A recently re-examined stone from a 1924 dig has provided conclusive evidence that the bluestones at Stonehenge were moved by people, not ice. The Newall boulder, a hand-sized rock found in Wales, matches the mineral and chemical composition of another similar rock discovered in the same area. Its wear patterns and landscape record also contradict the ice transport theory.
The research team, led by Richard E. Bevins of Aberystwyth University, used advanced techniques such as portable geochemistry to analyze the boulder’s chemistry and match it to the Welsh outcrop. The findings suggest that people selected and moved pillars in a busy Neolithic landscape, rather than relying on an ice conveyor belt.
This discovery supports previous research that bluestones were first used in a local monument near the quarries and then transported to Stonehenge around 2900 BC. The study’s lead author, Professor Mike Parker Pearson from University College London, says that “the bluestones didn’t get put up at Stonehenge until around 2900 BC” and that it is more likely that the stones were first used in a local monument.
The Newall boulder removes a key exhibit for the glacial transport argument, shifting weight toward intention, not accident. The wider bluestone assemblage also looks selective rather than random, telling a story of choice instead of a scatter left by retreating ice.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-in-a-forgotten-rock-changes-everything-we-knew-about-stonehenge