A new study led by Australian scientists concluded that the Altar Stone of Stonehenge actually hails from northeast Scotland and was transported around the coast by sea
According to a new study, the stone could have been transported around the coast by sea. Scientists say this suggests that long-distance trade networks were in place during Britain's Neolithic period around 5,000 years ago.
Researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, studied the age and chemistry of mineral grains within fragments of the Altar Stone. The slab is a 50-centimetre thick sandstone block measuring five metres by one metre that sits at the heart of Stonehenge's iconic stone circle. Mr Clarke, who is undertaking his PhD at Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, continued: "This discovery also holds personal significance for me. I grew up in the Mynydd Preseli, Wales, where some of Stonehenge's stones came from.
This week's top Scotland Now stories Prof Kirkland stated: "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.
"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."
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