Altar Stone's Scottish Origin: Latest Breakthrough

Stonehenge 's Altar Stone Origin

For more than a century , archaeologists have known that some of the stones at Stonehenge came from Wales and were transported somehow about 125 miles ( 200 km ) to the site of the Neolithic monument on Salisbury Plain . Now , a jaw - dropping study has revealed that one of Stonehenge 's central megaliths is not Welsh at all it is actually Scottish . The astonishing finding that the megalith , known as the altar stone , was transported by prehistoric people from at least as far as present - day Inverness , and potentially from the Orkney islands , does n't just alter what we think about Stonehenge , it alters what we think about the whole of the late Neolithic . The science is beautiful and remarkable and it 's going to be discussed for decades to come.

As a crystal of zircon , apatite , or rutile forms , trace amounts of radioactive uranium get incorporated into its structure . That uranium decays into lead at a known rate . By measuring the ratio of uranium and lead , scientists can calculate when a grain of rock formed . Replicating the process for many grains in a slab of rock gives researchers a distinctive fingerprint of their age . The astonishing finding may be shocking , but the science is not controversial , said the experts.

The Journey of the Altar Stone

One of the massive rocks at the mysterious Stonehenge structure in southern England may have been toted in from about 500 miles away , a remarkable feat to accomplish some 4,500 years ago . The Altar Stone , located at the heart of the monument 's inner circle , is a 16 - foot - long , six - ton slab of grayish - green sandstone . In new research published in Nature , scientists tested the assumption that the Altar Stone came from Wales and reached a startling conclusion - it seems to have instead come from northeastern Scotland . The analysis showed the Altar Stone 's mineral age fingerprint does n't match that of stones anywhere in southern England or Wales , but it is similar to that of a rock formation called the Orcadian Basin in Scotland.

The analysis was n't comprehensive enough to determine where , precisely , the Altar Stone came from , but future work aims to answer that question by collecting samples and analyzing additional minerals . The finding suggests that Stonehenge was known not just to people in the south , but over a much wider area and opens suggestions for the whole way we think about Neolithic Britain.

The Mystery of Stonehenge

The Altar Stone is buried in the ground and has been mostly covered by two fallen Sarsen stones . To determine the Altar Stone 's origins , scientists analyzed three different types of minerals in its sandstone . The new research offers a geology story , and colleagues are looking forward to exploring the archaeological story behind the mystery of Stonehenge . The finding suggests that Stonehenge has long held magnetic appeal and iconic status that draw people in , just as it did in ancient times . It gives the impression that people wanted to come and contribute to the site , making Stonehenge a symbol that transcends time and place.