Sainte-Barbe stone rows

Coastal maps of France dating back to the end of the eighteenth century mention “large stones” at “Plouharne” (now Plouharnel) to the north-west of the village of Sainte-Barbe.

In the 1880s, Plouharnel archaeologist and hotel owner Félix Gaillard watched powerlessly as several standing stones close to Sainte-Barbe’s chapel were destroyed. He alerted the authorities and in the late nineteenth century, the head of the stone rows was listed as a historic monument. In 1923, Zacharie Le Rouzic extended the listing to other stones that formed part of the same monument, and supervised the re-erection of several.

Today, at least three preserved alignments totalling 26 stones can be observed, including several spectacularly huge steles. A dozen others lie in the vicinity. This monument echoes the Vieux Moulin alignments to the east, on the way out of the village of Plouharnel towards Erdeven.

---