Was STONEHENGE'S Altar Stone Transported From SCOTLAND?

A startling new study provides evidence that the Altar Stone at Stonehenge, thought to have originated in Wales, actually came from much further afield. In this video I discuss this latest find in the context of everything we already know about Stonehenge including the various phases of the monument and the other Neolithic and Bronze Age structures that make up the local landscape.

#ancienthistory #bronzeage #stonehenge

✨ IN THIS EPISODE

00:00 Introduction
01:19 Stonehenge’s Mesolithic Past
02:49 Stonehenge Phase One
03:44 Stonehenge Phase Two
04:47 Stonehenge Phase Three
06:07 Stonehenge Phase Four
06:24 Stonehenge Phase Five
06:35 Origins of the Stones
09:16 Purpose of the Monument
13:39 A Ritual Landscape

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✨ REFERENCES

Bevins, R. E. et al. 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? J. Archaeolog. Sci. Rep. 51, 104215 (2023).

Darvill, T. (2022). Keeping time at Stonehenge. Antiquity, 96(386), pp.319-335.

Gaffney, V.L., Baldwin, E., Bates, M., Bates, C.R., Gaffney, C.F., Hamilton, D., Kinnaird, T., Neubauer, W., Yorston, R., Allaby, R. and Chapman, H., 2020. A massive, Late Neolithic pit structure associated with Durrington Walls Henge.

Magli, G. and Belmonte, J.A. (2022). Archaeoastronomy and the alleged Stonehenge calendar. arXiv preprint arXiv:2211.07981.

Pearson, M.P., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Thomas, J., Tilley, C. and Welham, K. (2020). Stonehenge for the ancestors: Part 1. Landscape and monuments. Sidestone Press, Leiden.

Pearson, M.P. (2013). Researching Stonehenge: Theories Past and Present. AI, Vol. 16(1):72-83. DOI: 10.5334/ai.1601

✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS

Google Earth
Location of Stonehenge and postholes

Durrington Walls, credit: Ethan Doyle White

Summary of calendar numerology at Stonehenge, credit: Darvill, T., as shown in the paper above.

Plan of Stonehenge, credit: Drawn by Adamsan from Cleal, Walker, & Montague, Stonehenge in its Landscape.
Stonehenge at sunset, credit: Jeffrey Pfau

Drawing of the Stonehenge landscape, credit: Dunn, P., as it appears in Pearson, M.P., Researching Stonehenge: Theories Past and Present as referenced above.
Map of Stonehenge landscape highlighting the Greater Cursus and Durrington Walls, credit: Gaffney, V. L., et al., in the paper referenced above.
Drawings of the Neolithic pits discovered in the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes project credit: Gaffney, V. L., et al., in the paper referenced above.

Thumbnail: Altar Stone at Stonehenge, credit: Pam Brophy
Standing and recumbent stones at Waun Mawn, credit: Hansjoerg Lipp

Stonehenge, credit: garethwiscombe

Public domain
Woodhenge

[MegalithHunter]

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[freefall]

I went to visit Stonehenge and it had been fenced off days before I arrived. I get a better view from here.

[barrywalser]

This was a fantastic summary of what is known about the Stonehenge landscape. Thanks for sharing Laura!

[sixeses]

Thanks Laura, I can't help but wonder what sort of structures were lost in Doggerlland

[markwinson-sh]

Thanks so much, I’m visiting Stonehenge on Monday and feel better prepared 😊

[davidcreager]

Stonehenge is a facinating subject, and I'm very glad that over the centuries it wasn't destroyed . Part of me would love to know for sure how they did it, but a bigger part hopes that we never find out, ! The mystery is part of the fun ! Have a wonderful day !!!

[LeRoy-te]

Very complex indeed. Also very interesting. I don't think there is any question concerning the connectivity. I wish you the best of luck in sorting things out. You do seem to be the best candidate for this. Thank you for being you, and keep up the excellent work 😊

[ZiggyDan]

Wow! I'll have to watch it again. Does this mean the builders knew of the other 'stone henges' across the country.

[Rohip]

This is a really good summary thanks! I very much agree with your calender thoughts particularly and suspect refinements occured for a thousand years. I would imagine looking at any post 2500 bce development would detract rather than add to this.
It looks as though the Scottish Altar stone theory is now confirmed, I'd guess it travelled much if the way on the ice - folks from the Meso and Neolithic age undoubtedly knew an unusual rock when they saw one!

[vulpesvulpes]

Wow! Our cups runnith over! That’s a lot to unpack. My simple comment is “Laura’s back!”! Great job.

Now the rabbit hole comment. I recently watched several videos on this subject. And that of the “American Stonehenge”.

I’m not going to comment on the geology and who built what when and from what. I’ll focus on the possible use, specifically in observing the solstice.

But first, some misconceptions.
Both Stonehenge in England and that in Salem New Hampshire lie at the same latitude. They do not. Stonehenge is 51.1789N, the American Stonehenge is 42.7886N. More on this in a moment.

Secondly, both lie on the same “great circle” line. Additionally both henges are on great circle lines with the great pyramids. True. All true. But not relevant.

A great circle line is a navigational concept. It is a line between any two points on a spherical surface. Thus Laura and I, right this instant, are on the same great circle line. Until one of us moves. This has absolutely no greater meaning. It’s simply a line between to points. Now, if Floyd was also on that line, that might be significant, or simply coincidence.

When we observe the solstice, summer or winter, what we actually observe is the sun in its most northerly and southerly progression. Not precession! This observation defines the two tropics, Cancer and Capricorn. Lines upon the gelid wherein the sun is at zenith on the solstice at that latitude.

It has been suggested that one must be at “about” the same latitude as stone henge to observe this solstice. No so. Not even close.

Two things are required. An east-west reference to track solar precession, and a vertical reference to track azimuth.

Both the real stone henge and the American are capable of doing this to within about 30 seconds. As are several other sites world wide. All at various latitudes. Now. 30 seconds equates to a precision of 2-3 days. Which for most farmers in need of a “calendar” to plant by is good enough. However for precise celestial alignments it is not. The orientation of stones within these and other monuments suggests that the builders of that time were capable of presidium on the order of fractions of a second, or our “minutes” of time at location. This allows those clever fellas or gals to establish true north, or any other direction. Not magnetic. And to observe minute celestial movements. Lacking a very precise navigational sextet as we use today, they had rocks.

But sightings along, between and above those stones fails to provide that precision. Now I speculate.

In the mid-1800’s cannon had progressed to become deadly. A gunner could sight a cannon “over the muzzle” to within 30 yards at 1000. Good but not good enough. Refined and adjustable sights were added to the gun and suddenly the crew could put a shot “into a pickle barrel” as they said. But such precise sites are fragile. And so they were removable for every shot by the gunner. Then replaced to sight for the next shot.

I suspect that our clever ancestors had some “sacred object” that was laid on, or affixed to, the observational stones. Turning “close enough” into “very precise”. Few gun sites survive to this day for the 12 pound Napoleon cannon. In a like manner we don’t have an archeological example of this “sacred device”. Only the occasional odd hole in a stone and the logical progression that some such must have existed.

Someday somebody may reconstruct the “set of sights” that were probably used at stone henge to turn it from “a 30 minute to a 10 second gun”. Clearly it was the basis for the precision we see about that region in antiquity.

Much the same is true at the American henge in Salem. It too is close on solar observation. Perhaps it’s not an 18th century hoax. Or. Whoever made it was an accomplished navigator. Personally I think it’s old. But in no way tied to stone henge, other than by function.

Form follows function.

That’s what the fox says. At your service for those who wish to discuss.

Fox out

[thorisrain]

A crazy thing I noticed when messing about on google earth is that if you draw a circle with the centre at Waun Mawn with the perimeter touching Stonehenge, that circle also goes within a few hundred meters, or a field or two, of Newgrange in Ireland, and also if you extend the entrance passage from Newgrange with a long line it eventually passes within similar range of Stonehenge. Even if it's a coincidence it's pretty cool, and a handy way to relate them in your mind. My computer with google earth on is broken at the moment but if I remember correctly, you can draw a circle centred at Stonehenge to Waun Maun and it also touches Dover, the closest point to Europe, also bang on due east of Stonehenge, for what that's worth. I could ramble on, but to keep this short and at least semi-sane I'll leave it at that :D. Obviously coincidences happen all the time but with the enormity of Stonehenge and ancient landscapes generally (and I've just seen your recent video on ancient maps) I don't dismiss or believe in these geometric speculations (other theories are available lol), I just take them as data points, and hope one day we know more. I think, as you say, solar/luna/stella alignments are reflected in ancient architecture, and relate to the science and or religion of the period (and we have similar sentiments involving alignments to this day in buddism/islam/christianity) but the structures themselves may not have been optimised for use as actual scientific observatories. Whilst you do need some permanent datums to carry out observations over time, I imagine wooden measuring tools, string-lines and writing tools would be better for developing actual astronomical knowledge in the first place. I can't imagine farmers having to rely on such monuments either, when local landmarks and folk knowledge would serve just as well. Ok I really will leave it at that for now ! :D

[tinkerstrade]

In a primitive culture, survival was almost always a feast or famine situation. During times of plenty, usually late spring, food was secure and there was time for "other" pursuits.

Now I'm speaking from the perspective of the history of my own ancestors in North America, but I'm sure conditions and situations would have been similar.

Hunter gatherers couldn't prepare foodstores too far into the future, though hopefully enough for winter. By the by, stone covered pits of food were often used by my people as the Earth is a natural refrigerator. Some of those "feasting areas" around pits may have been opened in early spring, at a celebration of renewal, but also as a survival strategy.

Too often those who delve into the past look for grand schemes and meanings in every detail. They attach great meaning to each and all signs of the past. And it is well to do so, lest something important be missed. But we need to remember that these people were little different from those today. They didn't center their actions solely on grand displays for us to find thousands of years later, but instead we are looking into a window in their lives. And they were just living those lives.

If you ever want to look at Archeology from a different but very valid point of view, read "A Canticle For Leibowtz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr.-1959. It's a post apocalyptic work of fiction that is an unintended wink at Archeological misconceptions. 😎👍

Thanks for another great video. 🎉

[SuperRobinjames]

I have long held the belief that wood and stone circle builders must have been in constant communication with each other, we have a lot of cloudy weather in the UK and measurements just aren't possible to make, info from other 'observatories'would be vital.

[Gianfranco_]

The 360 "days" = one of the systems Rupert Graves talked about claimed the Ancient Britons had a "name" for each day of the year, 360 names in total

[quesoestbonne]

Sounds like some of these stones may have been glacial erratics, transported 2:54 from previous ice ages. There are numerous stones like these around the country.

[judewarner]

Apparently there are numerous bone middens in the Stonehenge landscape, from feasting, that include species of domesticated animals native to Scotland. There is evidence that people from all over Britain attended festivals in the Wiltshire sacred landscape, bringing artefacts and animals with them. Festivities and travel both national and international were much more common than most people realise and even Archaeologists are still somewhat reticent to recognise the big picture.

[richardtyndall]

I think that part of Wales was under the control of the Irish at one point so maybe a shard of truth in his tale.

[stevecummins]

hmm possibly Cumbria... have people seen the dating evidence coming from tiny amounts of archaeology that has been done at Long Meg in Cumbria? they not sure if bulk of it's stones are glacial erratics... but is noticeable there doesn't seem to be glacial erratics left anywhere in the area (meaning if there was erratics they moved the *lot*)
Stone is known to have been moved from Cumbria. ie the langdale axes.
maybe they scaled such up?

[judewarner]

Please bear with me as I develop a thesis: in our digital world an icon is simple figure that denotes a more complex identity or idea, as do Mediaeval religious icons. You state your belief that Stonehenge represents more than solstitial alignments. As I understand it, not only are lunar phases embodied in the complex, there are four outlying stones related to a 54 year lunar cycle! You mention possible stellar alignments, but not planetary.

I suspect that not only stellar alignments but zodiacal and planetary alignments may be represented and that a broad celestial iconography is involved in many, if not most, complex megalithic structures. I think of the "mysterious" shafts in the Great Pyramid aligned with Sirius, etc; ground-based representations of Orion's Belt and the Milky Way, and so on. Logically the brightest lights in the sky or those with anomalous behaviour (planets) would and did attract magical interest. I use magical as a catchall for animistic, superstitious or religious concepts.

Imagine "celestial iconography" as the set and solstitial, lunar and stellar alignments, etc as sub-sets. After several decades of interest in the scientific, mythological and magical aspects of these various inter-related subjects, I feel a holistic relationship has emerged, of which the above thesis forms a small part.

[madderhat]

Did the calendars have mental health days? Building all this must have been quite brain taxing. I'll have to get back there someday.