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Pennsylvania
The origin of the standing sarsens at Stonehenge had been impossible to identify until now.
The origin of the giant sarsen stones at Stonehenge was finally discovered with the help of a missing piece from the site that was returned after 60 years.
A one-meter-long core test was compared to a geochemical study of standing megaliths.
Archeologists identified the source of the stones in an area 15 miles (25 km) north of the site near Marlborough.
Susan Greaney of English Heritage said the discovery was “a real thrill.”
The seven-meter-high sarsens, weighing about 20 tons, form the fifteen stones of the central horseshoe of Stonehenge, the uprights and lintels of the outer circle, as well as the peripheral stones.
The smallest blue stones of the monument date back to the Preseli Hills in Wales, but the sarsens had been impossible to identify until now.
The return of the nucleus, which was removed during archaeological excavations in 1958, allowed archaeologists to analyze its chemical composition.
No one knew where he was until Robert Phillips, 89, who was involved in those jobs, decided to return part of last year.
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Historic England
The stone samples were removed during archaeological work in 1958.
The researchers first performed X-ray fluorescence tests of all the remaining sarsens at Stonehenge that revealed that most shared a similar chemistry and came from the same area.
They then analyzed the sarsen outcrops from Norfolk to Devon and compared their chemical composition to the chemistry of a piece of the returned core.
English Heritage said the opportunity to do a destructive test on the core was “decisive” as it showed that its composition matched the chemistry of sarsens in West Woods, just south of Marlborough.
Professor David Nash of the University of Brighton, who led the study, said: “It has been really exciting to take advantage of 21st century science to understand the Neolithic past and finally answer a question that archaeologists have debated for centuries.
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english heritage
Archaeologists analyzed the composition of the core to determine where the ancient Sarsen stones came from.
‘Substantial stones’
“Each outcrop was found to have a different geochemical signature, but it was the opportunity to test the returned core that allowed us to determine the area of origin for Stonehenge sarsens.”
Ms. Greaney said: “Being able to identify the area that the Stonehenge builders used to obtain their materials around 2,500 BC is a real thrill.
“Although we suspected that the Stonehenge fragments came from the Marlborough Downs, we were not sure, and with areas of fragments throughout Wiltshire, the stones could have come from anywhere.”
“They wanted the largest and most substantial stones they could find and it made sense to get them as close as possible.”
Ms. Greaney added that the evidence highlights “how carefully considered and deliberate the construction of this phase of Stonehenge was.”
