According to sources, there are nearly 1,000 standing stones and more than 20 dolmens scattered across the Isle of Beauty. Unfortunately, many have suffered the ravages of time, while others have fallen into oblivion, hidden somewhere in the maquis, or are now off-limits to visitors because they are located on private property—such as the site at Arghjola, near Cauria.
In Southern Corsica, the dolmens of Fontanaccia (nicknamed “a stazzona di u Diavulu,” “the Devil’s Forge” as the locals call it), Tremica (in Casaglione, north of Ajaccio), Settiva (halfway between Ajaccio and Propriano), “A Tola di u Turmentu” (“Table of Tortures”), and, more broadly, the Sartenais region are among the most significant; Upper Corsica can also boast a number of major megaliths, such as the Gualdoso dolmen (in Oletta) and the archaeological site of San Petru di Tenda, in the heart of the Agriate Mountains.
This, in fact, is where our journey through time takes us: at the entrance to the Balagne “desert,” on the hills above Saint-Florent. And be sure to stick around until the very end—I’ll share my list of isolated megalithic sites and dolmens at the end of this report.
The Urcu, the dolmen, and the Brocciu: Three Elements of a Corsican Legend
Three symbols of island culture—the megalith, the beast, and the brocciu—intertwine to form the legend of the “Casa di l’Urcu.” This story, passed down orally for centuries and known to all Corsicans, is set among the dolmens of Monte Rivincu, where, according to the myth, an ogre (“l’Urcu”) and his mother (“l’Urca”) once hid, far from the shepherds and their flocks.
Living off the theft of goats and sheep, and forcing men to pay them a regular tribute of dairy products, these “fearsome giants […] struck terror into the region, ” Elia Vallecalle and Don-Mathieu Santini tell us, echoing the words of archaeologist Adrien de Mortillet. “For many years, the Corsicans had done everything in their power to capture the Ogre, in order to rid the country of him; but they had never managed to catch him, for he always fled with the speed of lightning just when they thought they had him.”
However, the pastoral community set an ingenious trap: a large boot, coated on the inside with tar, placed near the ancient cave of Urcu. The giant approached it with great curiosity and, believing it would fit his foot, decided to slip it on to try it out. He remained stuck there, stunned, at the mercy of the shepherds , who “then pounced on him to slaughter him.”
Faced with his attackers, who were armed to the teeth, the ogre then made a generous offer to save his own skin: “Spare my life, and I’ll teach you how to use the whey from your goats to make brocciu.” For the giant possessed the secret to making this culinary treasure. Despite the Orca’s frantic protests—knowing full well that this revelation would not stop the men from shedding blood—the Agriate ogre revealed to them the recipe for the cheese that is now famous throughout the island—and beyond.
But no sooner had he instructed the shepherds than they slaughtered him with their swords and clubs, while the Urca also fell under the blows of the attackers.
The two monsters, once feared by the villagers in the surrounding area, thus left behind a product with inimitable flavors, and two giants’ houses of great symbolic power: for Elia Vallecalle and Don-Mathieu Santini, these are passages “between the visible and the invisible […], since the Urcu always eludes the shepherds” at a supernatural speed.
The dolmens of San Petru di Tenda evoke, through myth, the figure of the Urcu (the incarnation of Orcus, the Roman and Etruscan god of death), “who lives in rocky, dark places such as caves and high mountains.” A “guardian of knowledge and treasures” who travels back and forth between the surface and the underworld through a hidden passage in his lair.
Passages to the afterlife, or burial sites?
The most rational among us will not find gateways to Tantalus there, but tombs erected by the prehistoric Corsicans… And they will be—historically speaking—correct: these megaliths date back to the end of the 5th millennium BCE, to the dawn of a cultural revolution in the western Mediterranean.
To see them up close and (perhaps) experience the mystical atmosphere of the place, you should head to the hamlet of Casta, a few kilometers from the Bay of Saint-Florent; the archaeological site stretches across the “Cima di Suarello,” an open promontory crisscrossed by poorly marked trails that are nonetheless accessible to determined hikers.
The Casa di l’Urcu and the Casa di l’Urca are surviving Neolithic structures, along with archaic cists (buried tombs without a top slab) as well as standing stones, lines, and circles of boulders in the surrounding area. A little further up stands another dolmen, known as “Celluccia,” with a partially destroyed menhir guarding the axis of its opening.
These remains tell a story different from that of the Urcu: one of the oldest island communities began to settle here about 7,000 years ago and to perform its funeral rites alongside the activities of daily life. The first Corsicans certainly weren’t making Brocciu yet, but they were, without realizing it, laying the groundwork for a legend that their descendants would pass down until the end of time…
Corsica, the Island of 1,000 Menhirs
The first French destination that comes to mind when we think of menhirs is—unsurprisingly—Brittany, with its incredible pagan lore and alignments unlike any others in France. As for the second region known for standing stones, even though Occitanie is making its mark in the world of megaliths, it would have to be… the Isle of Beauty.
Joseph Cesari, former Curator of Archaeology for Corsica, is unequivocal: “The approximately 600 menhirs that have been erected in Corsica—nearly a hundred of which have been carefully carved—rank the island second among France’s megalithic regions” (Corse des origines, 1994).
600… only? More like 1,078, counters his colleague Florian Soula in a January 2014 research paper.
But their number is not the only remarkable feature: on the island, these menhirs—which date from several “phases” (or periods) of the megalithic era—are concentrated in a distinctive way far from the coast, with very few exceptions; they are found primarily on the plateaus, in the valleys, and on the remote plains of southern Corsica. Although other parts of the island are not entirely devoid of standing stones, “stantari,” and “paladini” (menhir statues, whether armed or not), “the phenomenon is predominantly found in the south.”
That is why the Sartenais Tourist Office has adopted the fitting nickname: “Corsica of the Ancients.” The sites of Filitosa, Cauria, and Rinaghju are the best examples of this.
Must-See Megalithic Sites in Corsica
| Megalithic site | Description |
|---|---|
| Filitosa Archaeological Site | Southern Corsica, in Sollacaro, near Propriano. An architectural complex and millennia-old remains uncovered by excavations. A leading archaeological site in the Mediterranean, with a history of human occupation spanning 8,000 years. |
| Cauria Plateau and the Renaghju Alignments | One of Corsica’s most important megalithic sites, with its “stantari” (menhir alignments) and the Funtanaccia dolmen, formerly known as “the Devil’s Forge.” Memorable. |
| Monte Revincu Archaeological Site | Near Saint-Florent, in Upper Corsica. Evidence of prehistoric settlement: megalithic burial sites (including a dolmen) and menhir statues, in the heart of the Agriate region. |
| Petra Frisgiata, Cambia | A trail that takes you to three medieval and prehistoric gems: the Chapel of Santa-Maria, the menhir statue of the same name, and the “Petra Frisgiata,” a rock engraved with mysterious symbols by Neolithic shepherds. |
| Museum of Prehistory | Southern Corsica, in the heart of Sartène. Museum of Corsican Prehistory and Archaeology: a significant collection of menhir statues and artifacts from Antiquity and the Middle Ages. |
| Archaeological Site of Paddaghju and Apazzu | Near Sartène, in Southern Corsica. Prehistoric sites featuring nearly 300 megaliths, making these alignments the largest in the Mediterranean. Magnificent! |
| Valley of the Menhir Statues and Sant’Appianu Cathedral | Southern Corsica, between Sagone and Vico. A high concentration of megalithic monuments, notably menhir statues (“U Scumunicatu” in Cargèse, the standing stone of Appriciani in Vico). The ruined cathedral of Sant’Appianu incorporates menhir statues into its walls. |
| Settiva Megalithic Site | In Petreto-Bicchisano (near Sartène). The site is home to one of Corsica’s best-preserved granite dolmens, along with two menhirs standing in front of the entrance, a line of standing stones, and the remains of fortifications at the top of the hill. |
| “A Tola di u Turmentu” Dolmen | Near Serra-di-Ferro, on a small hill in the Taravo Valley, stands this beautiful pink granite dolmen composed of ten slabs topped by a capstone. The presence of other scattered slabs nearby, as well as a menhir statue, suggests that the site once housed several dolmens, not far from an old transhumance trail. 20-minute walk. |
| Tremica Dolmen | Between Tiuccia and Sagone, north of Ajaccio. With its fairly rudimentary construction, this dolmen bears witness to the settlement of Neolithic populations. Take the small path that climbs to the left just past the church in Casaglione. |
Sources:
Exploring the Built Heritage – Sevi – Sorru Cruzzini – Cinarca | Daniel Istria, Mathieu Harnéquaux, Philippe Colombani, and Alain Gauthier, CRDP of Corsica | July 2010
Sartène – The Stantari of the Friar and the Nun | Kewin Pêche-Quilicchini | 2020
Menhir statues, decorated monoliths, and standing stones of Sardinia. Geography, chronology, sociocultural and socioterritorial interpretations | Florian Soula, Aix-Marseille University | January 2015
Prehistory of an Island | Gabriel Camps, Editions Errance | May 7, 1991
Corsica Before History | Roger Grosjean, Klincksieck Publishing | 1966
Corsica: Its Origins | Joseph Cesari, Franck Leandri, Paul Nebbia, Archaeological Guides of France | April 5, 1994
The Orcu and the Legend of the Brocciu | Elia Vallecalle and Don-Mathieu Santini, Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l’Ouest | 2022
