Coupiat stone alignment

These three stones are sited on the Causse de Coupiat, to the north-east of the hamlet of Mayranne, which is 1 km east of Minerve village.

This is the first, most southerly stone  [No. 3 on GE image]. It’s 110 cm tall by 40 wide. and it faces E – W. Below is another view.

The next stone is 143 metres to the NN-W :

This stone is 125 cm by 70 at its base. It faces 230° SW. Below is another view

It looks unsteady, but is in fact well-sunk in the ground.

In the photo above, the top of the southerly stone (No 3) can just be seen above the box bushes.

Below is the upper, most northerly stone [No 1 on GE image] :

Again, it looks as if it is held upright by the rocks around it. In fact it is firmly embedded. It is 125 cm by 40 (at its ‘shoulder’). It is oriented E-W.

Below is another view of the middle menhir, in its landscape :

Its distance from menhir No 1 is 155 metres – which curiously is also the angle between them. All three stones lie precisely on this bearing : 155° S-E. The distance between the three stones is exactly 300 metres.

It’s not the only alignment on this hillside : two dolmens and a small standing stone also form a precise arrangement.