Overview
- The paper, published June 4, 2026, traces the six‑tonne Altar Stone’s geology to the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland.
- Ice‑sheet modelling in the study indicates glaciers could have carried the rock southeast as far as Dogger Bank but could not have deposited it on Salisbury Plain.
- Authors conclude substantial human effort remained necessary and that the stone was likely moved in stages using overland, river or coastal routes to cover the remaining hundreds of kilometres.
- The findings raise the possibility that Mesolithic or Neolithic people recovered the boulder on the now‑submerged Doggerland before hauling it inland prior to its placement at Stonehenge.
- Researchers combined geochemical fingerprinting, mineral‑grain dating and ice‑flow simulations but still lack a precise quarry location and a full sequence of human transport, so they plan targeted provenance and route reconstruction.