Learn More About the Mystery That Is Stonehenge

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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. However, researchers now say they have

00:08figured out one new detail about the 5,000-year-old religious site. In the center of the ancient

00:13Neolithic structure lies what is referred to as the altar stone. It now rests recumbent,

00:18but at one point it made a significant journey all the way from Scotland. For those doing the

00:23math, Stonehenge is in the south of England. Meanwhile, the stone's point of origin is

00:27around 466 miles away. Quite a journey for anyone or anything 5,000 years ago, let alone a stone

00:34weighing thousands of pounds. And while this is the furthest any of the stones traveled to get to

00:39where they are today, previous analysis has pinpointed a quarry in Wales 142 miles away,

00:45where several others originated. Experts say they have no idea how the massive rocks were transported,

00:50saying about the most recent discovery that these findings are truly remarkable. They overturn what

00:55had been thought for the past century. The altar stone weighs an estimated 6.6 tons, meaning this

01:01changes much of what historians thought they knew about Neolithic peoples, namely that they may have

01:05had some means of marine transportation, and that they had more sophisticated community organization.

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