New research led by Curtin University has revealed Stonehenge\u2019s monumental six-tonne Altar Stone, long believed to originate from Wales, actually hails from Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the findings point to the existence of unexpectedly advanced transport methods and societal organisation at the time of the stone\u2019s arrival at its current location in southern England about 5000 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curtin researchers studied the age and chemistry of mineral grains within fragments of the Altar Stone, which is a 50cm thick sandstone block measuring 5 x 1 metres, that sits at the centre of Stonehenge\u2019s iconic stone circle in Wiltshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lead author PhD student Anthony Clarke from the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group within Curtin\u2019s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences said analysis of the age and chemical composition of minerals within fragments of the Altar Stone matched it with rocks from northeast Scotland, while also clearly differentiating them from Welsh bedrock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur analysis found specific mineral grains in the Altar Stone are mostly between 1000 to 2000 million years old, while other minerals are around 450 million years old,\u201d Mr Clarke said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis provides a distinct chemical fingerprint suggesting the stone came from rocks in the Orcadian Basin, Scotland, at least 750 kilometres away from Stonehenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven its Scottish origins, the findings raise fascinating questions, considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic era, as to how such a massive stone was transported over vast distances around 2600 BC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis discovery also holds personal significance for me. I grew up in the Mynydd Preseli, Wales, where some of Stonehenge\u2019s stones came from. I first visited Stonehenge when I was one year old and now at 25, I returned from Australia to help make this scientific discovery \u2013 you could say I\u2019ve come full circle at the stone circle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Study co-author Professor Chris Kirkland, also from the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group at Curtin, said the findings had significant implications for understanding ancient communities, their connections, and their transportation methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur discovery of the Altar Stone\u2019s origins highlights a significant level of societal coordination during the Neolithic period and helps paint a fascinating picture of prehistoric Britain,\u201d Professor Kirkland said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTransporting such massive cargo overland from Scotland to southern England would have been extremely challenging, indicating a likely marine shipping route along the coast of Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis implies long-distance trade networks and a higher level of societal organisation than is widely understood to have existed during the Neolithic period in Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curtin Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said much of the research and analysis done by Mr Clarke and Professor Kirkland was undertaken at the University\u2019s renowned John de Laeter Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis fascinating study is another example of the stellar work being undertaken by Curtin University\u2019s Timescales of Mineral Systems Group with the John de Laeter Centre, using state-of-the-art equipment in our GeoHistory Facility that supports important minerals research,\u201d Professor Hayne said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt offers specialist mass spectrometers which are used to examine the composition of materials such as rock-forming minerals, archaeological artefacts, meteorites, ceramics and even biological substances such as teeth, bones and shell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOngoing investment is required to maintain cutting-edge facilities like this, which are crucial for attracting the world\u2019s best minds. In this case, we are delighted that our outstanding research reputation and facilities led PhD student Anthony Clarke to travel 15,000 kilometres from his home in Wales to study at Curtin and make this significant finding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Clarke said he chose Curtin for his PhD because it also offered the chance to work alongside renowned researchers, such as Professor Kirkland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCurtin has given us the freedom and independence to explore fascinating work, such as Stonehenge and access to the world\u2019s most advanced equipment and expert staff means I can complete all my work there,\u201d Mr Clarke said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWestern Australia itself as home to the oldest minerals on Earth, is an outstanding natural laboratory. So I\u2019m very grateful to have had the opportunity to do this research in this outstanding place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project, the research was performed in collaboration with Aberystwyth University, The University of Adelaide and University College London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The full study, published in journal Nature<\/em>, can be found here: A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge | Nature<\/a>. (DOI: 10.1038\/S41586-024-07652-1<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New research led by Curtin University has revealed Stonehenge\u2019s monumental six-tonne Altar Stone, long believed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4307,"featured_media":25815,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"8160,4691,7956,6067,7081,4636","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,4,284],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-25814","media-release","type-media-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-science","category-research","category-science-and-engineering"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":[24386,24381,22646]},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}},"experts":false},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/FOR-WEB-1000x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Lucien","last_name":"Wilkinson","display_name":"Lucien Wilkinson"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/25814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/media-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/25814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25814"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=25814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}