澳大利亚科廷大学 Clarke, Anthony J. I.小组的最新研究揭示，巨石阵祭坛石的原产地为苏格兰。2024年8月14日，国际知名学术期刊《自然》发表了这一成果。

本研究展示了祭坛石碎片中碎屑锆石、磷灰石和金红石颗粒的年龄和化学成分。结果显示，碎屑锆石来自于中元古代和太古代，金红石和磷灰石主要来自于中奥陶世。这些颗粒的年龄表明，它们来自于最终的Laurentian结晶区，该区域被Grampian(约4.6亿年前)的岩浆活动所覆盖。研究通过对英国和爱尔兰的沉积岩碎屑年龄进行比较，发现它们与苏格兰东北部Orcadian盆地的老红砂岩有显著相似性。

这样的来源意味着祭坛石，一个6吨形的石块，来源于距离现在的位置至少750km的地方。从苏格兰长途陆运如此巨大的货物以及穿越地形障碍很困难，表明其可能是通过海上运输的。这种路线显示了新石器时代英国内部运输的高水平社会组织。

据悉，了解英国南部巨石阵新石器时代巨石圈所用巨石的来源，可以深入了解史前英国的文化和联系。祭坛石，即中央的横卧砂岩巨石，其起源至今仍不为人所知，最近的研究表明它可能来自于Anglo—Welsh盆地。

附：英文原文

Title: A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge

Author: Clarke, Anthony J. I., Kirkland, Christopher L., Bevins, Richard E., Pearce, Nick J. G., Glorie, Stijn, Ixer, Rob A.

Issue&Volume: 2024-08-14

Abstract: Understanding the provenance of megaliths used in the Neolithic stone circle at Stonehenge, southern England, gives insight into the culture and connectivity of prehistoric Britain. The source of the Altar Stone, the central recumbent sandstone megalith, has remained unknown, with recent work discounting an Anglo-Welsh Basin origin. Here we present the age and chemistry of detrital zircon, apatite and rutile grains from within fragments of the Altar Stone. The detrital zircon load largely comprises Mesoproterozoic and Archaean sources, whereas rutile and apatite are dominated by a mid-Ordovician source. The ages of these grains indicate derivation from an ultimate Laurentian crystalline source region that was overprinted by Grampian (around 460 million years ago) magmatism. Detrital age comparisons to sedimentary packages throughout Britain and Ireland reveal a remarkable similarity to the Old Red Sandstone of the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland. Such a provenance implies that the Altar Stone, a 6tonne shaped block, was sourced at least 750km from its current location. The difficulty of long-distance overland transport of such massive cargo from Scotland, navigating topographic barriers, suggests that it was transported by sea. Such routing demonstrates a high level of societal organization with intra-Britain transport during the Neolithic period.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07652-1

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07652-1