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Stonehenge's Altar Stone Origin Mystery Continues Despite Scottish Theory Rejection
Confirmed
In Short: The hunt for the altar stone's origin has involved specialists from universities in London, Wales, and Australia, as well as experts from Canada, Italy, Sweden, and Scotland.
Researchers have ruled out north-east Scotland as the source of Stonehenge's altar stone, despite earlier theories suggesting otherwise. The study, published in Nature, used chemical analysis of a fragment of the altar stone to determine its origins.
The altar stone, a six-tonne sandstone slab within the Stonehenge circle, has long puzzled archaeologists. Previous studies had suggested it might have come from north-east Scotland, but new evidence points to a different location.
Richard Bevins, an earth scientist at Aberystwyth University in Wales and one of the study's authors, has been searching for the source of the altar stone for 15 years. 'You can imagine that maybe that stone has had a very long, circuitous route over perhaps a period of 100 plus years before ending up at Stonehenge,' Bevins said.
The team compared the chemical makeup of the altar stone with data from sedimentary rocks across Great Britain and Ireland. They found that the stone contains tosudite, a rare clay mineral, and shows no sign of low-grade metamorphism found in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, ruling that region out.
In 2024, a team led by Curtin University researcher Anthony Clarke had concluded that the altar stone came from the Orcadian Basin of northeastern Scotland. However, the new study has disproven this theory. 'This latest study significantly refines the search by identifying the specific geological characteristics we need to look for, allowing future investigations to be targeted more effectively,' said Clarke.
The researchers used a fragment removed from the altar stone in 1844 to trace the ages of the different minerals that had cemented together to form the sandstone. 'By combining a wide range of analytical techniques, we have built the clearest picture yet of the stone’s composition and tested the leading theories about its origins,' said Clarke.
The hunt for the altar stone's origin has involved specialists from universities in London, Wales, and Australia, as well as experts from Canada, Italy, Sweden, and Scotland. 'Every location eliminated narrows the search and brings us closer to discovering where the Altar Stone originated,' said Nick Pearce, an emeritus professor of geochemistry at Aberystwyth University.
What this adds
The new study has narrowed down the possible origins of the altar stone but has not definitively identified its source. The search continues, with researchers now focusing on other potential locations in Scotland, northern England, or even Ireland.
What's confirmed
- Researchers have ruled out north-east Scotland as the source of Stonehenge's altar stone, despite earlier theories suggesting otherwise. The study, published in Nature, used chemical analysis of a fragment of the altar stone to determine its origins.
- The altar stone, a six-tonne sandstone slab within the Stonehenge circle, has long puzzled archaeologists. Previous studies had suggested it might have come from north-east Scotland, but new evidence points to a different location.
- Richard Bevins, an earth scientist at Aberystwyth University in Wales and one of the study's authors, has been searching for the source of the altar stone for 15 years. 'You can imagine that maybe that stone has had a very long, circuitous route over perhaps a period of 100 plus years before ending up at Stonehenge,' Bevins said.
- The team compared the chemical makeup of the altar stone with data from sedimentary rocks across Great Britain and Ireland. They found that the stone contains tosudite, a rare clay mineral, and shows no sign of low-grade metamorphism found in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, ruling that region out.
- In 2024, a team led by Curtin University researcher Anthony Clarke had concluded that the altar stone came from the Orcadian Basin of northeastern Scotland. However, the new study has disproven this theory. 'This latest study significantly refines the search by identifying the specific geological characteristics we need to look for, allowing future investigations to be targeted more effectively,' said Clarke.
- The researchers used a fragment removed from the altar stone in 1844 to trace the ages of the different minerals that had cemented together to form the sandstone. 'By combining a wide range of analytical techniques, we have built the clearest picture yet of the stone’s composition and tested the leading theories about its origins,' said Clarke.
- The hunt for the altar stone's origin has involved specialists from universities in London, Wales, and Australia, as well as experts from Canada, Italy, Sweden, and Scotland. 'Every location eliminated narrows the search and brings us closer to discovering where the Altar Stone originated,' said Nick Pearce, an emeritus professor of geochemistry at Aberystwyth University.
What's still developing
- Meanwhile, Stonehenge stands at Salisbury Plain in Southern England, and its construction began around 5,000 years ago in the same timeframe.
- Recent detective work tracked the sarsen stones that make up Stonehenge’s iconic outer ring to about 16 miles north of Salisbury Plain.
- Geologists say they are getting closer to solving mystery as tests suggest stone may have come from elsewhere in Scotland, northern England or even Ireland Geologists say they are getting closer to solving mystery as tests suggest stone may have come from elsewhere in Scotland, northern England or even Ireland They spent countless hours on weather-battered Scottish hills, a hardy band of geologists searching for the origin of one of Stonehenge’s most intriguing features.
- A member of the team described the find as “jaw-dropping” and it led to speculation about how the six-tonne stone had been transported – by sledge or ship?
- More experts were brought in, from Canada, Italy, Sweden and Scotland, and work was done on the precise composition of the slab, including non-invasive examinations of the stone in situ, and examinations of eight fragments held in museums.
- Armed with this profile, members of the team headed to north-east Scotland to try to make an exact match with outcrops there, thus pinpointing the altar stone’s origins.
- But the prehistoric monument tends to yield its secrets reluctantly, and a new scientific report reveals that the origin of Stonehenge’s altar stone remains elusive – and the wind-whipped geologists may very well have been looking in the wrong spot anyway.