Researchers are one step closer to understanding how Stonehenge was created.
FILE - The world heritage site of Stonehenge is seen in Wiltshire, England on Dec. 17, 2013. The unique stone lying flat at the center of the monument was brought to the site in southern England from near the tip of northeast Scotland,in the journal Nature. It’s not clear whether the 16-foot stone was carried by boat or through land — a journey of more than 460 miles .
For the study, the team was not permitted to chip away rocks at the site, but instead analyzed minerals in bits of rock that had been collected in previous digs, some dating back to the 1840s. They found a match in the sandstone formations of Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland, a region that includes parts of the tip of the Scottish peninsula as well as the Orkney Islands.
Greaney said the difficult logistics of moving the stone such a long distance show a high level of coordination and cultural connection between these two regions of ancient Britain. “Stonehenge isn’t a settlement site, but a place of ceremony or ritual,” said Heather Sebire, senior curator at English Heritage, who was not involved in the study. She said that past archaeological excavations had not uncovered evidence of feasting or daily living at the site.
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