Stonehenge's Altar Stone: New Research Reveals Scottish Origins
Mythology/Folklore/History
Wednesday 14th, August 2024
Researchers have discovered that Stonehenge’s Altar Stone originates from Scotland, not Wales as previously believed. This new finding significantly alters our understanding of the ancient monument’s construction and the communities that built it.
The study, published in the journal Nature, was conducted by a team from Curtin University in Western Australia, in collaboration with Aberystwyth University, The University of Adelaide, and University College London. By examining the age and chemistry of mineral grains within fragments of the Altar Stone, the researchers have determined that the sandstone block, which measures approximately 5 metres by 1 metre, came from the Orcadian Basin in north-east Scotland.
Previously, it was thought that the stone originated in the Brecon Beacons in south Wales, a belief held for the past century. However, the new research has overturned this theory. Anthony Clarke, the lead author of the study and a PhD student at Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, explained the findings in detail.
“Our analysis found specific mineral grains in the Altar Stone are mostly between 1,000 to 2,000 million years old, while other minerals are around 450 million years old. This provides a distinct chemical fingerprint suggesting the stone came from rocks in the Orcadian Basin, Scotland, at least 750 kilometres away from Stonehenge. Given its Scottish origins, the findings raise fascinating questions, considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic era, as to how such a massive stone was transported over vast distances around 2600 BC”, Clarke said.
The discovery also has a personal connection for Clarke, who grew up in the Mynydd Preseli region of Wales, where some of Stonehenge’s other stones are believed to have originated. Reflecting on his involvement in the study, Clarke noted, “I first visited Stonehenge when I was one year old and now at 25, I returned from Australia to help make this scientific discovery – you could say I’ve come full circle at the stone circle”.
The findings have significant implications for how we view the Neolithic communities that built Stonehenge. Professor Chris Kirkland, a co-author of the study and member of the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group at Curtin, highlighted the broader societal implications.
“Our discovery of the Altar Stone’s origins highlights a significant level of societal coordination during the Neolithic period and helps paint a fascinating picture of prehistoric Britain. Transporting such massive cargo overland from Scotland to southern England would have been extremely challenging, indicating a likely marine shipping route along the coast of Britain. This implies long-distance trade networks and a higher level of societal organisation than is widely understood to have existed during the Neolithic period in Britain”, Professor Kirkland explained.
This new understanding challenges previous assumptions and opens up new avenues of research. Co-author Professor Richard Bevins of Aberystwyth University remarked on the significance of the findings, stating, “We have succeeded in working out, if you like, the age and chemical fingerprints of perhaps one of the most famous of stones in the world renowned ancient monument. While we can now say that this iconic rock is Scottish and not Welsh, the hunt will still very much be on to pin down where exactly in the north-east of Scotland the Altar Stone came from”.
The study’s findings also challenge the logistics of how such a large stone was transported over a distance of more than 700 kilometres, a mystery that continues to intrigue researchers. Dr Robert Ixer of UCL’s Institute of Archaeology, another co-author of the study, acknowledged the surprising nature of the results, stating, “The findings were genuinely shocking – but if plate tectonics and atomic physics were correct, then the Altar Stone is Scottish. The work prompts two important questions, why and exactly how was the Altar Stone transported from the very north of Scotland, a distance of more than 700 kilometres, to Stonehenge?”.
The study, published in the journal Nature, was conducted by a team from Curtin University in Western Australia, in collaboration with Aberystwyth University, The University of Adelaide, and University College London. By examining the age and chemistry of mineral grains within fragments of the Altar Stone, the researchers have determined that the sandstone block, which measures approximately 5 metres by 1 metre, came from the Orcadian Basin in north-east Scotland.
Previously, it was thought that the stone originated in the Brecon Beacons in south Wales, a belief held for the past century. However, the new research has overturned this theory. Anthony Clarke, the lead author of the study and a PhD student at Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, explained the findings in detail.
“Our analysis found specific mineral grains in the Altar Stone are mostly between 1,000 to 2,000 million years old, while other minerals are around 450 million years old. This provides a distinct chemical fingerprint suggesting the stone came from rocks in the Orcadian Basin, Scotland, at least 750 kilometres away from Stonehenge. Given its Scottish origins, the findings raise fascinating questions, considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic era, as to how such a massive stone was transported over vast distances around 2600 BC”, Clarke said.
The discovery also has a personal connection for Clarke, who grew up in the Mynydd Preseli region of Wales, where some of Stonehenge’s other stones are believed to have originated. Reflecting on his involvement in the study, Clarke noted, “I first visited Stonehenge when I was one year old and now at 25, I returned from Australia to help make this scientific discovery – you could say I’ve come full circle at the stone circle”.
The findings have significant implications for how we view the Neolithic communities that built Stonehenge. Professor Chris Kirkland, a co-author of the study and member of the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group at Curtin, highlighted the broader societal implications.
“Our discovery of the Altar Stone’s origins highlights a significant level of societal coordination during the Neolithic period and helps paint a fascinating picture of prehistoric Britain. Transporting such massive cargo overland from Scotland to southern England would have been extremely challenging, indicating a likely marine shipping route along the coast of Britain. This implies long-distance trade networks and a higher level of societal organisation than is widely understood to have existed during the Neolithic period in Britain”, Professor Kirkland explained.
This new understanding challenges previous assumptions and opens up new avenues of research. Co-author Professor Richard Bevins of Aberystwyth University remarked on the significance of the findings, stating, “We have succeeded in working out, if you like, the age and chemical fingerprints of perhaps one of the most famous of stones in the world renowned ancient monument. While we can now say that this iconic rock is Scottish and not Welsh, the hunt will still very much be on to pin down where exactly in the north-east of Scotland the Altar Stone came from”.
The study’s findings also challenge the logistics of how such a large stone was transported over a distance of more than 700 kilometres, a mystery that continues to intrigue researchers. Dr Robert Ixer of UCL’s Institute of Archaeology, another co-author of the study, acknowledged the surprising nature of the results, stating, “The findings were genuinely shocking – but if plate tectonics and atomic physics were correct, then the Altar Stone is Scottish. The work prompts two important questions, why and exactly how was the Altar Stone transported from the very north of Scotland, a distance of more than 700 kilometres, to Stonehenge?”.
