Ancient Stones Menhirs From 7000 Years Ago Bulldozed in France for DIY Store, Locals Cry Foul

(Photo : Miguel Medina / Getty Images)
7,000-year-old menhirs were taken down in France for a DIY store.

Menhirs, which date back 7,000 years and were recently destroyed in France for a DIY store, have locals fuming.

39 Ancient Stones or Menhir

It has been discovered that 39 antique stones at the Neolithic site of Carnac in northwest France were damaged during the building of a Mr. Bricolage DIY store.

One of the most significant prehistoric sites in all of Europe is the enormous Carnac site in Brittany, which is home to hundreds of ancient standing stones dispersed throughout 27 communes.

Single-standing stones known as "menhirs" are a part of one of the world's greatest collections.

Some of the stones, some of which are thousands of years old and were set there as early as 4,000 BC, are thought to have been built during the Neolithic period.

Christian Obeltz, a local archeologist, said that the menhirs have an estimated age of about 7,000 years, based on carbon dating done on surrounding stones in 2010, according to TVP World.

Making Way for a DIY Store

The construction site of a new DIY shop is located near the boundary of the heritage area.

The regional daily Ouest-France reported that the town hall had awarded building permits to the DIY chain Mr. Bricolage in August 2022 for the construction of a new store in the area. The building process has started.

The stones in issue are in Montaubin, not near the main tourist attractions Ménec and Kermario, which are around 1.5 kilometers distant.

However, historical organizations and locals have expressed skepticism over how building permits could have been granted to a location identified as a heritage site to be maintained, including Obeltz, a researcher who maintains the "Sites & Monuments" website.

Mishaps on Permits

The problem seems to be that a few stones were left off of recently updated planning maps, so the builders claim they were unaware that the site was a protected cultural monument.

A 2014 archeological examination, according to Ouest France, resulted in the denial of another planning application because the site's development may have harmed "elements of archeological heritage."

However, Stéphane Doriel, who will be in charge of the construction project, informed Ouest France that no official agency or document had forewarned them about the menhirs' location.

Doriel emphasized that she is not an archaeologist and is unaware of menhirs, as well as the fact that low walls are commonplace. She continued by saying that if they had known, they would undoubtedly have acted differently. Doriel asserted that it was a wetland issue, not the stones, that led to the previous permission being denied.

Aborted UNESCO Futures

According to Daily Mail, they claim that the property was also going to be presented to the French Ministry of Culture to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage property.

Despite being the head of the organization applying to UNESCO, the mayor, Olivier Lepick, said he was not aware of the site's inclusion on the Heritage Atlas. Lepick opined that since additional stone finds were reported in 2015, there must have been a mistake when zoning plans were updated.

Others believe that local officials are racing to construct before the 397 megalithic structures surrounding Carnac are classified by UNESCO in September 2023, when more stringent rules would be put in place, The Local France reports.