The unsolved mystery of how Stonehenge's altar stone ended up in Wiltshire may finally be explained, according to new research.
The monolith is thought to have originated in the Orkney Basin in north-east Scotland, but how it came to be in Salisbury remains unknown.
Researchers now claim the stone may have travelled to Doggerland, which once connected Britain with continental Europe, via a glacier before the area was abandoned and flooded by the North Sea.
Study co-author Dr Remi Venesse said rising sea levels caused by melting ice at the end of the last Ice Age may have prompted the "brave" decision to move the six-tonne sandstone block to what is now Britain.
Veness added: "Our study offers a new plausible explanation for part of the route to Salisbury Plain.".
«"It is very interesting to suggest that the construction of Stonehenge may have begun as a result of climate change-induced migration.".
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Veness, of Sheffield Hallam University, added that the altar stone must have been "significant" to justify its transport to Salisbury Plain.
The article also suggested that the altar stone may have been moved from Doggerland to an area close to Europe's oldest road, the Berkshire Range.
The road was heavily used at the time of Stonehenge, so the stone's location may have facilitated or even encouraged travel across Salisbury Plain.
Researchers suggest the stones were moved deliberately [Reuters]
Co-author of the study, Dr Anthony Clarke, said the findings suggested the monolith's move from Doggerland towards Wiltshire was "deliberate" and "carefully planned".
«"Our modelling shows that glaciers may have transported some of the rocks during the last ice age – possibly as far as Dogger Bank in the North Sea – but not to southern England, meaning the rock would still have had to be moved hundreds of kilometres by humans.".
«"Research shows that there were no viable glacial routes directly linking the region of origin to Stonehenge, supporting the conclusion that people had to move," he said.
Clarke, from Curtin University in Australia, said the study combined geological analysis and computer modelling.
Further research will aim to pinpoint the altar stone's origins in north-east Scotland, as well as explore possible transport routes used by prehistoric communities.
The study, titled 'From Highlands to Henge: Clarifying the origin and transport routes of the Stonehenge altar stone', was published in the Journal of Quaternary Science.
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