Study shows Stonehenge Altar Stone moved from Scotland

A new scientific study has concluded that the massive Altar Stone at the heart of Stonehenge was deliberately transported hundreds of kilometers by Neolithic people, with glaciers possibly playing only a minor, initial role in its epic journey. The research, led by experts from Curtin University and Sheffield Hallam University, combined geological analysis with ice-sheet modeling to trace the six-tonne sandstone monolith to a likely origin in northeast Scotland, approximately 700 kilometers from the monument on Salisbury Plain.

For decades, a central mystery has been how such a colossal stone could have traveled such a vast distance. Some theories suggested it could have been carried south by glaciers during the last Ice Age as a "glacial erratic." The new research, however, indicates that while ice may have moved the stone part of the way, human effort was ultimately responsible for its placement at Stonehenge.

The team pinpointed the stone's likely source by analyzing the unique mineralogical signature, or "fingerprint," of zircon grains within the sandstone, finding the closest match to formations in the Caithness region of mainland northeast Scotland. Computer models of...