A guide book on the megaliths, remarkable rocks and sacred springs of Haute-Loire has just been published, the result of research by Bruno Mestre.
Less than a year ago, Bruno Mestre released “The pagan Velay, history and mythology” (Ed. de la Flandonnière), a book that looked back on the origins of spirituality in Velay. Continuing his research, the author has just published a second guide book with Monts d’Auvergne, listing the megaliths (dolmen, menhir), stones with basins and sacred springs in the Haute-Loire department.
More than 200 megalithic sites presented
Prefaced by Myriam Philibert, ex-departmental archaeologist and prehistorian, Bruno Mestre’s book aims to introduce the public to more than 200 megaliths, menhirs, dolmens, cupule stones and sacred springs in the Haute-Loire department. Most little known (some are even completely new), he presents them to us accompanied by many original photographs. Thanks to the precise geographical indications (the author has visited each of them), this book constitutes an exceptional guide to embark on the discovery of this immemorial heritage.
Age-old legends
On these highlands long removed from urban modernity, these “sacred monuments” transmit to us ancient legends where pagan beliefs and Christian traditions intermingle. Learn about the mysterious spirit of these eternal places, still the object of pious devotions or fervent pilgrimages. During the reading of the 256 pages of the book, one will therefore not fail to discover and be surprised by this unknown and unsuspected wealth that the Haute-Loire conceals.
The sacred spring of the Barrys, the Devil’s chairs in Bas
After an introduction to the megalithic phenomenon and comparisons with other neighboring departments (Ardèche, Loire, Lozère, Puy-de-Dôme), the book presents the different sites, commune by commune. For the north-eastern part of the Haute-Loire, we will discover with interest the menhirs and dolmens of Tence including the famous druidic rock of Crouzilhac, the numerous stones with cupules of Sainte-Sigolène, the rock with footprint of Saint-Martin in Oriol (Aurec-sur-Loire), the Devil’s chairs at Malorum in Bas-en-Basset or even the legendary stone in the woods of Saint-Just-Malmont, without forgetting the sacred spring on the plateau of Barrys in Yssingeaux or that of Fraisse High in Beauzac.
Bruno Mestre in brief
Born in 1996 in Le Puy-en-Velay, a graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP) and the Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Bruno Mestre has had a passion for the history of Haute-Loire since childhood. A man of the field, as well as of archives, he is at the origin of the discovery of several archaeological sites such as the Gallo-Roman theater of Saint-Paulien or the castle mound of Bonneval. Secretary General of the Cahiers de la Haute-Loire, local studies journal of the Departmental Archives, he is the author of several articles in regional (l’Eveil de la Haute-Loire, le Souffle de la Neira) and national ( Friends of Celtic Studies). After “Le Velay païen, Histoire & Mythologie” (2021), “Megaliths, remarkable rocks and sacred sources of Haute-Loire” is his second book.
Practical information
Price 32 euros 256 pages
On sale in bookstores in Haute-Loire, on the site of the Monts d’Auvergne editions or the Create editions