At the center of the ancient Neolithic structure lies what is referred to as the Altar Stone. It now rests recumbent, but at one point it made a significant journey all the way from Scotland.
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00:00Stonehenge is one of the UK's great archaeological mysteries.
00:07However, researchers now say they have figured out one new detail about the 5,000-year-old
00:11religious site.
00:12In the center of the ancient Neolithic structure lies what is referred to as the Altar Stone.
00:17It now rests recumbent, but at one point, it made a significant journey, all the way
00:21from Scotland.
00:22For those doing the math, Stonehenge is in the south of England.
00:25Meanwhile, the stone's point of origin is around 466 miles away, quite a journey
00:31for anyone or anything 5,000 years ago, let alone a stone weighing thousands of pounds.
00:36And while this is the furthest any of the stones traveled to get to where they are today,
00:40previous analysis has pinpointed a quarry in Wales, 142 miles away, where several others
00:46originated.
00:47Experts say they have no idea how the massive rocks were transported, saying about the most
00:50recent discovery that these findings are truly remarkable.
00:54They overturn what had been thought for the past century.
00:57The Altar Stone weighs an estimated 6.6 tons, meaning this changes much of what historians
01:02thought they knew about Neolithic peoples, namely that they may have had some means of
01:06marine transportation, and that they had more sophisticated community organization.