Stonehenge
Enstonehenge, located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, is one of the world famous monuments. Believed by some to be a memorial to the dead, and by others to have been built following the movements of the sun and moon, it was built in stages between 5,000 and 4,200 years ago using sarsen, trilithon and bluestone stones. The Altar Stone is one of the most mysterious rocks at Stonehenge and is usually considered one of the bluestones. Lying flat in the centre of Stonehenge, the six-tonne, five-metre-long rectangular Altar Stone is a grey-green sandstone, much larger and different in structure than the other bluestones.
New research has revealed that the Altar Stone was brought here from north-east Scotland, a distance of 700 kilometres. It is difficult to understand how this stone could have been brought so far before the invention of the wheel. Many of the large stones of Stonehenge have come from a long distance, but without a wheel, moving a 30-tonne stone was not an easy task. Other stones weigh 1-3 tonnes and are up to 2.5 metres high.
The stone is from Scotland, not Welsh
Age markers on the altar stone indicate that it comes from the Orcadian Basin of north-east Scotland. The findings of this age determination are truly astonishing, overturning a century of popular belief. After nearly two decades of research, it can be said with full confidence that the rock is Scottish, not Welsh, and specifically that it comes from the Old Red Sandstone of north-east Scotland.
Originated in the Orcadian Basin
With its origins in the Orcadian Basin, the Altar Stone has traveled a long distance. The distance of at least 700 kilometers is the longest journey of any stone. So far it is not known how the Altar Stone reached Stonehenge. The forests were one of the obstacles to transport by land. Traveling by sea would have been equally difficult. In such a situation, it is difficult to find out how this stone came so far and why it was brought.
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