Stonehenge Altar Stone likely originated in Scotland

New research suggests that the Altar Stone, a six-ton sandstone megalith located at the center of Stonehenge, likely originated from northeastern Scotland, approximately 700 kilometers away.

A study conducted by researchers from Sheffield Hallam University and Curtin University utilized mineralogical analysis of zircons and computer modeling of ancient glacier movements to trace the stone's origins. The stone is composed of Old Red Sandstone, which matches geological profiles found in areas such as Caithness or the Inverness–Black Isle region.

Scientists propose that glaciers during the last ice age may have transported the stone from the Orcadian Basin to the Dogger Bank, an area now submerged beneath the North Sea. This suggests the stone may have reached the now-sunken landscape of Doggerland, which served as a land bridge between the British Isles and mainland Europe before being flooded between 6500 and 6200 BCE. If the stone was deposited in Doggerland by a glacier, it could have significantly shortened the distance prehistoric humans needed to transport it to the Salisbury Plain.