Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
“It was a serendipity – a eureka moment,” said Professor Richard Bevins.
Pick a set of 15 samples Stone from Stonehenge The experienced geologist, who had been taught by a former colleague, was asked to make quick observations of the source of the rocks he was believed to have come from. west wales About 5000 years ago.
“I said I could tell you what type of rock they were, but this type of rock – I had never seen it in west Wales, not at all,” Professor Bevins recalled. “So I wrote it down [his report]but before it was published, I had a lightbulb moment and thought “I’ve got material from an outcrop that I’ve never seen before.”
“This led to the excavation of Neolithic quarries [Craig Rhos-y-Felin] and the exact location where the stone sample was found. A perfect match. This is a special moment. “
That great discovery In 2011, the origin of any gemstone was clarified for the first time world famous monument The discovery has reignited a long-running debate over how the stones were transported all the way from Pembrokeshire to Wiltshire.
Now, 14 years later, Professor Bevans believes he is on the verge of making his next breakthrough discovery; the origin of the Cenotaph’s altar stone.
announced the six-ton boulder Not one of the bluestones brought from Pembrokeshire Last year, he and his team ventured to the Orkney Islands after determining they came from sandstone deposits in the Orcadian Basin, which includes the Orkney and Shetland Islands and the coastal strip northeast of mainland Scotland.
However, Orkney stones have been studied in detail, No matching results foundProfessor Bevans is now staring at a map area of 125 miles by 93 miles, determined to find out exactly where the stone was quarried and then transport it more than 500 miles to the West Country.
“It would be great if the exact source could be found,” Professor Bevans said. “It’s been a rollercoaster to get to this point because we found out it’s not from Wales but from the north-east of Scotland. It will definitely add to the cake of all the work we’ve been doing.”
Finding the source will allow archaeologists to dig at the source so they can trace the people behind the construction of Stonehenge and find out everything from their society, their tools, to what they ate and drank.
Professor Bevans said it would also add more substance to theories of how the boulders were moved hundreds of miles, which is currently thought to have been moved by sea due to Scotland’s hilly landscape.
.jpeg)
The discovery of the location could also strengthen the theory that Stonehenge was built is a unified behavior Supplies for the UK’s defense against foreign threats come from all corners of the British Isles.
However, Professor Bevins said he now needed to work with his small team to identify locations within this vast area.
Professor Bevins said: “If we just went out there and randomly walked the whole area we would probably be retired and underground for a long time before we found anything, so we’re going to pick a few target areas within the area.”
But this takes time, and on-site operations are expensive and time-consuming.
After funding excluding Orkney ended last year, Professor Bevins and his team needed to build a new funding case to pay for the next part of the project. Part of their reasoning is the public’s desire for information about one of Britain’s most famous monuments, which welcomed a record 1.4 million visitors in 2024.
“People like to learn about other people, they like to know their history, they like to know why Stonehenge was built, what did the pyramids mean? It’s just a fascination with the people and the culture,” Professor Bevins said.
“When we publish a paper [on Stonehenge]you can use it to virtually travel around the world across time zones. News, TV channels, online. Quite astonishing indeed. We hope to achieve the same result again soon. “