Stone slab, bigger than you expect

The Forest of Store-Lé, on the border of the Sarthe region, is a place where fairy tales come alive. And, it seems, so do megalithic monuments. For here, tucked away amongst its deepest, densest corners, is the largest monolith in France. Two metres in height, four and a half in width and nine in length, the Palet-de-Gargantua sits proudly. Or so it would if it weren't for the missing stone. The original dolmen, it seems, was shattered into five pieces.

Four of those were carefully transported and placed back as they were, making it the largest monolith in France once more. The fifth was left where it fell, half a kilometre away. Still transportable, but home now to the tree that also claims that it's a champion. The Palet-de-Gargantua is an ancient relic, dating back to the Neolithic age. It's one of many similar monuments found in the Sarthe region. Yet it's the size of this one that sets it apart. In a forest full of surprises, it's the big, heavy stone that lingers.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons