The enormous sandstone block has been matched with rocks from north-east Scotland, almost 500 miles from the world-famous prehistoric monument. <\/p>
New research has revealed that Stonehenge<\/a>\u2019s monumental Altar Stone, long believed to come from Wales, actually originates from Scotland.<\/strong><\/p> According to a new study \u2013 led by Curtin University in collaboration with Aberystwyth University, The University of Adelaide and University College London \u2013 the six-tonne stone, partially buried at the centre of the iconic stone circle in Wiltshire<\/a>, has a “distinct chemical fingerprint” that suggests it came from rocks in the Orcadian Basin, Scotland.<\/p> The age and chemical composition of minerals within fragments of the Altar Stone are also clearly different from Welsh bedrock, says the study.<\/p> \u201cOur analysis found specific mineral grains in the Altar Stone are mostly between 1,000 to 2,000 million years old, while other minerals are around 450 million years old,\u201d says lead author Anthony Clarke from the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group within Curtin\u2019s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.<\/p> Clarke says this suggests the stone came from rocks in north-east Scotland, which raises “fascinating questions, considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic<\/a> era, as to how such a massive stone was transported over vast distances around 2,600 BC.”<\/p> The study holds personal significance for Clarke, who grew up in the Mynydd Preseli, Wales, where some of Stonehenge\u2019s stones came from. <\/p> “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>Altar Stone origins<\/h2>