Table of Contents
Standing at Stonehenge, Michael Button treats a new study of the altar stone as a problem for the familiar picture of Neolithic Britain. In that picture the builders were scattered farming communities with stone tools, no wheel, no cities, and no writing, while script was only starting far away in Mesopotamia. He recalls the already hard haul of the great sarsen blocks from the West Woods, roughly twenty five kilometers north, and of the bluestones out of Wales, across woods, bogs, and hills. The newer claim is harder. The altar stone, above six tons, may have come from the far northeast of Scotland. A researcher at University College London is quoted calling the result shocking and asking both how the block traveled and why. Button’s conclusion is that planning, routes, and shared knowledge have been badly underrated. He adds the solstice alignment, a metal rich rock, and similar geometry at many other circles, including a repeated measure argued by Alexander Thom.
Key points
- Button says the usual Neolithic picture is scattered farmers without wheels, cities, or writing.
- Moving sarsens from the West Woods and bluestones from Wales was already an extreme haul.
- A new study is presented as tracing the altar stone, over six tons, to northeast Scotland.
- Land or sea, he says both routes look nearly impossible and yet the stone is there.
- Solstice alignment and shared geometry at other circles are offered as signs of wider skill.
- His judgment is that these societies were more connected and more capable than the textbook view.
Short quotes
Neolithic Britain was supposed to be a land of scattered tribes, basic early farming, and stone tools.
Michael Button, The Stonehenge altar stone from Scotland
He states the old picture of Britain that the new stone study is said to upset. Watch at 1:27
How was the altar stone transported from the very north of Scotland and more intriguingly why?
Michael Button, The Stonehenge altar stone from Scotland
The question he highlights is both the route from northern Scotland and the reason for it. Watch at 4:37
In my opinion, we massively underrate how sophisticated and interconnected these societies were.
Michael Button, The Stonehenge altar stone from Scotland
His own conclusion is that Neolithic communities were more skilled and more linked than people assume. Watch at 7:56
Video by Michael Button. Watch on YouTube.