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menhir

File:Ballinagree.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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menhir

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Also known as standing stone, orthostat, lith

upright=1.5|thumb|Large menhir located between Millstreet and [[Ballinagree, County Cork, Ireland]] thumb|The Caramujeira Menhir, currently preserved at the Silves Municipal Archeology Museum, in [[Portugal]] thumb|Cwm Rhaeadr Fawr maen hir (menhir) near Aber Falls, [[Gwynedd, Wales]] thumb|Dry Tree menhir – a standing stone at [[Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall]]

AI overview

A menhir is a single large stone that was set upright in the ground in prehistoric times, examples of which can be found across Europe including Ireland, Portugal, Wales, and Cornwall. These standing stones matter to archaeologists and historians because they provide physical evidence of ancient human societies and their practices.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
monument
Material used
stone
Image
Dol de Bretagne (p8310026).jpg
Said to be same as
Bauta (stone)
Show 6 more facts
Commons category
Menhirs
topic's main category
Category:Menhirs
Commons gallery
Menhir
time period
Bronze Age
OpenStreetMap tag
megalith_type=menhir
different from
orthostates
Sources (4)

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~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

8 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • History
  • Geographical distribution
  • In popular culture
  • See also
  • Notes
  • Further reading
  • External links

upright=1.5|thumb|Large menhir located between Millstreet and [[Ballinagree, County Cork, Ireland]] thumb|The Caramujeira Menhir, currently preserved at the Silves Municipal Archeology Museum, in [[Portugal]] thumb|Cwm Rhaeadr Fawr maen hir (menhir) near Aber Falls, [[Gwynedd, Wales]] thumb|Dry Tree menhir – a standing stone at [[Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall]]

A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: maen or men, "stone" and hir or hîr, "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs' sizes can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “menhir” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (15)

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