Changé archaeological site, Megalithic site in Saint-Piat, France

The site mégalithique de Changé is a prehistoric stone arrangement near Saint-Piat, with two dolmens and a tall standing stone set in an open field. A gentle rise in the land lets you see the countryside around it, and the worn stones stand on their own without any modern buildings.

The stones were set up during the late Neolithic period, and early digs in the 1900s showed they once stood on a piece of land between two rivers. Later changes around 2500 BC moved some stones and added a circle, and in the fifth and sixth centuries people buried their dead nearby.

Local families in Maintenon and Saint-Piat still pass down stories about the stones, sometimes speaking of hidden powers or spirits tied to them. Visitors today often pause at the tall menhir, feeling a quiet link between the modern fields and the old ways of marking the land.

Wear sturdy shoes because the ground is grassy and uneven in places. The site is open to the sky, so bring water and a hat, and give yourself time to walk slowly around the stones.

Inside the dolmen called the Cradle, faint carvings of axes and figures can still be seen on the stone. The entrance faces southeast, the same direction used by the other dolmen, which is not a common detail in this part of France.