While the ancient ritual meaning of Stonehenge remains shrouded in mystery, researchers are one step closer to understanding how the famous stone circle was created.
The unique stone, which lies flat in the center of the monument, was transported from near the northeastern tip of Scotland to its site in southern England, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. It’s not clear whether the 16-foot-tall (5-meter-tall) stone was transported by boat or overland, a journey of more than 460 miles (740 kilometers).
“It’s surprising that it came from so far away,” said archaeologist Susan Greaney of the University of Exeter, who was not involved in the study.
‘Gigantic’ theory about Stonehenge’s origins examined in new Fox Nation special
For over 100 years, scientists believed that Stonehenge’s central sandstone slab (long known as the “Altar Stone”) came from much closer to Wales. But a study conducted last year by some of the same researchers found that the stone did not match the geology of the Welsh sandstone formations. The stone’s actual origins remained unknown until now.
The team wasn’t allowed to chip away at rocks at the site for their study, but instead analyzed minerals in rock fragments collected during previous excavations, some of which dated back to the 1840s. They found a match in sandstone layers in the Orchdian Basin in northeastern Scotland, an area that includes the tip of the Scottish peninsula and parts of the Orkney Islands.
“This geological ‘fingerprint’ is not found in any other depositional areas in the UK,” said study co-author Nick Pearce, a geologist at Aberystwyth University.
Stonehenge, a World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England, on December 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Mr Greaney said the difficult logistics of transporting the stones over such long distances suggested a high degree of cooperation and cultural links between the two parts of ancient Britain.
Stonehenge was built approximately 5,000 years ago, with the different circles of stones brought to the site at different times. Their arrangement allows the sun to rise through a stone “window” on the summer solstice. The ancient purpose of the Altar Stone, which lies flat in the centre of Stonehenge and is now buried beneath the other rocks, remains a mystery.
“Stonehenge is not a settlement, it’s a site of ritual and ceremonial,” said Heather Sevier, a senior curator at English Heritage who was not involved in the study. Previous archaeological excavations have not found evidence of banquets or daily life at the site, Sevier said.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Previous studies have shown cultural links between the area around Stonehenge and the Orkney Islands in Scotland, including similarities in pottery styles. The other stones at Stonehenge came from west Wales.
There are other Neolithic stone circles dotted across Britain, but “what’s unique about Stonehenge is its distance from where the stones were extracted,” said study co-author Richard Bevins of Aberystwyth University.
