The following is an alphabetical list ofmenhirs, also known as standing stones, by subcontinents and nations.
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Ancient standing stones are found throughout theHorn of Africa. Several of these old menhirs exist inQohaito,Eritrea, and date to a period before the founding of theKingdom of Axum. The Axumites themselves also erected a number of largestelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian times. One of these granite columns is the largest such structure in the world, standing at 90 feet.[1]
In northeasternSomalia, on the coastal plain 20 km toAlula's east are found ruins of an ancient monument in a platform style. The structure is formed by a rectangulardrystone wall that is low in height; the space in between is filled with rubble and manually covered with small stones. Relatively large standing stones are also positioned on the edifice's corners. Near the platform are graves, which are outlined in stones. 24 m by 17 m in dimension, the structure is the largest of a string of ancient platform and enclosed platform monuments exclusive to far northeastern Somalia.[2] Additionally, around 200 stone monuments (taalos) are found in the northeasternBotiala site, most of which consist ofcairns. There are a number of rows of standing stones on the eastern side of the structures, which are similar to those atSalweyn, a great cairn-held situated close toHeis. Besides cairns, the Botiala area also features a few other drystone monuments. These include disc monuments with circular, ground-level features, as well as low, rectangular platform monuments.[3] Burial sites nearBurao in the northwestern part of the country likewise feature a number of old stelae.[4]
Additionally, betweenDjibouti City and Loyada inDjibouti are a number of anthropomorphic andphallic stelae. The structures are associated with graves of rectangular shape flanked by vertical slabs, as also found in centralEthiopia. The Djibouti-Loyada stelae are of uncertain age, and some of them are adorned with a T-shaped emblem.[5]
In Ethiopia, the town ofTiya contains 36 menhirs (standing stones) or stelae. Of these, 32 are engraved with swords and other mysterious symbols. The ancient structures suggest the presence of a large, prehistoric burial complex.[6] The archaeological site was designated a World Heritage Site in 1980.
Menhirs are found all across India. They can be as tall as 20 to 14 feet (over 4.2 m), and several hundred smaller menhirs scattered all over the agricultural fields, mountains and various geographical areas. Rao and his team visited the menhir site inTelangana on the days ofsummer andwinter solstice andequinox and found that particular rows of stones were aligned to the rising and setting sun on these days. "This suggests the megalithic community here was aware of the solar trajectories," he said.[7]
In 2019, four menhirs and nearly 1,000 small and big dolmens were found in India at the Pothamala hills at the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.[8] In 2023, four menhirs of megalithic age were discovered near Melkote, Karnataka.[9]
Menhirs in Iran are found in different villages and areas ofEast Azarbaijan Province,meshkin shahr(pirazmian) andAmlash andDeylaman areas inGilan. A double menhir is also situated onKharg Island in thePersian Gulf.
Menhirs are calledSang-Afrāsht (سنگافراشت) inPersian, and there are different studies published in Iranian periodicals about the details of the Iranian menhirs, specially in the periodical "Barrasiha-yi Tarikhi" (Historical studies).
TheHebrew term for "standing stone" ismasseba, pl.massebot (also writtenmatseva,matsevot). The most famous examples are from theCanaaniteHigh Place atTell Jezar, comprising a straight row of ten stone stelae and a square stone basin, all erected simultaneously during the MiddleBronze Age.[10]
Menhirs are found in Indonesia, except for the easternmost tip, namelyNew Guinea. At one of the famous prehistoric sites in Indonesia, the Pahoman Site inBanten there is a menhir stone which is strongly suspected to originate from the Gunung Karang civilization which was inhabited byancient Sundanese.[11][12]
Numerous menhirs dot the lands across Armenia, where they are calledvishapakar (Armenian:Վիշապաքար).Vishap translates to "dragon" or "serpent" andkar translates to "stone". The stones are cigar-shaped, and are typically 10 to 20 feet (3.0 to 6.1 metres) tall. They are often found in the mountains near the sources of rivers or lakes. A large number of them have been carved in the shape of a fish. The earliest known vishapakar is thought to date from between the 18th to 16th centuries BC. An inscription in ancientUrartiancuneiform written upon a vishap at the temple ofGarni shows that they were created prior to theUrartian Kingdom (pre-8th century).
Several menhirs are known inBulgaria: next to the museum inHaskovo, in the village of Ovcharovo, in the village of Pethocladentsi, in the village of Stegerovo, Staroseltsi village, in Strelcha.[13]
A number of menhirs exist in theCzech Republic. There are about 40 real menhirs in the country, and dozens of stones which could also be menhirs. Others have been erected recently. The largest real menhir isKamenný pastýř ("stony shepherd") nearKlobuky, with a height of 3.3 metres (10.8 ft).[14] Czech menhirs are probably the last outcrop of similar buildings in northern Germany.[15]
Brittany stands out in the distribution of menhirs by virtue of both the density of monuments and the diversity of types. The largest surviving menhir in the world is located inLocmariaquer, Brittany, and it is known as theGrand Menhir Brisé (Great Broken Menhir). Once nearly 20.6 m (68 ft) high, today, it lies fractured into four pieces, but it would have weighed near 330 tons when intact. It is placed third after theThunder Stone in St. Petersburg and theWestern Stone in theWestern Wall as the heaviest object moved by humans without powered machinery.
A 4.5 meter menhir can be seen on the side ofLe Mans Cathedral. It was moved there in 1778 when thedolmen it was associated with was destroyed.
Alignments of menhirs are common, the most famous being theCarnac stones in Brittany, where more than 3000 individual menhirs are arranged in four groups and arrayed in rows stretching across four kilometres. Each set is organised with the tallest stones at the western end and shorter ones at the eastern end. Some end with a semicircularcromlech, but many have since fallen or been destroyed.[17]
The second largest concentration of menhirs in France is at theCham des Bondons, which is located on high open limestone plain in the graniticCévennes. Today, the site is protected by theParc National des Cévennes. From the time pastoralism was established, the site was kept open bycontrolled burning and grazing.[18]
The menhir de la Tiemblais is located inSaint-Samson-sur-Rance.[19]
On the island of Corsica, menhirs are found inFilitosa, a megalithic site in southern Corsica. The period of occupation spans from the end of the Neolithic era and the beginning of the Bronze Age, until around the Roman times in Corsica.
Ireland is rich in menhirs, standing stones which are usually located in farmer's fields and are heavily worn due to poor weather conditions and exposure to livestock.
Menhirs are especially common inSardinia.[20] It is possible to see at least 332 such standing stones on the island,[21] including especially elaborate "statue-menhirs" that show a human face at the top and other gendered symbols on the flat front sides. Over a hundred examples of this standardized type have been found, most of them around the village ofLaconi.[21]In theSardinian language they are known asperdas fittas orperdas lungas.[22]
| County | Number |
|---|---|
| Akershus | 8 |
| Aust-Agder | 56 |
| Buskerud | 7 |
| Finnmark | 3 |
| Hedmark | 5 |
| Hordaland | 70 |
| Møre og Romsdal | 134 |
| Nord-Trøndelag | 102 |
| Nordland | 90 |
| Oppland | 24 |
| Oslo | 0 |
| Rogaland | 258 |
| Sogn og Fjordane | 43 |
| Sør-Trøndelag | 66 |
| Telemark | 13 |
| Troms | 15 |
| Vest-Agder | 107 |
| Vestfold | 35 |
| Østfold | 140 |
Overall 1,176 menhirs are registered inNorway. The stones are often included as part of a tomb construction. The introduction toSnorre Sagas points out that it was the custom to "burn all dead and raise monoliths for them" and that this custom was maintained in Norway and Sweden for a long time. As a rule, each grave was marked with a single stone, but there were also instances where several stones were used, including the burial facilityDe fem dårlige jomfruer atKarmsundet inRogaland, with five raised stones. It is especially prevalent inØstlandet to find several monoliths arranged in a circle. Sometimes standing stone monuments are unrelated to known graves. It may be that they served as boundary markers. These include several stones inFana inBergen Municipality that can be linked to an important historical boundary betweenSunnhordland andNordhordland, as it was in medieval times.
In Norway, standing stones usually dated to theMigration Period, theViking Age orearly Middle Ages.
InPortugal, there are also found several ancient menhirs. The highest concentration is in the Alentejo region. These include the menhirs ofMeada, the largest of the Iberian Peninsula,Outeiro,Patalou andBarrocal. Among these megalithic structures is the great Almendres Menhir within theAlmendres Cromlech complex nearÉvora.
InScandinavia, menhirs are calledbautasteiner orbautastenar and continued to be erected during thePre-Roman Iron Age and later, usually over the ashes of the dead. They were raised both as solitary stones and in formations, such as thestone ships and fewstone circles. Sometimes, they were raised only as commemoration to great people, a tradition which was continued as therunestones.
Frostating, with its seat at Tinghaugen inFrosta Municipality inTrøndelag county, was the site of an early Norwegian court. The site is represented by theFrostatingetbautasten.
The tradition was strongest inBornholm,Gotland andGötaland and appears to have followed theGoths, during the 1st century, to the southern shore of theBaltic Sea, (now Northern Poland) where they are a characteristic of theWielbark culture.[23][24]
Various menhirs have existed in Scotland. TheRavenswood standing stone is an extant one that is about 4000 years old.
The graves of the "Latins" and the "Jidovs" near the village of Balwan (Bovan), north ofAleksinac in Serbia were marked by large boulders.[25]
In Spain, menhirs associated with the western European megalithic industry are relatively unusual compared todolmens, but still are common sights in the northern half of the country, where at least 500 menhirs have been reported.[26] They are particularly common in theBasque Country,Navarre, northernBurgos andPalencia,Cantabria, and thePyrenees, where they are usually encountered standing alone or in small groups (cromlech) in elevated locations; theArlobi menhir is one of the most recent examples of a menhir. In smaller numbers, but of great dimensions, some examples are located inExtremadura, very related to the menhirs of Portugal. Most of the menhirs in northern Spain appear to date back to the stone age; they are not usually associated with burials, but in at least one instance (theMenhir of Cuesta del Molino inBurgos) burials dating at least 2000 years after the menhir was originally built have been found.[26]
In mediterranean Spain and, particularly the Balearic islands, megalithic structures consisting of standing stones such as theTaulas, but associated withBronze Age andIron Age cultures, are also common.
In Sweden menhirs were erected as markers for the graves of warriors until the 13th century. The following lines are taken fromSnorri Sturluson's introduction to his workHeimskringla:
As to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the Age of Burning; because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were raised standing stones.
For men of consequence a mound should be raised to their memory, and for all other warriors who had been distinguished for manhood a standing stone; which custom remained long after Odin's time.[27]
In the same work Snorri writes that the Swedes burned the corpse of their kingVanlade and raised a stone over his ashes by the River Skyt, one of the tributaries of theRiver Fyris:
The Swedes took his body and burned it at a river called Skytaa, where a standing stone was raised over him.[27]
The tradition is also mentioned in theHávamál.
In the French-speaking canton ofVaud inSwitzerland, several menhirs form linear patterns inYverdon-les-Bains. These are situated in Clendy and date back to the third millennium BC.
In Welsh, menhirs are called 'Maen Hir' and they are scattered throughout Wales.
Menhirs were erected by theU'wa people ofColombia in their ancestral territory. They believe that the menhirs are the ancients of the U'wa clans who were turned into the stone piers of the world. Menhirs can be found inChita andChiscas,Boyacá.[citation needed]
There are 114 menhirs in the Provincial Park Los Menhires inArgentina. They were erected by the Tafí people, an indigenous culture ofTucumán province, and were used in fertility rites.[citation needed]
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