A chance find in Balchiria, Corsica, revealed two stelae that are unique in Western Mediterranean context both in terms of their motif and morphology.

Refitting flakes to cores is a well-developed way to investigate how stone tools were made. Here the author takes on the formidable task of refitting the stone blocks of menhirs, orthostats and megalithic tombs to their quarries. The results are impressive: the order of erection in a row of menhirs, the method of construction in a passage grave and the monumental chronology of a region are just three of the rewards of this promising new method.

This article suggests that the rare motif on Breton menhirs often interpreted as an axe (of ‘Mané Rutual’ type) or an axe-plough, could be the representation of a whale, and that if so, this might be a mythic creature. The character of myth and narrative is considered. It is mooted that Late Mesolithic people or their immediate descendants could have been responsible for the erection of such menhirs. The juxtaposition of the suggested whale motif with versions of animals with curved horns on the broken menhir of La Table des Marchand and Gavrinis raises the possibility of alternative or competing myths and creation stories. Other representations of natural creatures in the Mesolithic and Neolithic in Europe are briefly noted, and the possible importance of myth in the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition of northwest Europe is discussed.