The Altar Stone, the largest stone in the inner circle of Stonehenge, may hail from a much further origin than its neighboring monoliths. A new study challenges a century-old idea about the origin of this stone, suggesting it could come from as far away as Northern England or even Scotland.
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A century ago, British geologist Herbert Henry Thomas published a study on Stonehenge in which he asserted that the "blue stones" of the inner circle came from the Preseli Hills in Wales. Today, Richard Bevins, an honorary professor of geology at Aberystwyth University in Wales, calls this theory into question.
According to the new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the Altar Stone may originate from a completely different location, possibly an unknown quarry in the north of Great Britain.
Stonehenge, located in Wiltshire, Southern England, was erected around 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. The blue stones were brought to the site during an early phase of construction.
The blue stones were considered "foreign" to Wiltshire's landscape. Their transportation over a distance of about 140 miles (225 kilometers) stands as one of the longest ever recorded for a prehistoric monument. The Altar Stone is distinctive from the other blue stones due to its size and composition.
To pinpoint the stone's origins, researchers compared its geochemistry to that of 58 sandstone outcrops from Southern Wales to Western England. No matches were found. Additionally, the Altar Stone has a high barium content, which helped narrow down potential sources.