In 2024, archaeologists investigating the geology of stones at Stonehenge discovered that the Altar Stone at the centre of the monument originated near the Scottish island of Orkney. Research recently published in the Journal of Quaternary Science suggests that it could have been transported by a glacier during the Ice Age, in much the same way as the erratic boulders which are so common in the north of the Netherlands.
It is well known that some of the stones at Stonehenge came from the Preseli Mountains in Wales and it was assumed that the Altar Stone had a similar origin. However, scientists were unable to find a geological match and eventually sought help from experts in Australia. A team from Curtin University in Perth used mineral and uranium readings to create a geological fingerprint of the stone. This surprisingly matched the red sandstone beds of the Orcadian Basin in north-east Scotland, 460 miles north of Stonehenge. Modelling by Sheffield Hallam University and Curtin University subsequently showed that a glacier could possibly have transported the massive boulder from Scotland to the Dogger Bank in the North Sea.
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Today, the Dogger Bank is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about 100 km east of the English coast. But during the last Ice Age it formed part of a large landmass known as Doggerland, which connected the British Isles to mainland Europe. There is archaeological evidence of human habitation during the Mesolithic Age between 10,000 and 4,000 BC.
There is no evidence that glaciers could have moved the stone even closer to Stonehenge, so the question then arose: how could a 6 ton sandstone megalith have travelled the last 200 miles? The research paper puts forward the theory that the people of Doggerland attached some cultural significance to the Altar Stone. In order to save it from rising sea levels following the end of the Ice Age, they moved it again to its final resting place on Salisbury Plain.
According to Dr Anthony Clarke of Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences “This stone was likely moved in stages, potentially combining overland hauling with river or coastal transport where possible,” he said, before continuing its journey “along the Berkshire Ridgeway – an ancient road that may have passed close to Stonehenge”. He added “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.”
The story was reported in The Daily Telegraph.
