Stonehenge Poses a New Mystery: The Altar Stone Came From Faraway Scotland

Researchers learn that the key element of the Neolithic monument didn’t hail from Wales, unlike similar components.

By Paul Smaglik
Aug 14, 2024 8:00 PMAug 15, 2024 6:47 PM
The Altar Stone at Stonehenge
The Altar Stone at Stonehenge (Credit: English Heritage)

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Stonehenge practically radiates mystery. Who built it? Why? And how?

Now, there are some new questions: Why did the Altar Stone — a 6-ton cap for the neolithic monument — come from a site in Scotland about 450 miles away? And how was it moved from its mine to the Salisbury Plain site?

A team of scientists raised these notions in a Nature report that says the stone hails from Scotland, not Wales, as had been previously thought.

The Altar Stone

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