Carnac stones, Prehistoric stone alignment in Carnac, France.
The Carnac stones are a megalithic site in Brittany on the French Atlantic coast, consisting of more than 3,000 upright granite blocks. These stones extend in parallel rows across roughly four kilometers and form several separate sections in the flat landscape near the shoreline.
The site was created between 4500 and 3300 BC by prehistoric communities during the Neolithic period in Europe. Later inhabitants sometimes used the stones as building material, and over the centuries some rows disappeared or were disrupted by farming and settlement.
Local stories describe these formations as Roman soldiers turned to stone by the wizard Merlin during his journey through Brittany. The oral tradition connects the site to medieval legend and remains part of how people in the region share the place with visitors today.
The site is freely accessible between October and March, while guided tours run during the summer months to protect the vegetation. Visitors can view the rows best from raised observation points or walk along marked paths outside the fenced areas.
The height of the stones gradually decreases from west to east, ranging from about 4 meters (13 feet) at the western end to less than one meter (3 feet) at the eastern finish. This gradation follows a clear pattern whose purpose has never been definitively explained.
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