Largest Stonehenge Alter Stone NOT from Wales, researchers find
Scientists are confident the stone originated from Scotland
Stonehenge experts have been left "stunned" after research has found the famous Altar Stone originated from Scotland rather than Wales.
The findings by experts from UK and Australian universities smashes the long-held belief of where the stones came from.
For much of the last century, it's been thought that the six-tonne sandstone that sits at the heart of the ancient site had arrived in Wiltshire from Preseli Hills in Wales, just as the majority of the sites bluestones had done so.
But after examining the Altar Stone's chemical composition and mineral grains, scientists say they're 95% certain the sandstone is likely to have come from north-east Scotland.
It means the stone has travelled more than 400 miles further than first thought to reach it's resting place in Wiltshire.
Co-author Professor Richard Bevins, from Aberystwyth University, said: "These findings are truly remarkable - they overturn what had been thought for the past century.
"We have succeeded in working out, if you like, the age and chemical fingerprints of, perhaps, one of the most famous of stones in the world-renowned ancient monument.
"It's thrilling to know that our chemical analysis and dating work has finally unlocked this great mystery.
"We can now say that this iconic rock is Scottish and not Welsh.
"Although we can say that much, and confidently - the hunt will still very much be on to pin down where exactly in the north-east of Scotland the Altar Stone came from."
'It's travelled an astonishing distance'
Professor Nick Pearce, from Aberystwyth University, said: "This stone has travelled an awful long way - at least 700 kilometres - and this is the longest recorded journey for any stone used in a monument at that period. The distance travelled is astonishing for the time.
"While the purpose of our new, empirical research was not to answer the question of how it got there, there are obvious physical barriers to transporting by land, but a daunting journey if going by sea.
"There's no doubt that this Scottish source shows a high level of societal organisation in the British Isles during the period.
"These findings will have huge ramifications for understanding communities in Neolithic times, their levels of connectivity and their transport systems.
"Hopefully, people will now start to look at the Altar Stone in a slightly different context in terms of how and when it got to Stonehenge, and where it came from.
"I am sure this will lead to some new thinking about the development of Stonehenge and its links to the rest of Neolithic Britain."
While we know where the stone came from, we're still none the wiser on how it managed to reach the site - one of the researches floated one possible explanation.
Anthony Clarke, from the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group at Curtin University, in Perth, Western Australia, said: "Considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic, our findings raise fascinating questions about how such a massive stone was able to be transported over the vast distance implied.
"Given major overland barriers en route from north-east Scotland to Salisbury Plain, marine transport is one feasible option."