Stonehenge, the mysterious prehistoric stone circle, located near Salisbury in England, has long enchanted tourists and scientists alike.

The awe-inspiring site is presumed to have been a religious site, and the monument also acts as a historic cemetery. However, this is not what makes the stones truly magnificent.

Indeed, the stone circle was built precisely and skilfully in line with the sun, the moon, and the solstices. During the summer solstice, the sun’s rays illuminate the centre of Stonehenge. At the time of the winter solstice, the sun sets between the two largest pillars.

For this reason, it is assumed that the site was used ceremonially, as well as perhaps even as a Neolithic calendar.

In the UK, Stonehenge is a popular tourist attraction – particularly during the summer and winter solstice, when people gather to witness this solar spectacle and marvel at the power of nature and their prehistoric ancestors.

The UNESCO World Heritage site was built over 5,000 years ago. It has long been established that some of the smaller stones derived from South Wales (around 100 miles away). However, new research published in the academic journal Nature has proven that one of the key stones – the altar stone – was from much further away.

After examining the stone in detail, using a sample from the altar stone to determine its age and composition, a team of scientists determined that it had extremely unlikely origins.

In fact, the altar stone is made from rock that had been transported over 400 miles through Britain, from the outer edges of Scotland. Unlike the smaller stones which came from Wales, or even from nearby in England, the altar stone is enormous and very heavy, weighing over six tons.

The sheer impracticality of getting this important stone to the Wiltshire site is discussed in the paper:

“The difficulty of long-distance overland transport of such massive cargo from Scotland, navigating topographic barriers, suggests that it was transported by sea. Such routing demonstrates a high level of societal organization with intra-Britain transport during the Neolithic period.”

As well as astounding the scientific and historic community, these findings have had a monumental impact on our understanding of society in Britain over 5,000 years ago. Rob Ixer, co-author of the study, explained the significance of this research in an interview with The Guardian (told The Guardian):

“It completely rewrites the relationships between the Neolithic populations of the whole of the British Isles. The science is beautiful and it’s remarkable, and it’s going to be discussed for decades to come… It is jaw-dropping.”

It just goes to show that even the oldest parts of history never stop surprising us.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a quantum computer simulation that has “reversed time” and physics may never be the same.