THE MENHIRS (Wéris, Belgian Ardennes)

The menhir (from the Breton "men" = stone and "hir" = long) is a monolith, less wide than high, erected vertically and set in the ground. Was it placed as a marker of a burial place, as part of a solar cult or as a striking boundary post? Many hypotheses have been put forward, but none of them have been conclusive.

Archaeological excavations in Wéris brought to light unprecedented menhirs. Some of these 'recovered' menhirs were probably moved or buried during the Gallo-Roman period. Others were buried, either by the first Christians who wanted to wipe out all traces of pagan civilisation, or by farmers in the Middle Ages or later who wanted to cultivate the largest possible area of their land. For some of these "recovered" menhirs, archaeologists have rediscovered, in the ground, the traces of the pits in which the dolmen men of the SOM culture, some 5,000 years ago, put them. But... Not all the stones could be put back in their original place: where the land is cultivated, farmers prefer not to have menhirs in their fields.

At Wéris II, the dolmen of Oppagne, there are 5 menhirs. Three of them were discovered together with the dolmen itself in 1888. The other 2 menhirs were found under a layer of earth during the archaeological excavations of 1986. Their original plant pits were found during later archaeological research. In April 1997, 4 menhirs were put back in their original position,... One menhir still lies flat on the ground. This is because its original plant pit has still not been found, and therefore that menhir remains lying flat on the ground.

La Longue Pierre, the Long Stone = height 3.60 m, weight 8 tonnes, is nowadays called Menhir Danthine. It was found in the field in 1947 by archaeologist Hélène Danthine, on the instructions of Mr Robert Lallemand, village teacher from 1911 to 1941 and a true dolmen enthusiast. The stone was buried under a layer of earth about 130 m from its current location. The farmer would rather lose this stone than lose it: the original planting pit of this Lange Steen was in the middle of his field. He could already see it, a menhir in his field. What a chore every time he had to plough, sow and harvest his field. No, he refused to have that stone in his field, he wanted to be able to drive straight lines when working. In 1948, archaeologist Hélène Danthine found a new site along the Barvaux-Erezée road.

Two other menhirs were discovered in 1983 in the same field Champ de la Longue Pierre

Field of the Long Stone). One was broken, but its base was still in its original pit. This reconstructed menhir is 2.15 m high. The other stone is 2.34 m high. These last two menhirs were also not allowed to be put back in their original place in the field. In 1984, they were given their new temporary position: they lie flat behind Wéris I, the dolmen of Wéris.

In total, there are more than 30 menhirs in the megalithic site of Wéris. The best known are: Oppagne, Menhir Danthine, Wéris2, Wéris1, Morville, Ozo, Heyd.