Altar Stone: the Welsh (Senni Beds / Brecon / Cosheston) source hypotheses

Topic page

The older hypotheses that the Altar Stone (Stone 80) came from the Old Red Sandstone (ORS) of south Wales, and the work that set them aside.

References

• Ixer, R.A., Turner, P. 2006. A detailed re-examination of the petrography of the Altar Stone and other non-sarsen sandstones from Stonehenge as a guide to their provenance. Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 99: 1–9.
• Thomas, H.H. 1923. The source of the stones of Stonehenge. The Antiquaries Journal 3(3): 239–260. DOI
• Stone, J.F.S. 1947. The Stonehenge Cursus and its affinities. Archaeological Journal 104: 7–19.
• Thorpe, R.S., Williams-Thorpe, O., Jenkins, D.G., Watson, J.S., Ixer, R.A., Thomas, R.G. 1991. The geological sources and transport of the bluestones of Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 57(2): 103–157. DOI
• Williams-Thorpe, O., Thorpe, R.S. [1992]. Geochemistry, sources and transport of the Stonehenge bluestones. Proceedings of the British Academy [volume printed '11' in the local scan], 133–161.
• Bevins, R.E., Pirrie, D., Ixer, R.A., O'Brien, H., Parker Pearson, M., Power, M.R., Shail, R.K. 2020. Constraining the provenance of the Stonehenge 'Altar Stone': evidence from automated mineralogy and U–Pb zircon age dating. Journal of Archaeological Science 120: 105188. DOI (open access)
• Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J.G., Ixer, R.A., Pirrie, D., Andò, S., Hillier, S., Turner, P., Power, M. 2023. The Stonehenge Altar Stone was probably not sourced from the Old Red Sandstone of the Anglo-Welsh Basin: time to broaden our geographic and stratigraphic horizons? Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 51: 104215. DOI (open access)
• Ixer, R.A., Bevins, R.E., Turner, P., Power, M., Pirrie, D. 2019. Alternative Altar Stones? Carbonate-cemented micaceous sandstones from the Stonehenge Landscape. Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 112: 1–13. link
• Ixer, R.A., Bevins, R.E., Pirrie, D., Turner, P., Power, M. 2020. 'No provenance is better than wrong provenance': Milford Haven and the Stonehenge sandstones. Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 113: 1–15. link
• Hillier, S., Wilson, M.J., Merriman, R.J. 2006. Clay mineralogy of the Old Red Sandstone and Devonian sedimentary rocks of Wales, Scotland and England. Clay Minerals 41(1): 433–471. DOI

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