0 a tall stone put in a vertical position by people in prehistoric times (= the period before there were written records):
The countryside is dotted with Neolithic menhirs.
According to local legend the menhirs were Roman soldiers turned to stone by a druid.
There are two giant menhirs close by, one of them covered with symbolic engravings.
Menhirs are tall standing stones that archaeologists often ascribe to fertility cults.
Natural weathering of the sandstone has given the menhir's surface an unusual appearance, superficially similar to carved drapery.
Where menhirs appear in groups, often in a circular, oval, henge or horseshoe formation, they are sometimes called megalithic monuments.
The stelae are also described as obelisks or statue menhirs.
Obelix however is quite miserable: he has had too much of this tomfoolery with menhirs, markets, money, meat and mayhem, which he never understood at all.
