RENNES: Around 40 standing stones thought to have been erected by prehistoric humans 7,000 years ago have been destroyed near a famed archaeological site in northwest France to make way for a do-it-yourself (DIY) store, an angry local historian has revealed.

The stones in Carnac were between 50-100 centimetres (20-40 inches) high and stood close to the main highly protected areas of one of Europe’s largest and most mysterious pre-historic tourist attractions.

“The site has been destroyed,” local archaeologist Christian Obeltz said, having revealed the clearance of the land in the Ouest-France newspaper.

He believes 39 standing stones — known as menhirs — have been lost, estimating their age to be around 7,000 years based on carbon dating conducted on stones nearby in 2010.

The land was granted a building permit from the local mayor’s office in August last year and DIY chain Mr Bricolage is currently building a new store there.

Mayor Olivier Lepick said that he had “followed the law” and pointed to the “low archaeological value” of objects found during checks before the construction process began. The land was not situated in a protected area and had been earmarked for commercial use, he added.

Carnac is famed for its vast fields of stone megaliths which stand in long lines close to the Atlantic coast in the windswept Brittany region.

There are around 3,000 of them on the two main protected areas which extend over more than six kilometres. The stones are thought to have had a sacred and funereal function, although various theories exist.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2023