Stonehenge mystery deepens: Scientists say the altar stone did NOT come from Orkney as claimed – as the hunt for its place of origin continues
The origin of Stonehenge’s iconic standing stones has baffled archaeologists for hundreds of years.
Last month, the plot thickened as scientists made a bombshell discovery that the stone circle’s altar stone could be traced back to Scotland, rather than Wales.
Now, the mystery has deepened once again as a new study finds that this bluestone slab did not originate from Orkney as most experts had assumed.
‘The mystery of where the stone came from is becoming clearer and clearer as we begin to rule out specific areas in north-east Scotland,’ said Professor Richard Bevins from Aberystwyth University, the lead author of the new study.
‘This research is radically changing our thinking about the origins of the Altar Stone. It’s thrilling to know that our chemical analysis and dating work is slowly unlocking this great mystery.’
Scientists have long known that Stonehenge’s smaller ‘bluestones’ were transported to the Salisbury Plane from the Preseli Hills in Wales, around 240km (150 miles) away.
However, one of the circle’s bluestones – the Altar Stone – has always stood out as unique.
Professor Bevins explained: ‘The Altar Stone is anomalous in many ways to both the bluestones and the sarsens at Stonehenge.
‘Whilst, at six tonnes, it is nowhere near the size of the sarsens, it is substantially larger than the bluestones, with which it has previously been classed.’
Previous researchers had assumed this strange stone had come from the same area as the other bluestones, but recent analysis of the age and chemistry of the altar stone revealed that it could not have come from Wales.
Rather, experts found a remarkable similarity with the Old Red Sandstone of the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland.
The team said they could conclude with 95 per cent accuracy that the stone came from this area – which encompasses parts of Inverness, Thurso, Orkney and parts of Shetland.
However, a new study involving some of the original researchers has now found that the stone did not originate from the most likely location – Orkney.
After the discovery of the Scottish connection, most researchers assumed that the stone would likely originate from this archipelago.
This is because of well-documented communication between the cultures of the Salisbury Plane and the Orkney Islands in 3,000 BC – the date of Stonehenge’s earliest construction.
Professor Bevins told MailOnline: ‘Orkney was a major cultural centre in Neolithic times, as indicated by its profusion of monuments and buildings dating from that time.
‘There was clearly long-distance communication between these Neolithic communities. In addition, the geology of Orkney was right for a possible match to the Altar Stone. So Orkney seemed a logical place to investigate.’
The researchers analysed the chemical and mineralogical composition of the stones in Orkney’s two biggest stone circles: the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar.
They also used portable X-ray devices to analyse field samples of rock deposits across a number of Orkney’s islands.
Contrary to what they had assumed, their analysis revealed that the Stonehenge altar stone and those on Orkney had strikingly different makeups.
Researchers are now left searching for the origins of the altar stone once left.
But by ruling out Orkney so quickly, they can now focus their efforts elsewhere.
Professor Bevins said: ‘As an academic, I have been fascinated by Stonehenge for decades. I and my other colleagues in the team will continue to work to pin down where exactly in the north-east of Scotland the Altar Stone came from.’
And, although disproving the Orkney theory may be a setback, Professor Bevins told MailOnline he remains positive the stone will be found.
‘I am optimistic that the source of the Altar Stone will be found. However, the Orcadian Basin covers a large area in north-east Scotland so it might take some time to locate the source,’ he added.
‘But we have some clues in terms of the mineralogy and geochemistry of the Altar Stone so we are not going in blind.’
Source: daily mail
Donkey Motif At Karahan Tepe Adds New Layer to Life at the Site
Stonehenge mystery deepens: Scientists say the altar stone did NOT come from Orkney as claimed – as the hunt for its place of origin continues/Stonehenge mystery deepens: Scientists say the altar stone did NOT come from Orkney as claimed – as the hunt for its place of origin continues