A group of archaeologists in England have made a “surprising” discovery in recent days, confirming that, to the surprise of scientists and historians, everything indicates that one of the main stones in the center of the Stonehenge monument is of Scottish origin, and not Welsh, as was previously thought.
The scientific community had previously established that some of the stones from the mysterious prehistoric monument had somehow been transported 200 kilometres between Wales and the Salisbury Plain in southern England.
According to the study published Wednesday in the journal natureResearchers now believe that the largest “bluestone” at Stonehenge, known as the “altar stone” and one of the first to be erected, was transported from as far north-east as Scotland, more than 800 kilometres away. This means that the people who built the monument either dragged the megalith, or floated it along the coast, which is the most plausible hypothesis at the moment.
The stone in question is not one of the famous trilobites, the vertical structures that form the perimeter of Stonehenge and have made the monument one of the most visited and studied in the world. The trilobites were laid at a later period and were collected about 25 kilometres from the Neolithic city of Salisbury.
The “altar stone” is a five-metre-high, six-ton block that is partially buried in the centre of the monument, barely visible to visitors.
Rob Exer, a researcher at University College London and a member of the team that published the study, made no secret of the matter. The Guardian She is very excited about the discovery, considering it “really surprising” to the British archaeological community.
“This rewrites the relationship between Neolithic people and the whole of the British Isles. The science is beautiful and fascinating, and this is something that will be debated for decades. It is amazing,” said Elixir, who explained that the megaliths could have originated in the Scottish lands between Inverness and the Orkney Islands. “It would be a remarkable achievement for the prehistoric humans who inhabited the British archipelago thousands of years ago.”
The connection with Wales comes from the fact that archaeological studies of the minerals found at Stonehenge have shown that a group of “blue stones” were excavated in Pembrokeshire, in the far west of Wales. But the “altar stone” has always been a mystery to historians who have continued to study it.
The study, published in the journal Nature, involved experts from Australian, Welsh and North American universities who examined the chemical composition of the artifacts, hoping the stones and minerals would “tell” what the planet looked like thousands of years ago, when humans began developing societies around the world.
The conclusion was reached by analysing the ‘age’ of the minerals in the stone, and comparing it to other rocks found across the UK. “The ‘age’ correspondence has reached its home in the Orcadian Basin, in north-east Scotland,” an area whose sedimentary rocks were once underwater and were used in many prehistoric constructions. “It was completely unexpected for us,” said Nick Pearce, a professor at Aberystwyth University, one of the institutions involved.
Pearce stressed that while there may be some doubts about the Stonehenge studies, there is nothing controversial about the conclusions issued Wednesday. “This is very well-established science,” he stressed.
The stones of Stonehenge have long been a source of scientific curiosity and conspiracy theories alike. The exact reason for the monument’s construction remains unknown, but it is thought that it may have served as an astronomical clock or a sacred site (and possibly a burial ground). Construction began around 5,000 years ago and was carried out by various peoples for around 1,500 years, but many of the stones are now missing and numerous excavations over the centuries have left the monument badly damaged.
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