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Human beings– not glaciers– transferred Stonehenge’s megaliths throughout Great Britain to their present area in southern England, a brand-new research study verifies.
Researchers have actually thought for years that the 5,000-year-old monolith’s renowned stones originated from what is now Wales and even as far as Scotlandhowever there is still discuss regarding how the stones reached Salisbury Plain in southern England.
“While previous research had cast doubt on the glacial transport theory, our study goes further and applies cutting-edge mineral fingerprinting to trace the stones’ true origins,” research study authors Anthony Clarkea research study geologist at Curtin University in Australia, and Christopher Kirklanda teacher of geology likewise at Curtin University, composed in The Conversation
Stonehenge’s bluestones, so called since they get a bluish tint when damp or newly broken, are from the Preseli Hills in western Wales, suggesting individuals most likely dragged them 140 miles (225 kilometers) to the website of the ancient monolith. More impressive still, scientists believe the Altar Stone inside Stonehenge’s middle circle originated from northern England or Scotlandwhich is much further away– a minimum of 300 miles (500 km)– from Salisbury Plain and might have needed boats.
The glacial transportation theory is a counterproposal to the concept that individuals moved the stones from in other places in the U.K. to construct the monolith on Salisbury Plain, rather utilizing stones that had actually currently been transferred there by natural ways. As Stonehenge’s rocks reveal no indications of glacial transportation, and the southern level of Great Britain’s previous ice sheets stay uncertain, archaeologists have actually challenged the concept
To examine even more, the scientists behind the brand-new research study utilized recognized radioactive decay rates to date small specks of zircon and apatite minerals left over from ancient rocks in river sediments around Stonehenge. The age of these specks exposes the age of rocks that when existed in the area, which, in turn, can offer details about where these rocks originated from.
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Various rock developments have various ages, so if the rocks that entered into Stonehenge were dragged throughout the land by glaciers, they would have left these small traces around Salisbury Plain that might then be matched with rocks in their initial areas.
The scientists examined more than 700 zircon and apatite grains however discovered no considerable match for rocks in either western Wales or Scotland. Rather, the majority of the zircon grains studied revealed dates in between 1.7 billion and 1.1 billion years earlier, accompanying a time when much of what is now southern England was covered in compressed sand, the scientists composed in The Conversation. On the other hand, the ages of apatite grains assembled around 60 million years back, when southern England was a shallow, subtropical sea. This indicates the minerals in rivers around Stonehenge are the residues of rocks from the area, and had not been swept in from other locations.
The outcomes recommend glaciers didn’t extend as far south as Salisbury Plain throughout the last glacial epoch, leaving out the possibility that ice sheets dropped off the megaliths of Stonehenge for ancient home builders to consequently utilize.
“This gives us further evidence the monument’s most exotic stones did not arrive by chance but were instead deliberately selected and transported,” the scientists composed.
Clarke, A. J. I., & & Kirkland, C. L. (2026 ). Detrital zircon– apatite fingerprinting difficulties glacial transportation of Stonehenge’s megaliths.Communications Earth & & Environment7(1 ). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03105
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Sascha is a U.K.-based personnel author at Live Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southampton in England and a master’s degree in science interaction from Imperial College London. Her work has actually appeared in The Guardian and the health site Zoe. Composing, she takes pleasure in playing tennis, bread-making and searching pre-owned stores for covert gems.
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