The 4m tall menhir of La Pierre Blanche in Oudon (Loire-Atlantique) derives its name from the stone from which it is made – a jagged lump of white quartz. This card by Chapeau c. 1922 illustrates the western face.

Although partly ruined the allée couverte on Ile Milliau in Trébeurden (Côtes-d’Armor) is still impressive. Three capstones survive on 10 orthostats giving its local name of “Trois Tables en Place”, a 4th capstone lies nearby and a 5th has been lost. #TombTuesday.

The 6m tall menhir at Kerangosker in Pont-Aven (Finistère) stands by the side of the road. It is known both as La Pierre le Coq (occasionally a cock rises out of it and points to treasure) and as Le Doigt du Dieu (explanation unknown).

Six tall menhirs at Vieux-Moulin in Plouharnel (Morbihan) were clearly once part of something bigger maybe a cromlech or alignments. This card by David in Vannes c.1905. #StandingStoneSunday.

The transepted passage grave of Keriaval in Carnac (Morbihan) had 2 chambers on either side and a terminal cell. This card was published by Neurdein in Paris before 1902; the fence in the background does not feature on any of the later cards.

The slab-like menhir of La Haute Borne in Fontaines-sur-Marne (Haute-Marne) is 6.5m tall and made from local stone. A Roman inscription on one face reads VIROMARUS ISTATILIF. Cards by J. Joly in Rachecourt from 1904 onwards show it caged in by iron railings as I believe it still is.

The allée couverte of La Contrie in Ernée (Mayenne) has an 8m long chamber covered by 3 capstones with a small terminal cell on the east. Its height and width is only 1.5m so a bit of a squeeze for those who like scrambling inside dolmens. Happy New Year.

The skeletal dolmen of La Pierre Levée in St-Fort-sur-le-Né (Charente) has a 40-ton pear-shaped capstone on 3 tall orthostats with smaller slabs between forming a 6x3m chamber. It was built by the Virgin who carried the capstone on her head and the supports in her apron pocket.

The dolmen angevin of La Frébouchère in Le Bernard (Vendée) has a 7x3.5m chamber covered originally by an even larger capstone which has now broken in two; it is made from granite and estimated to weigh 80 tons. #TombTuesday.

Les Demoiselles in Langon (Ille-et-Vilaine) now consists of just 30 blocks of white quartz. They are the remains of an oval 45x35m cromlech which was possibly surrounded by a double ring of similar blocks. Card by Lacroix c.1905.

The menhir of Porznéjen in Plouescat (Finistère) stands 6m tall near the coast. There are 30 cupules on one face but 2 large depressions on one side are from weathering. It is said to cover a treasure. #StandingStoneSunday.

The passage grave of Les Trois Pierres in Kervignac (Morbihan) has lost all of the passage but, despite its name, the surviving chamber has a capstone still on 5 orthostats. Card by Villard in Quimper in print by 1904.

This is the 4.5m tall isolated menhir which stands on the W edge of the tertre tumulaire (a low but long type of tumulus) in the NW corner of the alignments at Kerlescan in Carnac (Morbihan). Card by Laurent in Port-Louis c. 1905.

Merry Christmas everyone! If you’ve been visited by 3 magi or their equivalent I hope they came bearing better gifts than this empty-handed lot at the dolmen du Parc in St-Nectaire (Puy-de-Dôme). Anonymous card early 1910s.

The menhir known as La Pierre de Gargantua in Neaufles-Auvergny (Eure) is 3.5m tall. There are 3 different folk tales as to why it served as a whetstone on which the giant sharpened his scythe. Card by Trouvé c.1905.

The dolmen angevin at Bagneux in Saumur (Maine-et-Loire) has 4 broad orthostats on each side, a 7m wide terminal slab and is covered by 4 large capstones. The chamber is over 17m long and 5m wide and in C19 was used as a dance hall. #TombTuesday.

The passage grave at Rossignols in St-Brevin-les-Pins (Loire-Atlantique) was “discovered” in 1904 but only one capstone survives so it had obviously been known earlier and quarried for stone. Classed monument historique in 1982 it is now surrounded by suburban development.

La Roche Longue in Quintin (Côtes-d’Armor) is a 7m tall needle-like granite menhir. It was said that fairies and nains used to dance around it and that the menhir itself sometimes danced when midnight sounded. #StandingStoneSunday.

The lateral entrance grave on top of the Point of Guilligui in Ploudalmézeau (Finistère) is rather dilapidated but still has 2 capstones and 12 orthostats. The passage was set right angles but was damaged when a Bronze Age tomb was built there. Card by Boëlle pre-1904.

This is a view of the alignments at St-Pierre-Quiberon (Morbihan) c.1905, before they were completely surrounded by houses, with the tallest menhir known as The Great Monk centre stage. The rows once extended out into the Bay of Quiberon.

The sea-weed covered dolmen of Karec-Louièse off Carnac-Plage (Morbihan) now has just a collapsed capstone resting on one orthostat. It lies below current high tide level and reflects the post-glacial rise in sea level which continued into the early Neolithic. Card by Le Rouzic c.1905.

La Pierre Levée in Bélinac (Lot) is a slab-like menhir with an irregular profile on the broad faces. At 3.5m it is the tallest menhir in the département. Card by Baudel in St-Céré c.1912 but original negative probably earlier.

The dolmen of La Pierre aux Bignes in Habloville (Orne) has a 3x3m capstone on 5 orthostats with a 6th fallen one. Fairies did their laundry nearby and laid it on the capstone to dry under the light of the moon in the night time breeze. #TombTuesday.

In 1905 the remains of the dolmen, possibly originally a passage grave, of La Pierre Folle in Messé (Deux-Sèvres) comprised a capstone on 3 orthostats. It was destroyed c.1968 for fear it would fall and crush farm animals in the field.

The menhir at Puy Durand in Avrillé (Vendée) is unusual in being wider (4.8m) than it is tall (3.9m) on the broad faces and only 1.9m on the narrow edges. It was originally part of a group of three, two of which were destroyed. #StandingStoneSunday.

The ruined tomb of Crec’h-an-Arc’hant in Bourbriac (Côtes-d’Armor) has a capstone lying at angle on collapsed and displaced orthostats. It defies accurate classification but was probably more than a simple dolmen. Card by Tirel-Hamon in Guingamp c.1908.

The impressive 6m tall granite menhir at Kerampeulven in Berrien (Finistère) was in the past, like several others, associated with fertility rites. It stands close to the boundary with Huelgoat where most early postcards locate it; this one by Andrieu in Morlaix pre-1904.

The passage grave of Runesto in Plouharnel (Morbihan) has lost all the stones from the passage but the chamber survives, mainly still embedded in its mound, with its massive capstone above. In C19 it housed a blacksmith’s workshop.

The alignments at Kermario in Carnac (Morbihan) have over 1,000 menhirs running for over 1km. The tallest stand at the W end at the top of a rise and this distinctive pointed one is often labelled as the “giant of Kermario”. Card by MTIL in Limoges c. 1905.

The dolmen of La Pierre Couverte at Boisseyre in Ambert (Puy-de-Dôme) has a 4x2.9m capstone resting on 3 orthostats and a terminal slab; a lower slab at the front partially closed the entrance. It was built by fairies. #TombTuesday.

The dolmen of La Pierre de l’Armoire (aka Larmoire and l’Ormaille) in Rumont (Seine-et-Marne) has a 4x3m capstone on 4 low orthostats. Four cupules at one end may have been deliberately made but others are natural.

The menhir known as La Grande Pierre in Château-le-Vallière (Indre-et-Loire) is 3.6m tall. Local folklore recorded that at night fairies would dance around it. Card by Meunier c.1905. #StandingStoneSunday.

The site of La Barbière in Crossac (Loire-Atlantique) is the remains of a passage grave. The chamber has a 20 ton 4x3m capstone still on 3 orthostats. The passage has 2 capstones which have slipped (right of this card).

The menhir of La Dent de Gargantua near Chablé in St-Suliac (Ille-et-Vilaine) is made from a large block of angular white quartz. It is 5m tall and 3m wide at the base of the broad face. Not sure of the source for it being the giant’s tooth! Card by ELD in Paris c.1905.

The simple but charming little dolmen of Pouliot in Porspoder (Finistère) has a 3x2m capstone resting on 3 orthostats made from local granite. Card by Le Bourdonnec in Brest c. 1905.

The slab-like menhir of La Verrie in Monteneuf (Morbihan) is 5m tall, just under 4m wide at the base but only 50cm thick. It is made from local schist. Card by Chamarre c.1905.

This is one of the 3 passage graves at Mané-Kerioned in Carnac (Morbihan). It is debatable as to whether they all had their own mound or were incorporated into a single cairn by a process of agglomeration over time. Card by Le Rouzic c.1905. #TombTuesday.

The dolmen de Blanc in Nojals-et-Clotte (Dordogne) has a 4x2.5m chamber with a narrow offset passage. A local tale said it was built by the Virgin to protect a young shepherdess from a storm hence its other name of Grotte de la Vierge.

Before 1918 the menhir of La Pierre du Diable in Lécluse (Nord) stood over 5m tall (as on this 1905 card) but it was damaged in the war and is now only 3.5m. The Devil left it here after a plan to build a barn in exchange for a farmer’s soul 50 years later was thwarted. #StandingStoneSunday.

The dolmen of Pierre de la Bie in Rochereau (Vienne) has an impressive 6x5m capstone now resting on just 2 orthostats from the W corner of the chamber. Early plans show more orthostats and scattered blocks nearby were clearly once part of it.

This is the 3m tall menhir near La Roche sur Sèvre in La Verrie (now Chanverrie, Vendée) animated by smiling well-dressed woman and girl. Card by Poupin in Mortagne c. 1905.

The ruined dolmen of La Ville-Hamon in Erquy (Côtes-d’Armor) has a 3x3m capstone lying at an angle on 2 orthostats. Other disturbed stones suggest it may be the remains of an allée couverte. Card by Chamarre early 1900s.

This is the taller of 2 menhirs near Kerscaven in Penmarch (Finistère). It stands 6m tall and is a slab with 2 distinctive profiles; the broad faces are rutted from weathering and have a jagged top, the narrow ones are smooth. Card mis-captioned by Neurdein 1909 or earlier.

Before its restoration in the 1980s the well-known passage grave of La Table des Marchands in Locmariaquer (Morbihan) was exposed due to early quarrying of the cairn. This card shows the terminal slab on the left and the passage on the right. #TombTuesday.

This card gives a good sense of the extent of the 1,000 plus menhirs arranged in 11 rows stretching for over a kilometre which form the alignments at Menec in Carnac (Morbihan). The 2 women sit on the ringing stone at the W end. Card by Denot in Lorient c.1905.

The Menhir de la Lèque in Lussan (Gard) is 5.6m tall. It Is also known as Pierre Plantée, one of several menhirs which in tradition had grown from seeds. A chunk out of one edge is from C19 attempts to break it up. #StandingStoneSunday.

La Pierre Maupertuis in Lhomme (Sarthe) is a simple dolmen with a capstone supported on 7 orthostats. This card c.1905 by Cocu in Château-du-Loir.

The menhir of La Pierre Longue de Sale-Village in St-Georges-des-Sept-Voies (Maine-et-Loire) is 5.5m tall. In one tradition it was Gargantua’s whetstone. The woman on the right is holding a sickle which maybe needed sharpening after cutting the crop in her apron….

The site of Les Mousseaux in Pornic (Loire-Atlantique) has 2 transepted passage graves set in one mound. This card from c.1905 shows the southern tomb before the site was restored in the 1970s.

The menhir of La Pierre du Domaine (aka Château Beaufort) in Plerguer (Ille-et-Vilaine) is made of fine-grained granite, has a rhomboidal section and stands just over 4m tall. Card by Sorel in Rennes c.1916.