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Strange carved stones on a larger-than-human scale litter the landscape on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. They appear in groupings around the island, the oldest of which dates back more than 4,000 years. Some of the stones remain hidden in the dense overgrowth of the maquis, the herbaceous bush that dominates parts of Corsica. Other stone groupings are on display at Filitosa, the most important of the island's prehistoric sites, where the features carved into the stone are most clearly distinguishable.
These curious stone structures are known as dolmens and menhirs (from Breton men, "stone," and hir, "long"). The dolmens, once thought to be sacrificial altars, are actually prehistoric tombs, while the menhirs--of which there are 73 on Corsica--are monoliths or simple upright stones, carved with crude details of weaponry and mask like faces. Proportionally, they are roughly similar to humans, except that some are more than 12 feet tall.
Most of the menhirs at Filitosa were destroyed during an invasion around 1300 BC. These seafaring invaders, known as the Torréens, broke the stones apart and used them to build walls and their trademark torri, or towers. What remained went largely ignored for thousands of years, and some menhir remnants wound up as building blocks for houses and churches.
A farmer out inspecting his land uncovered the main site at Filitosa in the late 1940s, yet serious archaeological study of the area didn't begin until the 1960s. Since then, debate has continued over the true significance of these prehistoric sites. Theories on the statue-menhirs have suggested that they represent anything from gods to heroes to slain enemies. Others describe the menhirs as phallic symbols for worship, the product of an ancient fertility cult. Similar ruins with stone monoliths appear throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, yet those at Corsica display the most clearly defined sculpted human features, fueling further speculation as to the identity of their artisan creators.
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