Part of the Breton landscape since the 5th millennium, these colossal structures make the Morbihan a favoured region for the study of megalithic monuments. The alignments at Carnac are the most emblematic among them.
Put in place by the first agro-pastoral societies of the 5th to 3rd millennia BC, these stone structures were used in ceremonial activities. Their erection probably mobilized numerous human communities. The great menhir of Locmariaquer, broken into five pieces, weighed 350 tons…

Covered by the moor, around sixty menhirs have been revealed at Belz. Erected around 4,500 years ago, some of these blocks are 2 metres high.
This alignment is particularly interesting because it is preserved in its original sedimentary environment. Other sites, such as Carnac or Stonehenge (Great Britain), have suffered from uncontrolled tourism leading to the disturbance or destruction of the Neolithic archaeological levels. At Belz, the Inrap archaeologists have a rare opportunity to reconstruct the history, construction and abandon of the menhirs.

By the Medieval period, these monoliths had long since lost their value and meaning: agricultural use of the land led to the breaking up and reuse of these blocks.

The megaliths of Belz were probably toppled over as early as the Late Neolithic. They were simply pushed over and still lie near their foundation pit, but most remarkably, the majority of them were toppled in the same direction, on a north-west/south-east alignment. This is not the first dismantling of Neolithic megaliths known in Amorica. The great menhirs of Locmariaquer, from the 5th millennium, were segmented during the 4th and reused in certain dolmens, as on the island of Gavrinis, for example. The probable destruction of the Belz menhirs during the 3rd millennium confirms the evolution of mentalities during this period.

Because of the research and heritage importance of this discovery, the Ministry of Culture and Communication has begun the process of scheduling this ensemble of megaliths and the surrounding land as a historic monument.