Ancient stones lined up like an army turned to stone. Well you probably have heard of Stonehenge and Easter Island. Well France would like to remind you that the town of Carnac has it’s own stone mystery and invites you to come check it out. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
These tourism promoting issues are some of my favorite French stamps. It reminds the tourist that there is more to see than Paris. That in itself would make the stamps worth doing. What makes them even more special is that instead of photos, little paintings are done very much in the style of the impressionist, which remember itself had French origins. The reason the issues have been so long lived is in my opinion how effective they are to the French themselves reminding them of their patriotic feelings in a non political way.
Todays stamp is issue A440, a one Franc stamp issued by France on July 10th, 1965. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. There is an overprinted version for use on the island of Reunion.
It is believed that the stones date back to 3300 BC. There are about 1000 stones still around, though some have toppled. An early theory of why they exist was put forth by Christians was that the stones were pagan soldiers in pursuit of Pope Cornelius around 250 AD when God saved him by turning the army to stone. Another legend that is more popular locally is that the stones are the remains of a Roman Legion that was turned to stone by Merlin. This legend shows how close Britany was tied in to Welsh and King Arthur style mysticism of the British isles.
Around 1800, French soldier and celtomaniac antiquarian de la Tour d ‘Auvergne put forth the theory that the stones were placed by ancient Druids. This theory is more in keeping with the age of the stones. The work was built upon to claim that stone placement was aligned with the astrology of the stars. This fits in with the revival among modern hippies of what they perceive of as druid roots to there own movement. Recently a group calling itself everyone-together collective stormed the visitor center of Kermerio Alignment of stones to demand more open axess to the stones so they be communed with and not just visited in organized tours. Haha.
Well my drink is empty and I expect the bartender will soon cut off the everyone-together collective so I think I will call it a day. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.