Whatever their purpose, whether territorial markers, calendars, or shrines for druidic ritual, menhirs are common throughout western Europe. Constructed during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, they remained in use for centuries. Gaul contained large concentrations of these pre-historic monuments, and over 1,200 sites survive in northwest France to this day. These include the Carnac complex, where over 3,000 stones are arranged across four large groupings, to the twenty metre tall, 330 tonne stone now known as the Grand Menhir Brisé, or 'Great Broken Menhir'.
