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It’s one of the oldest debates in archeology: how the enormous blue stones of Stonehenge reached their final resting place. Has the mystery finally been solved?
A new study from Curtin University is reshaping how scientists understand the origins of the iconic blue stones of , offering the most convincing evidence to date that they were transported to the site by people and not by ice in motion.
For decades, researchers have debated whether glaciers could have transported the Altar Stone and other large rocks to Salisbury Plain, with studies suggesting that .
The new study now does tip the scales towards human movement intentional, suggesting that the stones were deliberately brought for the monument rather than being deposited by natural forces.
To test this idea, Curtin scientists turned to a technique known as mineral “fingerprint”and analyzed microscopic mineral grains preserved in river sediments surrounding Stonehenge in southern England.
These grains record the long journeys of sediments through Great Britain and provide clues about the regions they once passed through, explains the .
If glaciers had swept through the areawould have left behind a distinctive mix of minerals eroded from distant landscapes. Over thousands of years, these rocks would have disintegrated, releasing tiny particles that could still be detected and dated today.
Using advanced instruments at Curtin’s John de Laeter Centre, the research team studied more than 500 zircon crystalsone of the most resistant minerals on Earth and a reliable indicator of geological history.
“The results did not reveal any mineral evidence that ice sheets had ever reached the site of Stonehenge”, says Anthony ClarkeCurtin researcher and lead author of the study.
“If glaciers had transported rocks from Scotland or Wales to Stonehenge, would have left a clear mineral signature on Salisbury Plain,” explains Clarke. “These rocks they would have eroded over time, releasing tiny grains that we could date to understand their age and where they came from.”
“We examined the river sands near Stonehenge looking for some of these grains that glaciers might have transported and we didn’t find any. This makes the alternative explanation, that it was humans who moved the stones, much more plausible”, he concludes.
So how were the stones moved?
According to Clarke, the way in which humans could have moved the stones remains a mystery.
“There are those who say that the stones could have been transported by sea from Scotland or Wales, or they may have been transported overland using rolling logs, but in fact we may never know. But what we do know is that the ice almost certainly didn’t move the rocks.”
According to the teacher Chris Kirklandalso a researcher at Curtin University, the findings highlight the power of geochemical tools modern solutions to resolve long-standing historical issues.
“Stonehenge continues to surprise us“, says Kirkland. “When we analyze minerals smaller than a grain of sandwe were able to test theories that have persisted for more than a century.”
“There is so many questions that can be asked about this iconic monument — for example, why was Stonehenge built? It was probably used for a wide variety of different purposes, such as a calendar, an ancient temple, a banqueting place,” he adds.
“Therefore, ask and then answer these types of questions requires different types of data sets and this study adds an important piece to that broader picture.”
The discoveries come on the heels of another major discovery, led by Curtin University in 2024, that stops the six-tonne central rock of the ‘Altar Stone’ at the heart of Stonehenge.
The one in 2024 then further reinforced the view that Neolithic builders obtained and transported the iconic stones deliberately and over vast distances.
