The mysterious ancient menhirs of Corsica

This archaeological site was discovered in 1946; Filitosa has about 20 menhirs which is half of all those known on Corsica

This is the central monument with menhirs uncovered during the dig lining the perimeter; I was more impressed with prehistoric sites on Sardinia and Menorca

Early Neolithic people sheltered under these overhanging rocks; admission was 7 euros and the guide book was 4 euros

5 menhirs erected around 1500 BC surrounding a 2000 year old olive tree; the menhirs were moved from their original positions to create a better presentation

I thought this rock looked just like a giraffe; the forest-covered mountains were full of wild boar in ancient times

This is supposed to be the quarry but it looks more like a pile of rocks; they didn't have to do much carving to get large granite rocks for the menhirs

View from the quarry to the hill with the main monuments; Stonehenge is the most well-known example of menhirs

There are hundreds of menhirs still standing in their original locations at this remote location I read about online; it's down a dirt road and then a 20 minute hike through the brush

I thought the menhirs at Palaggiu were more impressive than the touristy Filitosa; these menhirs were discovered in 1899 and look to me much like a cemetery

This diagram shows the original location of the menhirs; they were found not in groups like they are now displayed

Metal age vase; it was unclear to me if the vase fragments came from this site or somewhere else

Cork has been harvested from this oak; to reach Filitosa from Ajaccio involved non-stop winding, rutted roads for an hour - I was ready to barf

Some of the menhirs weigh more than 2.5 tons; no explanation was given on how the menhir got from the quarry to its carved location

They are building a new museum set to open next year; maybe in the new facility they'll add English explanations

There are 1200 menhirs in northwest France (Brittany) but, in addition to western Europe, they've been discovered in Asia and Africa

There were audio explanations at different points but most of them ended with a caveat like - that's one of the hypotheses; so much remains unknown about these people

I wondered why the site, although classified as a historical monument, still belongs to the family who owned the land when the discovery was made

Corsica is the leading region in Europe for the quantity and quality of megalithic statue art; the purpose of the menhirs is still unknown