Stonehenge offers up a new Mystery - The Altar Stone

Many experts assumed that the most likely place of origin was Orkney, based on the islands’ rich neolithic culture and tradition of monument building.

But a separate academic study has now found that Orkney is not, in fact, the source of the altar stone, meaning the tantalising hunt for its place of origin goes on.

The new study, which was conducted separately from last month’s Australian-led paper but involved some of the same scientists, examined the chemical and mineralogical makeup of the stones in Orkney’s two great stone circles – the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar – as well as field samples of rock deposits across Orkney’s islands.

When their key markers, identified in portable X-rays, were compared with those of the altar stone they were found to be strikingly different, leading the authors to conclude that Orkney could not be its source.

www.theguardian.com...

So not Orkney.

I am not sure why they only tested the sandstone in Orkney, rather than taking samples from all the major outcroppings of sandstone. Time? Money? Perhaps they just wanted to eliminate Orkney before anywhere else and are swiftly moving on to the next sample. I vote they check the Penrith formation next.

Either way, the "altar" stone was transported a considerable distance, relatively speaking, from up North, whether from Caithness or Cumbria. I'd quite like them to excavate the stone so we could actually get a look at it. These types of sandstone can have some really dramatic colourations, banded purples, reds and oranges - particularly when wet.

Getting a good look at the stone, seeing what is underneath it, I think would shed more light than simply pin pointing the quarrying location but is also far more invasive and of course expensive so I shan't hold my breath.

a reply to: gortex

That's really interesting. That whole region fascinates me.. I can't help but feel like there's a lot more to learn on what's now the bottom of the North Sea from Doggerland. It wouldn't surprise me if there's things there that tie the whole area together..

Dont see why its hard to think that the world was more interconnected than modern history allows for.

There are enough out of place artifacts, or things like the sea peoples sailing down from the north to attack the people in the med.

If folks had enough coordination to migrate and launch attacks on developed city states back during the bronze age collapse how hard would it be to figure out how to move that rock?

The Bell Beaker Culture came up in another thread but I thought it would be much more appropriate here.

I took the following pictures at the World of Henge exhibition at the British Museum a few years back.

These are the items that were buried with the Amesbury Archer alongside the beakers that identify him culturally.

He was buried about four and half thousand years ago. The little gold hair clips/decorations are the earliest gold objects found in the British Isles.

a reply to: gortex

Giants live in the Earth before the flood. Just as likely as aliens.

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and ...
biblehub.com...
Corruption on the Earth … 3 So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days— and afterward as well — when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men.

Genesis 6:4,Numbers 13:16-33 KJV - There were giants in the ...
www.biblegateway.com... 6:4,Numbers 13...
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown

originally posted by: ADVISOR
Giants live in the Earth before the flood. Just as likely as aliens.

Relatively speaking, fair likelier.

After a few thousand years of a sedentary, farming lifestyle which had become increasingly urbanised, a somewhat encapsulated and isolated reality away from the wider world, reports of encounters with the long limbed peoples of the Steppes must have, in Chinese whispers, resulted in their size disparity being greatly exagerated.

Five foot six would have been tall amongst these people. Six foot plus and powerfully built Steppe people, men and women alike, would have been impressive and worthy of note or story-telling. As of course was and is, the felling of those giants, or the tricking them out of their gold.

Nothing divine about them, other than perhaps their artistic expression which was bound to their beliefs, as was their metal working.

Alien, only in that they were different and didn't eat grain.

But taller, then, noticeably.

This is a shortish (23+ minutes) film by the curators of the World of Henge exhibition. Well worth watching. The bringing together of these objects from across Europe to create a narrative was breath-taking.

It was a very special exhibition and you can get a feel for that from this film.

Enjoy!

The film just brushes quickly over these but for me they were a highlight of the exhibition.

I think most of them are from Skara Brae but others are from elsewhere. Mostly British Isles but couldn't swear to it.