New theory on how six‑tonne Stonehenge rock was transported from Scotland thousands of years ago: On a glacier
Researchers have proposed a new theory suggesting that the six-tonne Altar Stone at Stonehenge was transported from Scotland to England via glacial movement during the last ice age. This finding challenges previous assumptions about how the massive stones were moved across such a vast distance.
Why it matters
This discovery provides new insight into one of history's greatest archaeological mysteries and the geological history of the British Isles.
edited by Gaby Clark , reviewed by Andrew Zinin
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Add as preferred source The Altar stone is towards the middle of Stonehenge. Credit: Nash DJ, Ciborowski TJR, Darvill T, Parker Pearson M, Ullyott JS, Damaschke M, et al., CC BY-NC Built from stones weighing between 2 and 25 tonnes (2 to 28 tons), the structure of Stonehenge demonstrates a scale of construction hard to imagine before the invention of the wheel. The mystery deepens when you consider that the stones are not from the local bedrock. So why these stones, and how did they get there?
Recent work I carried out with geochemist Anthony Clarke from Curtin University in Australia might have an answer to these two questions for Stonehenge's most far-traveled stone—the Altar Stone.
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