The Czech Carnac

At Na rovinách, on the wooded plateau northeast of the village, regular lines of small boulders stand, known as the Kounov stone rows. They are sometimes rather grandly called the Czech Carnac, resembling the famous Breton menhir alignments. Fourteen rows are almost complete and several partly survive. Nearly 2,500 stones have been identified. The largest, Gibbon I, weighs six tonnes; most others are eighty centimetres high or less. The rows run almost exactly north–south and once commanded a good view across an unforested landscape. Among many explanations, the source favours a ritual-astronomical function, drawing an analogy with Carnac and its nearby menhir groups. Likewise, these rows neighbour the Slaný–Velvary menhir region. Measured intervals corresponding to ‘megalithic yards’ might support an astronomical purpose. But this remains unproved, especially because many large stones, perhaps sighting markers, have been removed. Historically the rows attracted little attention, which may explain the absence of legends and associated place names, except artificial names promoted by enthusiastic local amateur archaeologists from the 1930s.