Stonehenge Altar Stone thriller deepens as analysis reveals it’s not from Orkney | EUROtoday

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The mysterious origins of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone has deepened as new analysis has discovered it didn’t come from Orkney.

Last month, it was revealed that the large six-tonne stone on the coronary heart of the monument was dropped at Stonehenge from the far north of Scotland, and never Wales, just like the monument’s bluestones.

The discovery uncovered that it got here from sandstone deposits in an space referred to as because the Orcadian Basin, which encompasses the isles of Orkeny and Shetland and a coastal strip of Scotland.

It was then assumed by consultants that it got here from Orkney because of its Neolithic tradition with the Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness.

But a brand new examine has discovered that though the Altar Stone has related traits to Orkney’s monuments, it isn’t from the identical place, that means the hunt for its origin continues.

What does the lastest examine say on the Altar Stone?

The Altar Stone is arguably probably the most ritually vital stone in Stonehenge as a result of it’s the rock that marks the intersection of the prehistoric temple’s two most vital celestial alignments – the winter solstice dawn to summer season solstice sundown alignment, and the summer season solstice dawn to winter solstice sundown alignment.

The newest examine, revealed within the Journal of Archaeological Science, examined the chemical and mineralogical composition of the stones in Orkney’s two nice stone circles – the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar – in addition to samples of different rocks throughout Orkney’s islands.

When their X-rays had been in contrast with the Alter Stone, they had been discovered to be markedly completely different.

The report’s lead creator, Richard Bevins, an honorary professor of geography and earth sciences at Aberystwyth University, mentioned Orkney was “the obvious place to look” as soon as preliminary analysis some years in the past had pointed away from Wales.

He added: “This research is radically changing our thinking about the origins of the Altar Stone. It’s thrilling to know that our chemical analysis and dating work is slowly unlocking this great mystery.”

Due to the dimensions of the Orcadian Basin, consultants have warned the origin of the Altar Stone received’t be discovered rapidly, however are decided to “pin down” the placement.

What we nonetheless don’t find out about Stonehenge

While the invention of the Scottish connection to Stonhenge is thrilling, it has result in extra questions than solutions.

This would improve the space Stonehenge’s rocks have travelled from 120 miles to so far as 700. How or why Neolithic Britons would have moved such a considerable stone this nice distance could by no means be totally revealed.

But it does inform us one thing in regards to the tradition of the interval, which spans from Neolithic interval to the Bronze age.

The Independent’s archeology correspondent David Keys explains: “The newly discovered Stonehenge-Scotland link, when combined with the Welsh origin of some of the Stonehenge stones, suggests that there might also have been a pan-British aspect to how Neolithic Britons lived.”

Experts nonetheless dispute how the stones had been transported to the location over lengthy distances, in addition to what the aim of the location was.

However, English Heritage offers the working concept that “the fact that the sun rises over the Heel Stone on the longest day of the year (summer solstice) and sets over it on the shortest day (winter solstice) suggests that it was a prehistoric temple aligned with the sun’s movements.”