

As a Cornishman, the history of my Breton cousins makes the hairs on my neck and arms stand erect. Out Brythonic links are strong. To insult a Breton is to insult my family. Breten Vyghan.

[@MS-un9zq]

Long live Bernard Hinault...

[@theccs5012]

Calculator?

[@edwinbezemer9298]

Is it aligned as a computercode? Or a dna code ?

[@412StepUp]

I definitely believe they are some kind of tombstone of some sort.

[@pedromesquita2780]

Africans did not built that, Africans have not the neadertahl genetics. Neanderthals- bigger brians, bigger bones, bigger muscular mass.

[@KernowekTim]

or /clan/family markers in procession, or, or....ad infinitum. But sweet FA to do with extra-terrestrials! They were "magic" though, in my opinion; even the damned Vikings let them be.

[@g1ugiuc]

Very good very nice 🧑🏿‍🦲👍🏿

[@Tomas-ml9nv]

Vive Les Bretons

[@MilesBellas]

matve connected to Stonehenge?

[@LuisAldamiz]

Absolutely connected: British and Irish megalithism directly derives from Brittany's.

[@imaguygolfn]

These are some sort of game they played. Lanes...stay in your lane game...roll the ball in your lane....race your horse or goat or dog....race in and out of them...invite other tribes to compete, like the olympics.

[@timodne5741]

Tawdishhhhhh

[@John-sp9kw]

Anyone disturbs the stones the stones are cursed . Apparently they have been disturbed and used for a French DIY shop . You shall be severely punished

[@John-sp9kw]

@Brandoskankz rest in hell muppet

[@simonsauter3229]

Obelix business had it ups and downs.

[@devashishsonowal1505]

I think they tried to make Shiva lingam

[@LuisAldamiz]

That's a very legitimate theory that a French Tantric scholar also produced, basaed not just on the Indian traditions but the fact that Corsican menhirs are actually carved often with the shape of a phallus. I personally embrace the idea that pre-Indoeuropean Indian traditions of the Shaktist/Shaivist branch (incl. Tantra), the Chinese one of Yin-Yang and nearly lost European ones are essentially gender-binary monotheism of the "fertility cult" or "perpetual creation" type (quite naturalist). In Europe the ancient Basque religion (these megalith builders were surely Vasconic, pre-Indoeuropean) was clearly in that line with traditions strongly suggesting the notion of the dual gods (Mari and Sugaar) meeting on certain holy days at the local sacred mountain to conceive (depending on versions) Odei, the storm cloud, which in turns fertilizes Earth (or sometimes brings hail as punishment for misdeeds). In the deepest layer of the Greek tradition, from the informal Chaos emerged Gaia (Earth) and Eros (the active principle of life and sex) comparable very much to the Taoist story of Yin and Yang emanating from unfathomable Tao (Dao). It's worth mentioning that dolmenic megalithism expanded in the Mediterranean region at the beginning of the Bronze Age, strongly influencing Syria and Jordan, from where it spread to the Caucasus and Yemen. Later, already in the Iron Age, it further expanded to Dravidic India and also somehow reached as far East as Korea (and there's also similar megalithism in the Malay Archipelago).

[@timodne5741]

Where me and Michelle 🌸

[@412StepUp]

Definitely looks like ancient grave markers.

[@skyzoDBois]

no, there is no skelleton found near or under the menhirs

[@LuisAldamiz]

These are "social" monuments, political if you wish, much like obelisks in Egypt. The tombs are the dolmens (trilithons) and sometimes other late megalithic styles (the oldest known "beehive tomb" or "tholos" is found in Brittany AFAIK) but the menhirs or standing stones have some other symbolism, maybe one of emphasizing territorial ownership or representing the ancestors or whatever. A theory proposed by a French Tantric scholar links them to the (derived, Iron Age) ones in India, where they are interpreted as "lingams", i.e. phalluses, with the Earth itself being the "yoni" (vulva), within the context of fertility or perpetual creation beliefs of the gender-binary monotheism type (similar to Shaktism/Shaivism or Yin-Yang Asian traditions). At the beginning it was Chaos and from It emerged Gaia and Eros (Hesiod). From the Tao unfathomable emerged the Yin and the Yang (Lao Tzu). Etcetera.

[@timodne5741]

Ertb

[@didierlemoine6771]

Migrants from Anatolia did all this, but why ?

[@LuisAldamiz]

Why did the Egyptians build pyramids, why did the medievals build cathedrals?

[@jeremybrose7833]

Honestly to me it looks like writing, a way to communicate with visitors from the air. Every signal we've picked up through outer space is usually a series of sounds like a universal Morris code. Just an opinion 🤷

[@nikoknowledge6660]

These kids can move a small stone with logs, which explains nothing.

[@LuisAldamiz]

It does explain something, we know how similar structures are built in the Malay Archipelago even today, based on human collective work and very basic tools such as logs used as levers, etc. However I'm of the opinion that they had more sophisticated methods such as oxen trains (look up Basque "idi probak" for a modern example in the form of rural sports) and surely even some sort of cranes and pulleys, needed to raise and precisely place some types of lintels such as the ones of Stonehenge (these, like astronomy itself, would be derived IMO from sailor skills, which would require similar devices to raise and lower sails).

[@mjimih]

Huge 4.5 m tall men who knew of stone-softening and who's arms' biceps were attached past the elbow making them super strong (more leverage, like a Chimpanzee), and with the help of tamed mega fauna, moved large stones, placed them & drew on them while the outer few inches were still soft like children's play-dough.

[@mjimih]

@Mason Freer no bones to pick thru. Do you work at the Smithsonian Institute perhaps? I'm looking for giant bones.

[@mjimih]

@Mason Freer citation needed, ideas wanted.

[@mjimih]

@Mason Freer wtf is wrong with you. you wanna fight?

[@mjimih]

@Mason Freer it's a fk'n theory. ok just for you. those stones are heavy, all they got is ropes and tree limbs. They'd have to have help moving them into place. All the tight fitting walls around the world were using a softening solution now lost to time, akin to "miners-water" lakes that dissolve granite, but instead would soften them from the surface inward.

[@Porkcylinder]

‘Before the wheel was invented’ 😂😂😂 they had technology today’s scientists can barely comprehend. They also knew of astrological alignments that we’re just discovering.

[@insighthistory2751]

Frances weak spot, Britanny, these Celtic desendants influenced the overthrow of the French monarchy and King Louis 16th. Jacobins

[@peterhudson5748]

No mystery, It’s just a graveyard… Turns out that they are just headstones in a graveyard.

[@timodne5741]

Yatasjfd

[@martikepler4700]

Those Stones were mover by magic (mana force) not by human or horses muscles.

[@johngallagher9151]

Have you seen the Paracas Skulls with a 25% larger brain cavity and 20% larger skull in general to humans? That species of humanoid has skulls found not just in Paracas, but all over the world. Our history is like something out of a Sci-Fi movie. And I dont think it was "mana" I think it was technology, that we could use our brains to manipulate.

[@martikepler4700]

@@johngallagher9151 Mana is a kind substance of the soul or mind. Some saints could levitate or move heavy things just desiring it or praying (like Saint Benedict.)

[@RhysapGrug]

@@martikepler4700 Cause they could soft lad😆😆

[@LuisAldamiz]

Oxen trains. Look up Basque "idi probak" to see how it was done in present day form of rural sports.

[@Hallands.]

Nope, nope and nope! These megalithic sites are globally pre-deluvian, the flourishing megalithic culture having been all but wiped out by the Hiawatha incident 1270 BC and although they're trying to hide the obvious, the pillar wasn't "laid out in such a way" and wasn't originally in four pieces. It was of course one huge, erected pillar, which later fell over and broke. It's not apparent here, due to the way this video is cut, but anyone can find pictures of the pillar online. The pieces fit together...

[@killmelemmy2170]

Hallands Menved Of course the pillar was in one part. No one never said the contrary. Or you misunderstood what was said. And... pre diluvian? Hiawatha? Wtf are you talking about?

[@Hallands.]

Killme Lemmy Look it up...

[@killmelemmy2170]

Hallands Menved I just did. And I found nothing.

[@Hallands.]

Killme Lemmy Either you're lying or you can't spell "Hiawatha". Now please be quiet.

[@killmelemmy2170]

Hallands Menved I mean, I found something about a Native American legend. And a city called Hiawatha. But what’s the connection with Brittany and megalith? And I’ll be quiet if I want to, seriously....

[@Tyler.i.81]

Make Brittany British again