Large stone at center of Stonehenge came from Scotland, not Wales: Australian study

SYDNEY, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — One of the largest stones at the center of Stonehenge in the United Kindom came from Scotland, not Wales as previously thought, Australian research has found.
In a study published on Thursday, an international team led by researchers from Curtin University in Western Australia discovered that the six-ton Altar Stone – a five-meter long sandstone block sitting at the center of the iconic structure – hails from Scotland.
Researchers said the discovery indicates the existence of advanced transport methods and societal organization at the time of the stone’s arrival in southern England approximately 5000 years ago.
Anthony Clarke, lead author of the study from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said analysis of the age and chemical composition of minerals within fragments of the Altar Stone matched it with rocks from north-east Scotland and clearly differentiated it from Welsh bedrock.
“This provides a distinct chemical fingerprint suggesting the stone came from rocks in the Orcadian Basin, Scotland, at least 750 kilometres away from Stonehenge,” he said in a media release.
“Given its Scottish origins, the findings raise fascinating questions, considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic era, as to how such a massive stone was transported over vast distances around 2600 BC.”
The study, which was funded by the federal government’s Australian Research Council (ARC), was a collaboration between researchers from Curtin University, the University of Adelaide in South Australia, University College London and Aberystwyth University in Wales.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Stonehenge is located on the Salisbury Plain over 100 kilometers south-west of London. It is believed to have been constructed in multiple phases between 3100 BC and 1600 BC though its original purpose remains a topic of debate. ■