Standing Stones and other Megaliths of St Just
A record of the Neolithic and Bronze Age archeological sites and monuments of Saint Just, Brittany.
Introductory statement
The moor and megaliths of Saint Just
The village of Saint-Just, located in the French department of Ille et Vilaine is host to numerous megalithic sites. While megaliths of the Lande de Cojoux (moor or Cojoux) are no doubt the most well known, many others are scattered throughout the territory of the municipality.
The megalithic heritage of Saint Just dates back to around 4,500 BC and constitutes one of the largest religious centers of Breton prehistory.
Noteworthy sites guided tour
Les Alignements du Moulin
The Alignements du Moulin (Alignments of the Mill) or Alignements de Cojoux are three megalithic alignments (A, B, and C) of the Neolithic.
The site extends over 200 m long and 40 m wide. Alignments B and C are oriented east-west, perhaps following the summer solstices. Alignment A, which stands west of B and C is perpendicular to the latter.
Les Petites Roches Piquées
West of the Alignments du Moulin, Les Petites Roches Piquées are a disrupted alignment of around 310 blocks of schist dated back to the Neolithic. The alignment is approximately 220 m long.
Les Demoiselles
Les Demoiselles, also known as Les Roches Piquées, are a Neolithic alignment consisting of two standing menhirs (almost 3 m high, oriented east-northeast), as well as a third block of the same type and a fourth, smaller block. These last two features lie on the ground about 7 m to the south-east. All blocks are crystalline white quartz.
Le Château Bû
The Château Bû tumulus measures 35 m from East to West and 25 m from North to South. Three large white quartz menhirs approximately 3 m tall, a 4 m long white quartz block, and small slabs of blue schist cover the mound. The structure used to include a small pyramid in the center, about 4 m by 2.50 m, made up of a dozen slabs measuring 1.20 m to 1.30 m long. Sadly, it was destroyed during the 1990 excavations of the site.
The 1991 excavations revealed two individual Bronze Age tombs made up of wooden vaults measuring 2 by 1 m. Each tomb was dug at the foot of a menhir of the tumulus. They were also marked with wooden posts. Shale slabs piled up in the shape of a horseshoe surrounded the larger of the two.
The site, built in the Neolithic era, was reused in the Bronze Age as a burial place, likely for important figures who who may have been worshiped.
La Croix Saint-Pierre
The Croix Saint Pierre site is dated around 4500 years BC. The site is a collective Neolithic funerary monument which was rearranged in the Bronze Age with the addition of a burial chamber inside the south cairn. One of the slabs is adorned with small round cavities carved into the stone. The burial chamber of the North Dolmen, which also is also estimated to have been built during the Bronze Age is made up of a circle of small slabs of slate covered with transverse slabs. It may have housed a small wooden coffin.
A corridor provides access to the cobbled burial chamber where the bodies were deposited. Originally, the monument was covered with another structure enclosed in a cairn made up of stepped facings.
Allée couverte de Tréal
The Allée couverte de Tréal, or Dolmen of Tréal is a Neolithic burrial site made up of 39 menhirs. It is 15 m long and 1.20 m wide. It contains a chamber 1.60 m high. The entrance is from the side, through two perpendicular slabs opening towards the south.
The covered alley of Tréal is also known as the "Grotte aux Fées", French for "Fairies' Cave".
The Maison Mégalithes et Landes museum.
The Maison Megalithes et Landes hosts a permanent exhibit on the Neolithic and the megalithic alignments of Saint Just and surrounding areas. The museum also hosts temporary exhibits on a number of subjects of regional-cultural and historical relevance.
Interactive Archeological Maps
The following are a selection of interactive maps of the megaliths and archeological sites of Saint Just.
Disclaimer: As of the creation of this story map, many of the megaliths of Saint Just have not yet been recorded for archeological purposes. For this reason, these maps are only a partial record of Saint Just's archeological sites.
1) Archeology of Saint Just Megalithic Sites
Archeology of Saint Just Megalithic Sites