The true origin of Stonehenge’s mysterious 5,000-year-old ‘altar’ is revealed, but the discovery creates a perplexing new puzzle

The six-tonne Altar Stone at Stonehenge traveled further to its resting place than previously thought, new research has revealed.

The Alter Stone is believed to have originated in Wales during the last century, but new discoveries published today rewrite that version of history.

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The giant rock, partially buried beneath two fallen boulders from the largest trilithon, was actually dragged all the way from Scotland, according to researchers at Curtin University in Australia.

This is at least 750 kilometers from his final resting place on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.

The Alter Stone is the largest of the non-sarsen stones and is believed to have come from the Brecon Beacons area of ​​south-east Wales, around 130 miles away.

It is a huge block of sandstone 50 cm thick, measuring 5×1 meters, and scientists say it may have been placed within the central horseshoe of stones during the second phase of construction, around 2620-2480 BC.

By analyzing the age and chemistry of mineral grains in the rock, researchers discovered that fragments of the Alter Stone matched rocks from northeast Scotland.

The rock’s composition was different to other Welsh rocks the researchers analyzed.

Most of Stonehenge’s bluestones came from the Preseli Hills area of ​​west Wales and are believed to have been the first stones erected at the site.

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Figuring out how ancient stones arrived in Wiltshire 5,000 years ago and where they came from has baffled researchers for centuries.

But today’s conclusions point to an even more advanced method of transportation than previously assumed, as well as a greater level of social organization.

“Our analysis found that specific mineral grains in Altar Stone are mostly between 1,000 and 2,000 million years old, while other minerals are around 450 million years old,” said Anthony Clarke, PhD student and lead author. of study at Curtin University.

“This provides a distinct chemical fingerprint, suggesting that the stone came from rocks in the Orcadian Basin in Scotland, at least 750 kilometers away from Stonehenge.

“Given their Scottish origins, the discoveries raise fascinating questions, considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic era, about how such a massive stone was transported over vast distances around 2600 BC.”

Study co-author Professor Richard Bevins, from Aberystwyth University, said important questions remain about the origin of the stones.

“We managed to discover, so to speak, the age and chemical fingerprints of perhaps one of the most famous stones in the world-renowned ancient monument,” he said.

“Although we can now say that this iconic rock is Scottish and not Welsh, the search will still be on to determine where exactly in north-east Scotland the Altar Stone came from.”

Why and how the Alter Stone was moved from Scotland to Wiltshire also remains a mystery.

Fellow co-author Dr Robert Ixer from the UCL Institute of Archeology added: “The work raises two important questions: why and exactly how the Altar Stone was transported from the far north of Scotland, a distance of more than 700 kilometers , to Stonehenge? ”