Overview
- Curtin University researchers tested the glacial-transport hypothesis by analyzing detrital zircon and apatite in river sediments around Salisbury Plain.
- The mineral ages in the samples do not match signatures expected from Welsh or Scottish sources and instead align with recycled local material from southern England.
- Geomorphological signs of past ice near Stonehenge remain lacking, with no clear moraines, erratic trails, or buried till documented.
- Independent sourcing ties the bluestones to the Preseli Hills and the Altar Stone to the Orcadian Basin, reinforcing the case for deliberate long-distance movement.
- The paper, published in Communications Earth & Environment, strengthens the human-transport explanation while leaving specific routes and techniques unresolved.