A new study challenges a 100-year-old theory about the origins of the Altar Stone at Stonehenge, the largest stone in the monument’s inner circle. The Stonehenge Altar Stone probably did not come from the same region as the other bluestones.
The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: reportssuggests that the stone may have come from northern England or Scotland, rather than west Wales as previously thought.
The Altar Stone is a flat, gray-green stone slab of 4.9 meters long. It is one of the so-called bluestones that form the inner circle of Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument on the Salisbury Plain in southern England.
The bluestones were transported over a distance of 225 kilometers from the Preseli Hills in west Wales to Stonehenge during an early construction phase, approximately 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.
The origins of the bluestone were first traced by British geologist Herbert Henry Thomas in his groundbreaking 1923 study of Stonehenge. Thomas placed the Altar Stone among the bluestones and claimed that it came from the same region as the others. However, according to the new study, his assessment was based on limited and outdated geological data.
The researchers analyzed thin sections of the Altar Stone under a microscope and compared them with samples from various locations in Britain. They found that the mineral composition and texture of the stone did not match any known outcrop in west Wales.
Instead, her suggested that the stone may have come from an unknown quarry in northern Britain, possibly in Cumbria or even Scotland.
“Initially, we feel it is appropriate to investigate areas where ancient monuments from the Neolithic period are known,” Bevins said. These areas extend across northern England and Scotland, broadening the horizons of a search that has so far focused solely on Wales and allowing “creative thinking about the source of the Altar Stone”, he said.
Stonehenge was built during Britain’s Late Neolithic period, about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, southern England. The monument was built, rebuilt and expanded over thousands of years, with the bluestones brought to the site during an early phase of construction.
The researchers said their findings open new possibilities for understanding the archaeological significance of the Altar Stone and its role at Stonehenge. They also said their research shows the importance of revisiting old assumptions and using modern methods to reevaluate ancient monuments.
