Scientists 'shocked' at new Stonehenge discovery | BBC News

The six-tonne Altar Stone at the heart of Stonehenge came from the far north of Scotland rather than south-west Wales as previously thought, new analysis has found.

It means that the stone was brought about 700km (434 miles), from Scotland, to the ancient monument, near Salisbury in south-west England.

The discovery shows the construction of Stonehenge was a far greater collaborative effort than scientists realised.

It also suggests that Neolithic Britain was a far more connected and advanced society than earlier evidence indicated.

#Stonehenge #BBCNews

[Kingtrollface]

this is like my grandad being proud of being Irish all his life, then at 60 he finds out he's, adopted,English and his real name is albert😂

[spacelemming]

Friendly reminder there was no wales, Scotland and England 5, 000 years ago only Celtic tribes and druids

[david-spliso]

Most people don't know that many of the stones had fallen over and were propped back up in the 20th century across several preservation projects. If you look at paintings of Stonehenge from the 19th and 18th centuries you'll see a largely different layout, with so many stones collapsed and fallen over.

[KayAteChef]

They weren't Scotts or Englishmen. They weren't even Welsh, Brittonic, or even Celtic.

[TonyWelch]

He remembers being 1 years old, ffs I can’t remember where I was this lunch time

[warrenwalker]

as she said they were NOT English, Scottish and Welsh back then, so the whole little story about the Welsh being worried about some rock coming from Scotland is absolutely rubbish. Listen to the archaeologist don't put your little spin on it

[neuropsychologist]

Imagine the collaboration and motivation required to transport such a stone! Incredible.

[FilmscoreMetaler]

99/100 times a headline says everyone was shocked, not a single person was even remotely shocked.

[fredericksaxton]

It would be helpful if the big red banner across the screen was reduced in size a tad.

[Future-Classic-Comics]

To be fair! To this young Gentleman- back in 91' I was one hour old and do *remember!* my Step Mother's Boating 🚢 accident in Uraguay, (in the Cheese region) involving a fax machine falling on my adolescent face.

So don't you *DARE! KEVIN* say that he doesn't remember being one years old, because I do!

[Travelling..Bottle..Digger]

He doesn't remember seeing that as a one year old. He remembers seeing a picture

[keirthomas]

They found an IKEA instruction manual buried underneath, along with some spare bits.

[jeanlefranc]

I think it’s quite simple : Stonehenge management issued a specific tender for the altar stone, and Scotland had the best bid. That’s it.

[mikef]

Aliens transported the stones to the site. They stacked the up in a somewhat random way and said “The humans will be trying to figure this out for centuries” as they flew away laughing

[Dan]

What they don't tell us is that it all started in a pub. Somebody said "I bet you that you can't drag that big rock all the way to a place that will someday be called Wales." and the answer to that was "Hold my mead!"

[SonOfVulkan]

I live less than a mile from the stones, have done all my life. Once you walk around the area enough and visit all the barrows near the site, you realise how important this site has been for most of history

[S.T.R.Y.K.E.R.]

People also forget that Stonehenge was restored in the 50s. Maybe the rock they tested was brought in during that restoration period.

[Nan.C]

They lost me at “he still remembers being brought to the site as a 1 yr old”. What in Chathulu’s tentacles?!, That guy is a prodigy!

[Fyzzylife]

There was no Scottish, Welsh or English people back when Stonehenge was built. For some random facts:

The identity of the people who built Stonehenge is unclear, but many historians and archaeologists believe that multiple groups contributed to the site over a period of more than 1, 500 years, ranging 3100 BC to 1600 BC (Long before even the Saxons are mentioned to exist, less alone the Anglo Saxons and later on the English):
-Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers
Archaeological evidence suggests that these people may have made the first modifications to the site.
-Neolithic agrarians
These people, who may have been indigenous to the British Isles, are thought to have completed the first stage of construction.
-Groups with more advanced tools
These groups may have left their mark on the site later, and some believe they were immigrants from Europe, while others think they were native Britons.

Putting this here in case anyone is interested

[harrylong]

This is really actually quite heartwarming, that everyone on this island from different tribes and clans came together way down in the south to create a shared place of worship