Researchers say Stonehenge’s ‘altar stone’ came from Scotland, not Wales

WASHINGTON (AP) — The ancient ritual meaning of… Stonehenge This is still a mystery, but researchers are one step closer to understanding how famous stone circle It was created.

The unique flat-topped stone in the centre of the monument was brought to the site in southern England from near the tip of north-east Scotland, Researchers reported on Wednesday that It is not yet clear whether the 16-foot (5-meter) stone was transported by boat or overland – a journey of more than 460 miles (740 kilometers).

“It’s surprising that it came from so far away,” said University of Exeter archaeologist Susan Greenay, who was not involved in the study.

For more than a century, scientists believed that the central sandstone slab at Stonehenge—long called the “altar stone”—came from much closer Wales. But a study last year by some of the same researchers showed that the stone did not match the geology of the Welsh sandstone formations. The stone’s actual origin remained unknown until now.

The team was not allowed to excavate rocks from the site for the study, so they instead analyzed minerals in rock fragments collected in previous excavations, some dating back to the 1840s. They found a match in sandstone formations in the Orcadian Basin in northeastern Scotland, an area that includes parts of the tip of the Scottish Peninsula as well as the Orkney Islands.

“This geological signature is not replicated in any other deposit area in the UK,” said Nick Pearce, a geologist at Aberystwyth University and co-author of the study.

The logistical difficulties of transporting the stone such a long distance show a high level of coordination and cultural contact between these two areas of ancient Britain, Greene said.

Stonehenge was built around 5,000 years ago, with stones forming different circles brought to the site at different times. The positioning of the stones allowed the sun to shine through a stone “window” during the summer solstice. The ancient purpose of the Altar Stone – which sits flat at the heart of Stonehenge, now nestled under other rocks – remains a mystery.

“Stonehenge is not a settlement site, it’s a place of ceremonial or ritual,” said Heather Sieber, senior archaeological curator at English Heritage, who was not involved in the study. Previous archaeological excavations have not revealed evidence of ceremonial or daily life at the site, she added.

Previous research has shown cultural links – such as similarities in pottery styles – between the area around Stonehenge and the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Other stones at Stonehenge came from west Wales.

Although Britain is littered with other Neolithic stone circles, “what is unique about Stonehenge is the distance from which the stones were obtained,” said Richard Bevins of Aberystwyth University, one of the study’s co-authors.

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