Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A new study has reignited one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Stonehenge: how did the Altar Stone reach Salisbury Plain from Scotland? Did it make a pit stop in the now-submerged Doggerland? Recent research suggests that Stonehenge's Altar Stone originated in northeastern Scotland, more than 700 kilometres from the monument itself. Previous studies proposed that Neolithic communities deliberately transported the six-tonne sandstone block across Britain. But a newly published paper explores the possibility that glaciers may have carried the stone south during the last Ice Age.
#ancient #archaeology #stonehenge
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 The Altar Stone Mystery
00:43 A Distant Origin in Scotland
04:05 What Are Glacial Erratics?
05:10 Could Ice Have Moved The Altar Stone?
07:11 The Doggerland Connection
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youtube.com/channel/UC0Hs5t0U6Uf993Tba22YmKA/join
✨ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS
BlueSky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social
✨ REFERENCES
Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J., Ixer, R.A., Pirrie, D., Andò, S., Hillier, S., Turner, P. and Power, M., 2023. The Stonehenge Altar Stone was probably not sourced from the Old Red Sandstone of the Anglo-Welsh Basin: Time to broaden our geographic and stratigraphic horizons?. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 51, p.104215.
Clarke, A.J.I., Kirkland, C.L., Bevins, R.E. et al. A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge. Nature 632, 570–575 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07652-1
Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J., Hillier, S., Pirrie, D., Ixer, R.A., Andò, S., Barbarano, M., Power, M. and Turner, P., 2024. Was the Stonehenge Altar Stone from Orkney? Investigating the mineralogy and geochemistry of Orcadian Old Red sandstones and Neolithic circle monuments. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 58, p.104738.
Parker Pearson, M., Bevins, R., Bradley, R., Ixer, R., Pearce, N. & Richards, C., (2024) “Stonehenge and its Altar Stone: the significance of distant stone sources”, Archaeology International 27(1), 113–137. doi: doi.org/10.14324/AI.27.1.13
John, B. S.: A bluestone boulder at Stonehenge: implications for the glacial transport theory, E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 117–134, doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-117-2024, 2024.
Clarke, A.J., Veness, R.L., Kirkland, C.L., Clark, C.D., Gandy, N., Emery, A., Bradley, S.L., Ely, J.C. and Ádám, I., 2026. From Highlands to Henge: Refining the Provenance and Transport Pathways of Stonehenge's Altar Stone. Journal of Quaternary Science.
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
Google Earth
Locations
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Figures from the paper by Clarke, A. J. I., et al (2024) referenced above.
CC BY 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Figures from the paper by John, B. S., (2024) referenced above.
Figures from the paper by Bevins, R. E., et al (2024) referenced above.
Figures from the paper by Clarke, A. J., et al (2026) referenced above.
Public domain
Stonehenge
A new study has reignited one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Stonehenge: how did the Altar Stone reach Salisbury Plain from Scotland? Did it make a pit stop in the now-submerged Doggerland? Recent research suggests that Stonehenge's Altar Stone originated in northeastern Scotland, more than 700 kilometres from the monument itself. Previous studies proposed that Neolithic communities deliberately transported the six-tonne sandstone block across Britain. But a newly published paper explores the possibility that glaciers may have carried the stone south during the last Ice Age.
#ancient #archaeology #stonehenge
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 The Altar Stone Mystery
00:43 A Distant Origin in Scotland
04:05 What Are Glacial Erratics?
05:10 Could Ice Have Moved The Altar Stone?
07:11 The Doggerland Connection
✨ JOIN MY CHANNEL
youtube.com/channel/UC0Hs5t0U6Uf993Tba22YmKA/join
✨ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS
BlueSky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social
✨ REFERENCES
Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J., Ixer, R.A., Pirrie, D., Andò, S., Hillier, S., Turner, P. and Power, M., 2023. The Stonehenge Altar Stone was probably not sourced from the Old Red Sandstone of the Anglo-Welsh Basin: Time to broaden our geographic and stratigraphic horizons?. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 51, p.104215.
Clarke, A.J.I., Kirkland, C.L., Bevins, R.E. et al. A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge. Nature 632, 570–575 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07652-1
Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J., Hillier, S., Pirrie, D., Ixer, R.A., Andò, S., Barbarano, M., Power, M. and Turner, P., 2024. Was the Stonehenge Altar Stone from Orkney? Investigating the mineralogy and geochemistry of Orcadian Old Red sandstones and Neolithic circle monuments. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 58, p.104738.
Parker Pearson, M., Bevins, R., Bradley, R., Ixer, R., Pearce, N. & Richards, C., (2024) “Stonehenge and its Altar Stone: the significance of distant stone sources”, Archaeology International 27(1), 113–137. doi: doi.org/10.14324/AI.27.1.13
John, B. S.: A bluestone boulder at Stonehenge: implications for the glacial transport theory, E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 117–134, doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-117-2024, 2024.
Clarke, A.J., Veness, R.L., Kirkland, C.L., Clark, C.D., Gandy, N., Emery, A., Bradley, S.L., Ely, J.C. and Ádám, I., 2026. From Highlands to Henge: Refining the Provenance and Transport Pathways of Stonehenge's Altar Stone. Journal of Quaternary Science.
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
Google Earth
Locations
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Figures from the paper by Clarke, A. J. I., et al (2024) referenced above.
CC BY 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Figures from the paper by John, B. S., (2024) referenced above.
Figures from the paper by Bevins, R. E., et al (2024) referenced above.
Figures from the paper by Clarke, A. J., et al (2026) referenced above.
Public domain
Stonehenge
