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The Gallic stele of the city centre


( Municipality of Ploudalmézeau)





GPS : 48°32'28 N  4°39'23 W



Access :    When entering Ploudalmézeau on the D168, continue until you reach the church and turn right (rue Henri de Provostic). The stele is located at the corner of the first street on the left (rue des Murs).



  This beautiful Gallic stele near the church does not seem to have been Christianized other than by its location, which is probably not of origin. It is a classic truncated pyramid with a rectangular section that could have been planted slightly obliquely so that its rear side, very close to the wall, was as vertical as the wall.
  1.13 m high, the stele measures 45 x 56 cm at the base and 29 x 29 cm at the top.


Drawing by Etienne MOREL, 1926

   One can wonder about the function of this stele at this location. Not touching the wall of the church enclosure, it cannot be used to consolidate it. If we observe that it has been repaired at its base, we can assume that it served against the wheels to protect the corner of the wall from the impacts caused in the past by the carts that were shaving it.
    If today this discreet monument, which is more than 2000 years old, has lost its function, its presence on a sidewalk in the heart of the city centre is a good way of promoting it to the public.

The drawing by archaeologist Etienne MOREL is taken from "Les stèles de l'âge du fer dans le Léon", by Marie-Yvane DAIRE and Pierre-Roland GIOT, Rennes, 1989.

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