![\"Stonehenge\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/stonehenge-altar-stone-may-have-travelled-from-scotland-via-glacier-study.jpg\")
The altar stone is now partially buried under two fallen blocks in the centre of Stonehenge (Ben Birchall\/PA)<\/p>\nThe altar stone of Stonehenge could have travelled from north-east Scotland via glacier before reaching Salisbury Plain, a study has found.<\/p>\n
The six-tonne, sandstone monolith is believed to have originated in the Orcadian Basin in northern Scotland \u2013 but the mystery of how it reached Salisbury Plain, about 435 miles away, has remained unsolved.<\/p>\n
Now researchers at Sheffield Hallam University and Curtin University in Australia have found the stone may have travelled via glacier to Doggerland, a neolithic site off the east coast of England, during the last Ice Age.<\/p>\n
We recently discovered that the origin of the altar stone is north-east Scotland, but how it travelled 700km to Salisbury Plain is widely debated<\/p>\n
Dr Remy Veness<\/p>\n
After being deposited by the glacier in Doggerland, prehistoric Britons may have transported the block south to its final resting place.<\/p>\n
Dr Remy Veness, co-lead author of the paper from Sheffield Hallam University, said: \u201cWe recently discovered that the origin of the altar stone is north-east Scotland, but how it travelled 700km to Salisbury Plain is widely debated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur research gives a new plausible explanation for part of the journey to Salisbury Plain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is exciting about these findings is that they could imply that the people of Doggerland attached cultural significance to the altar stone long before it was incorporated into Stonehenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The altar stone is now partially buried under two fallen blocks in the centre of Stonehenge (Ben Birchall\/PA)<\/p>\n
Doggerland, which once connected Britain to mainland Europe, was abandoned due to climate change and is now submerged under the North Sea.<\/p>\n
Dr Veness said the changing climate may have been the reason for the \u201caudacious\u201d decision to move the stone onto what is now mainland Britain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe altar stone must have been significant enough (for people) to be willing to move the stone at least twice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst to save it from being submerged by rising sea levels at the end of the last ice age, and then again to its final resting place on Salisbury Plain.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving the stone in response to rising sea levels as the world\u2019s ice sheets melted at the end of the last ice age goes some way to explaining why such an audacious move might have been attempted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really interesting to consider that the construction of Stonehenge might have started as a result of climate-induced migration.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Stonhenge\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780687091_186_stonehenge-altar-stone-may-have-travelled-from-scotland-via-glacier-study.jpg\")
Stonehenge is 435 miles from where the altar stone is believed to have originated (Andrew Matthews\/PA)<\/p>\n
The paper suggests that from\u00a0Doggerland, the altar stone\u00a0could\u00a0have been\u00a0moved\u00a0close to the Berkshire Ridgeway, the oldest road in Europe,\u00a0which was active at the time of Stonehenge and could have eased or encouraged travel to Salisbury Plain.<\/p>\n
Co-lead author Dr Anthony Clarke, from Curtin University, said the findings suggest the journey far from simple, and likely required careful planning across multiple stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than being carried naturally by ice, the evidence points to a deliberate, carefully planned movement across a challenging and varied landscape,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur modelling shows glaciers may have transported rocks part of the way during the last Ice Age \u2014 potentially as far as Dogger Bank in the North Sea \u2014 but not into southern England, meaning the stone would still have needed to be moved hundreds of kilometres by people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe research indicates there were no viable glacial pathways linking the source region directly to Stonehenge, reinforcing the conclusion that human transport was required.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, this suggests the stone was likely moved in stages, potentially combining overland hauling with river or coastal transport where possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the findings reveal a level of organisation and co-operation among Neolithic communities not previously fully appreciated.<\/p>\n
\u201cTransporting a stone of this size over such a long distance would have required planning, co-ordination and a deep understanding of the landscape \u2013 not to mention tremendous determination,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe study demonstrates how combining geological analysis with computer modelling can help resolve long-standing questions about how Stonehenge was built.\u201d<\/p>\n
Future research will aim to pinpoint the altar stone\u2019s exact source in north-east Scotland and further investigate possible transport routes used by prehistoric communities.<\/p>\n
The study, From Highlands To Henge: Refining The Provenance And Transport Pathways Of Stonehenge\u2019s Altar Stone, was published in the Journal of Quaternary Science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The altar stone of Stonehenge could have travelled from north-east Scotland via glacier before reaching Salisbury Plain, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,60,82],"class_list":["post-485008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}