Verziau of Gargantua, Neolithic menhir in Bois-lès-Pargny, France.
The Verziau of Gargantua is a sandstone megalith standing 4.35 meters high and 1.50 meters wide with a tapered form and a chipped summit. The monument sits on a small hill north of Bois-lès-Pargny near a wooded area bordered by local properties.
The monument was officially classified as a historical site in 1889, securing its protection. A companion stone once stood nearby but was dismantled in the early 1800s when local people extracted the sandstone for building purposes.
The name 'verziau' comes from the Picard dialect and refers to a sharpening stone that a giant once used for his tools, a legend that still gives the stone special meaning for local people today.
The stone sits on a hilltop in a rural area with limited direct access due to surrounding private land. Plan to visit during daylight hours and approach from the nearest road on foot.
Numerous sandstone blocks weighing over 200 kilograms lie scattered in adjacent fields, revealing where the builders likely sourced their material. This geological abundance suggests the monument was built from locally available stone without long-distance transport.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
