The origin of Stonehenge has give archeologists sleepless nights for nearly 100 years . In 1923 , geologist Herbert Henry Thomas splendidly indicate that the 2 - 3 ton bluestones of the rock megalith spring up in the Mynydd Preseli area of coastal south Wales . But how would a crowd of Stone Age builders have hauled these vast rocks to Salisbury in southern England from the glide of Wales?Building on the theory posed by H.H. Thomas , many have suggested that the bluestone were ship via the ocean from Mynydd Preseli down the Welsh coast until they hit current - 24-hour interval Bristol .
Not so , state new enquiry . Publishing their research in the journalAntiquity , archaeologists from the University of Leicester argue that the extremely influential study of Thomas was ground on miserable evidence .
Stonehengewas build by a mysterious mathematical group of ancient masses in several stage over the centuries , the first of which was a basic monument that was built sometime after 3,000 BCE . There are two type of I. F. Stone at Stonehenge , the little “ bluestones ” and the more iconic large slabs of sarsen Stone . Radiocarbon geological dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 BCE and 2200 BCE .
All of that is evenhandedly set in stone , so to speak , but this fresh enquiry doubts Thomas ' possibility of the bluestone ' geographic origin and how it terminate up in southern England .
The new field of study argues that much of the evidence Thomas relied on was erroneous and modified , meaning his conclusions were off the mark . alternatively of the rock-and-roll originating in Mynydd Preseli in south Wales , like he concluded , the unexampled study further affirmsother current researchthat says the bluestones come up from Craig - Rhos - y - felin and Carn Goedog .
“ fresh analytic technique , alongside transmitted and reflected light microscopy , have lately instigate renewed scrutiny of Thomas ’ work , ” the work authors write .
“ While tidy for its time , the answer of these new analysis , combined with a thorough checking of the archived sample distribution consulted by Thomas , reveal that key locations long believed to be sources for the Stonehenge bluestones can be discounted in favor of freshly identified locating at Craig - Rhos - y - felin and Carn Goedog . ”
As for the mechanism of how the stones ended up over 160 kilometers ( 100 miles ) out from their quarry , that motion will continue to keep archeologists up at night . A few researchers have suggested that they might have been transported to Salisbury Plain by the movement of glaciers , but most archaeologists reason that they were transport by an active human , most likely using numerous inland water mesh and hauled over land .
“ This work also highlights how prosperous it is to take on publish findings as ‘ creed ’ and not to offer a challenge . ”
“ This was the case with Thomas ’s paper for over 80 years and yet our finding are fundamental to identifying site where archaeological excavations might have the fortune of find evidence for the descent of Stonehenge bluestones , if indeed they were extracted and transported by human federal agency rather than by frappe . ”
