There are two
megalithic menhirs on the island, which is flat and treeless. It is mentioned by the Roman geographer
Pomponius Mela. During World War II, German forces occupied the island. The Île de Sein lighthouse (Le Phare de Goulenez), built in 1839 at the north-western end was destroyed - it was later rebuilt in 1952. After hearing
General de Gaulle's call to resistance during
World War II in his
appeal to the French on 18 June 1940, every male inhabitant aged between 14 and 54 (or 60, according to the island's official website) (variously totalled as 114 to 128) set sail in their fishing boats for Britain to join the
Free French forces. For this, on 1 January 1946, the community was awarded the high honour of the
Order of the Liberation. During the 1960s, French artists
Maurice Boitel and
Jean Rigaud painted on the Île de Sein. It is featured in the 1995 French film
Élisa. In December 2025, an ancient undersea wall was discovered close to the island. Researchers speculate that a corresponding settlement lost to rising sea levels would have been memorable to local peoples, and may have led to the myth of
Ys. ==Geography==