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Researchers have claimed that people, rather than glaciers, were responsible for transporting the altar stone the last 250 miles to Stonehenge.
Curtin University / YouTube
It was not the rolling stone they thought it was.
It remains a mystery exactly how Stonehenge’s titanic Altar Stone arrived at the historic UK landmark, but new evidence rules out one theory — the megalith wasn’t moved there by ice alone.
In a groundbreaking study published in The Journal of Quaternary Science, researchers with Australia’s Curtin University contend that the over 13,000-pound stone was transported by Neolithic humans over hundreds of miles of oft-difficult terrain.
“Evidence points to a deliberate, carefully planned movement across a challenging and varied landscape,” said co-lead author Dr. Anthony Clarke of Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences in a statement describing the “monumental” achievement. “Transporting a stone of this size over such a long distance would have required planning, coordination and a deep understanding of the landscape—not to mention tremendous determination.”
For years, theories have swirled surrounding the transport of the Altar Stone, which was reportedly added to the heritage site in Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, between 2620 and 2480 B.C.E, Smithsonian Magazine reported.
Said centerpiece was initially thought to have originated in Wales, like the monument’s other blue stones, but analysis of the boulder’s chemical composition revealed that it came from Scotland’s Orcadian Basin — some 450 miles away.
How did a 16-foot, 6 ton rock travel such a great distance sans the aid of modern technology? Scientists had several theories ranging from boats to — perhaps most interestingly — glaciers that nudged the moveable beast along during the Ice Age.
To determine the ancient mode of transit, the Australian team recreated glacial trajectory’s during the epoch using ice sheet modeling and mineral grain dating — a method that involves analyzing the crystals inside a rock to determine its age.
They found that while the lion’s share of glaciers from northeast Scotland traveled northeast, away from Stonehenge, some did indeed migrate southeast.
This frozen conveyor belt potentially propelled the gargantuan gravel to Dogger Bank, a now-submerged piece of land 250 miles from the site that once connected the UK to the rest of Europe.
This means that humans had to carry the behemoth baton across the finish line, the scientists claim. “The stone would still have needed to be moved hundreds of kilometers (248 miles) by people,” said Clarke, who theorized that it was moved in stages that combined “overland hauling with river or coastal transport where possible.”
While the team hasn’t ruled out glaciation, they felt it was implausible given that the Dogger Bank was submerged 8,000 years ago — 3,000 years before the start of Stonehenge’s construction — making ice-induced movement nearly impossible.
Unlike with modern construction projects, Stonehenge’s builders didn’t have a set deadline, which would’ve theoretically allowed them to develop the methods necessary to move stone, per this Altar-nate theory.
“These people that erected Stonehenge weren’t in any rush,” Clarke told New Scientist. “This could have been much like the pyramids, a multi-year endeavor, so it doesn’t need to happen on our modern timescales of months.”
What inspired ancient builders to partake in such a seemingly Sisyphean challenge? Clarke explained, “Why do we select marble from Italy for our kitchens? Humans have always had a fascination with finding the right rock and, for whatever reason, they needed sandstone from north-east Scotland for their monument in England.”
Ultimately, the findings suggest that these Neolithic builders might have been more organized than previously thought.
In one wild study, archaeologists postulated that Stonehenge may have been an ancient sports arena whose very construction was one of the events.
Perhaps the transport of the Altar was the equivalent of the ancient Atlas Stones contest.
English (US)