Possibility Raised of Maritime Transport Instead of Land Route
"Long-Distance Transport Technology Likely Existed in the Neolithic Period"
It has been investigated that the massive stones of the World Heritage site 'Stonehenge' located in southern England, UK, were transported from a distance of 750 km. This suggests the possibility that means of maritime transport for heavy objects existed in human civilization as far back as 5,000 years ago.
A recent Australia-UK joint research team led by Anthony Clark, a researcher at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Curtin University in Australia, reported the origin of the 'Altar Stone' used in Stonehenge. This research was recently published in the international academic journal Nature.
The Altar Stone is a massive rock placed in the center of Stonehenge, measuring 5x1 m in area and 50 cm in thickness. It weighs up to 6 tons (t). Although the exact purpose of the Altar Stone has not yet been revealed, it was previously assumed that this stone was brought from the Wales region adjacent to England.
However, new research results show that the origin of the Altar Stone is from a completely different location. The research team analyzed the age and chemical composition of zircon, apatite, and rutile grains extracted from the Altar Stone, and by comparing these with sediment layers in the UK and Ireland, they discovered that the composition and age match rocks from northeastern Scotland.
Northeastern Scotland is a region located in the northern part of the British Isles in the UK, about 750 km away from Stonehenge. To put it in perspective, this is a distance comparable to a round trip between Seoul and Busan in Korea.
The issue is that Stonehenge is a heritage site constructed during the Neolithic civilization. Regarding this, the research team stated, "Considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic era, it raises questions about how a 6-ton stone could have been transported 750 km around 2600 BCE."
They further speculated, "Due to the geographical features of Britain at the time and dense forests, overland transport would have been even more difficult," and suggested, "It is possible that the altar was transported by sea from northeastern Scotland to southern England." In other words, human civilization about 5,000 years ago may have already possessed the technological capability to transport heavy cargo by sea.
Clark, the lead researcher, emphasized in an online press conference, "We were also shocked and could hardly believe it," adding, "How this enormous stone was transported remains a major question, and it was a mysterious endeavor undertaken by Neolithic humans."
The research team stated, "This means that there was a social organization capable of long-distance transport in Neolithic Britain," and added, "In follow-up studies, we plan to investigate why the Altar Stone was moved from northern Scotland and how it was transported."
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