Scientists uncover unexpected truth about Stonehenge and people who built it
Scientists make a new discovery about the construction of Stonehenge (photo: Wikipedia/Old Moonraker)
New research has revealed that the central stone of Stonehenge, previously believed to originate from Wales, might have come from northeast Scotland. This suggests the existence of ancient trade networks and a more complex social organization among people over 5,000 years ago.
The origins of Stonehenge's stones and their journey to southern England are detailed by a study published in the journal Nature.
For many years, it was believed that the altar stone, along with some other megaliths at Stonehenge, was brought from the Preseli Hills in Wales, about 250 kilometers from the site.
However, recent geological research by Welsh PhD student Anthony Clarke from Pembrokeshire has shown that the stone used for the Altar differs in composition from those found in the Preseli Hills. This suggests it may have been sourced from another location.
The new analysis revealed that the six-ton stone at the heart of Stonehenge did not come from Wales but from the far north of Scotland. The ancient monument near Salisbury in southwestern England was constructed from stones originating from various parts of Great Britain.
This indicates that Neolithic Britain was a much more connected and sophisticated society than previously thought.
Notably, the distance between Stonehenge and the far north of Scotland is 700 kilometers. According to Clarke, only the central altar stone was transported from Scotland, while all the stones in the central horseshoe came from Wales, and the larger stones from the outer circle were sourced from England.
"Such a provenance implies that the Altar Stone, a 6-tonne shaped block, was sourced at least 750 km from its current location. The difficulty of long-distance overland transport of such massive cargo from Scotland, navigating topographic barriers, suggests that it was transported by sea," the researchers write.
This implies the existence of long-distance trade networks and points to more complex and sophisticated levels of social organization.
As early as 1923, Welsh geologist Henry Herbert Thomas determined that the blue stones at Stonehenge originated from the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire. The central altar stone was made of a different rock type, but it was always thought to come from the same area. It was only 20 years ago that scientists first questioned its origin.
Just last year, researchers discovered that the altar stone could not have come from Wales at all. A team from Curtin University made a groundbreaking breakthrough by analyzing the chemical composition of fragments from the altar stone and determining its date. The composition and date are unique to stones from different parts of the world, akin to a fingerprint.
Scientists had access to one of the most comprehensive global databases of rock fingerprints and found that the closest match was with the Orcadian Basin, which includes the Caithness, Orkney, and Moray Firth regions in northeast Scotland.
"This work raises two important questions: how was the altar stone transported from the far north of Scotland, 700 kilometers to Stonehenge, and, more intriguingly, why?" writes Dr. Rob A. Ixer from University College London, one of the study's participants.
Previously, we wrote about the eight oldest cities in Ukraine that continue to impress with their beauty today.
