At the Moulin de Louat, this fine sandstone statue-menhir fascinates with its engraved details and its eventful history, oscillating between a male and female figure, before regaining its male appearance.
Discovered in 1978 in Murat-sur-Vèbre (or, La Malvieille), the Moulin de Louat I statue-menhir is a remarkable testament to the Saint-Pons tradition. Carved from a block of fine-grained Permian sandstone, probably from Camarès, it measures 1.60 m in height and has a typical silhouette: a regular basket-handle top, a face inscribed in a semi-oval, eyes, nose, and engraved marks.
Listed as a Historic Monument with the title of object since October 30, 2019, it is distinguished by a singular history: initially male, it was feminized by the addition of breasts, before being remasculinized by the addition of an axe and the removal of the female attributes. Its still-visible engravings reveal a baldric, a pendant-dagger, a belt adorned with chevrons and a plate-buckle, carefully drawn legs and feet, as well as a back marked with folds of clothing and shoulder blade hooks.
Damaged by time and the passage of the plow, this prehistoric figure retains all its evocative power. It embodies the symbolic richness and beliefs of late Neolithic societies, where megalithic statuary could sometimes represent a man, sometimes a woman.
Located on a private property, on the path to the Moulin de Louat.
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