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Scientists may have finally cracked one of Stonehenge’s biggest mysteries
- New study argues the Altar Stone’s journey to Wiltshire was partly driven by humans, not only ice.
- Researchers propose a multi-stage route from Caithness to Salisbury Plain, combining overland and maritime transport.
- Glaciers may have moved rocks part of the way, but not into southern England, according to the study.
- The team suggests Mesolithic people could have recovered the stone and transported it by boat to a high ground route.
- The study situates the stone’s arrival at Salisbury Plain around 2500 BC after a long, complex process.
- The researchers emphasize the need for sophisticated planning and long-range social networks to move such a monument.
- The study considers a possible route via the Dogger Bank and southeast coast or overland along the Berkshire Ridgeway.
- The Altar Stone originated in northeast Scotland and travelled about 430 miles to its current location.
- The study appears in the Journal of Quaternary Science and uses mineral grain analysis.
- Researchers caution that while glacial transport occurred, human agency remained necessary.
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