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 Altar Stone at Stonehenge was transported from Scotland to England via glacial movement rather than human effort. The study uses numerical modeling to track how ice sheets could have carried the six-tonne rock during the last ice age.
Why it matters
This discovery challenges long-held archaeological assumptions about ancient construction methods and the movement of materials in prehistoric Britain.
muratart/Shutterstock Built from stones weighing between 2 and 25 tonnes, 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 the University of Curtin, Australia, might have an answer to these two questions for the most far travelled stone of Stonehenge – the Altar Stone.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in