Le Marmot de Monismes

Described by Dr. Janicaud (in Volume 26 of Mémoires de la Société des Sciences de la Creuse, 1935), it roughly represents a seated figure carved from a single block of granite, 1.10 m high. The head is spherical; the eyes and nostrils are represented by simple round holes, the mouth by a horizontal groove. The arms are depicted alongside the body. This figure is thought to represent a Gallic divinity from the first centuries AD. Druids would have performed rituals to protect livestock. The Christian religion adopted this pagan belief for its own: "to tame the cattle, you had to make them turn around the marmot three times while reciting prayers".