Croix de Saint-Roch

About

La Croix de Saint-Roch is a Christianized menhir located in Saint-Nectaire in the French department of Puy-de-Dôme.

Description: The menhir is a basaltic prism moved over a distance of at least 3 km. It is 2.20 m high and has three faces of 0.50 m, 0.40 m and 0.50 m wide respectively. The north and east sides are flat. The south side has a small cupula near the top. The latter is flattened. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was surmounted by a millstone that served as a pedestal to a wrought iron cross, then the cross was laid and then re-installed. At the foot of the menhir lies another flat basalt slab, 1.22 m long and 0.77 m wide and 0.20 m thick. It rests on four blocks, such as the cover table of a dolmen on its orthostates. The whole, menhir and slab, stands on a small hill of earth.

History: The cross over the menhir is dedicated to Saint-Roch. The faithful of Saint-Nectaire and Sapchat went there in procession on the Sunday following the feast of Saint-Roch.