Stonehenge mystery may be closer to being solved as scientists trace Altar Stone’s epic journey

3 min readJun 5, 2026 07:58 PM IST

Instead, researchers propose that Neolithic communities were responsible for transporting it the remaining hundreds of kilometres to Stonehenge. (Image: magnific)

A new study may have brought researchers closer to solving one of Stonehenge’s longest-standing mysteries: how its massive Altar Stone travelled roughly 700 kilometres from northeast Scotland to southern England.

The six-tonne sandstone slab, which lies at the centre of Stonehenge, has long puzzled archaeologists. Previous research traced its origins to the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland, but the mechanism behind its journey to Salisbury Plain remained unclear.

Now, scientists from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK and Curtin University in Australia suggest that part of the stone’s journey may have been accomplished naturally. According to their study, published in the Journal of Quaternary Science, glaciers during the last Ice Age could have transported the Altar Stone southward as far as Dogger Bank, a region beneath the North Sea.

During the last glacial period, between about 33,000 and 11,700 years ago, large ice sheets moved across Britain and carried rocks over considerable distances. The researchers modelled ancient ice flows and concluded that glaciers could have moved the Altar Stone from Scotland to Doggerland. This prehistoric landmass once connected Britain to mainland Europe before being submerged by rising sea levels.

Dogger Bank itself contains no natural source of large stones, making glacial transport the most likely explanation for how such boulders arrived there.

However, the study found no evidence that glaciers carried the Altar Stone directly to southern England. Instead, researchers propose that Neolithic communities were responsible for transporting it the remaining hundreds of kilometres to Stonehenge.

According to the team, this journey may have involved a combination of coastal routes, rivers, and overland transport. It was suggested by the researchers that the stone might have been transported over the course of many generations before being incorporated into Stonehenge after around 5,000 years.

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According to the researchers, the stone might have had cultural value even before making its way to Stonehenge. The possibility exists that if the communities in Doggerland had discovered and safeguarded the stone, the same might have achieved its cultural status before its ultimate transportation.

This paper presents a very high level of organisational capability displayed by Neolithic communities, as evidenced by the movement of a six-tonne stone over a considerable distance.

There still exist some uncertainties regarding the specific path followed by the Altar Stone. However, the research brings forth a plausible scenario whereby geological changes, along with human activity, led to the creation of Stonehenge.