An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Researchers have announced that they have solved a centuries-long mystery surrounding the origin of most of the large stones that make up the outer ring of Stonehenge, in an article published to the journal Science Advances on Wednesday. Using geochemical data, researchers have determined that 50 of the 52 large stones, sarsen megaliths, originated from the West Woods in Wiltshire, England, some 15 miles from where the prehistoric monument stands. The smaller stones near the center of the structure, called bluestones, had previously been traced to Wales, nearly 125 miles away. Researchers still don’t know exactly how the 30-ton stones were transported. “How they were moved to the site is still really the subject of speculation,” David Nash, University of Brighton geomorphologist and lead researcher on the study, told Reuters.

“Given the size of the stones, they must have either been dragged or moved on rollers to Stonehenge. We don’t know the exact route but at least we now have a starting point and an endpoint.”

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Source: Slashdot – Scientists Solve Mystery of the Origin of Stonehenge Megaliths