In 1924, archaeologists recuperated the best mandible of a senior cow from the bottom of the ditch confining Stonehenge Stage 1, built in 2995-2900 BCE.

Utilizing isotope analysis of among its teeth, University College London’s Professor Michael Parker Pearson and his associates dated it to in between 3350 and 2920 BCE and positioned its most likely origin in Wales.

“This is yet more remarkable proof for Stonehenge’s relate to south-west Wales, where its bluestones originate from,” Professor Parker Pearson stated.

“It raises the alluring possibility that livestock assisted to transport the stones.”

The scientists sliced the cow’s 3rd molar tooth, which tape-records chemical signals from the animal’s 2nd year of life, into 9 horizontal areas.

They were then able to determine carbon, oxygen, strontium and lead isotopes, which each deal hints about the cow’s diet plan, environment and motion.

The various concentrations and ranges of aspects embedded within the tooth supplied insight into the cow’s life.

The oxygen isotopes exposed that the tooth recorded approximately 6 months of development, from winter season to summertime, whilst the carbon isotopes revealed the animal’s diet plan altered with the seasons: forest fodder in winter season and open pasture in summertime.

In addition, the strontium isotopes showed the seasonal food sources originated from various geological locations, recommending that the cow either moved seasonally or that winter season fodder was imported.

The lead isotopes exposed structure spikes throughout the late winter season to spring, indicating a lead source that was older than the lead in the remainder of the tooth.

The structure recommends the cow stemmed from a location with much older Paleozoic rocks, such as around the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where the Stonehenge’s bluestones stemmed before being carried to Sailsbury Plain.

“This research study has actually exposed extraordinary information of 6 months in a cow’s life, supplying the very first proof of livestock motion from Wales along with recording dietary modifications and life occasions that took place around 5,000 years earlier,” stated Professor Jane Evans, an archaeologist with the National Environmental Isotope Facility at the British Geological Survey.

“A piece of one cow tooth has actually informed us a remarkable tale and, as brand-new clinical tools emerge, we hope there is still more to gain from her long journey.”

In addition, the researchers likewise concluded that the uncommon lead signal might not be discussed by regional contamination or motion alone.

Rather, that lead kept in the cow’s bones had actually been remobilized throughout the tensions of pregnancy.

If real, this would indicate the cow was female and pregnant or nursing throughout the tooth’s development.

To evaluate the hypothesis, the authors used a peptide-based sex decision strategy, which revealed there was a high likelihood that the animal was female.

“This research study has actually offered essential brand-new insights into the bio of this enigmatic cow whose remains were transferred in such an essential area at a Stonehenge entryway,” stated Cardiff University’s Professor Richard Madgwick.

“It supplies unrivaled brand-new information on the remote origins of the animal and the difficult journey it was induced.”

“So frequently grand stories control research study on significant historical sites, however this in-depth biographical method on a single animal offers a new aspect to the story of Stonehenge.”

The group’s outcomes were released on June 17, 2025 in the Journal of Archaeological Science

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J. Evans et al2025. Consecutive multi-isotope tasting through a Bos taurus tooth from Stonehenge, to examine relative sources and incorporation times of strontium and lead. Journal of Archaeological Science 180: 106269; doi: 10.1016/ j.jas.2025.106269