The bluestone transport debate: human vs glacial, land vs sea

Topic page

A neutral summary of published positions on how the Welsh bluestones reached Stonehenge. Only published or open-access work is used.

References

• Kellaway, G.A. 1971. Glaciation and the stones of Stonehenge. Nature 233(5314): 30–35. DOI
• 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.
• John, B.S. 2018. The Stonehenge Bluestones. Newport: Greencroft Books. (As listed in John 2024, The Holocene 34(7).)
• John, B.S. 2024. A bluestone boulder at Stonehenge: implications for the glacial transport theory. E&G Quaternary Science Journal 73: 117–134. DOI (open access)
• John, B. 2024. The Stonehenge bluestones did not come from Waun Mawn in West Wales. The Holocene 34(7): 895–907. DOI
• Bevins, R.E., Ixer, R.A. 2018. Retracing the footsteps of H.H. Thomas: a review of his Stonehenge bluestone provenancing study. Antiquity 92: 788–802. DOI
• Parker Pearson, M., Bevins, R., Ixer, R., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Welham, K. et al. 2015. Craig Rhos-y-felin: a Welsh bluestone megalith quarry for Stonehenge. Antiquity 89: 1331–1352. DOI (open access)
• Parker Pearson, M., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Welham, K., Casswell, C., French, C., Schlee, D., Shaw, D., Simmons, E., Stanford, A., Bevins, R., Ixer, R. 2019. Megalith quarries for Stonehenge's bluestones. Antiquity 93: 45–62. DOI (open access)
• Parker Pearson, M., Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J.G., Ixer, R.A., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Welham, K. 2022. Reconstructing extraction techniques at Stonehenge's bluestone megalith quarries in the Preseli hills of west Wales. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 46: 103697. DOI
• Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J.G., Ixer, R.A., Scourse, J., Daw, T., Parker Pearson, M., Pitts, M., Field, D., Pirrie, D., Saunders, I., Power, M. 2025. The enigmatic 'Newall boulder' excavated at Stonehenge in 1924: new data and correcting the record. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 66: 105303. DOI (open access)
• Parker Pearson, M. 2013. Researching Stonehenge: theories past and present. Archaeology International 16: 72–83. DOI (open access)
• Parker Pearson, M., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Welham, K., Kinnaird, T., Shaw, D. et al. 2021. The original Stonehenge? A dismantled stone circle in the Preseli Hills of west Wales. Antiquity 95: 85–103. DOI (open access)
• Darvill, T. 2022. Mythical rings? Waun Mawn and Stonehenge Stage 1. Antiquity 96(390): 1515–1529. DOI (open access)
• Bevins, R.E., Pearce, N.J.G., Parker Pearson, M., Ixer, R.A. 2022. Identification of the source of dolerites used at the Waun Mawn stone circle in the Mynydd Preseli, west Wales and implications for the proposed link with Stonehenge. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 45: 103556. DOI
• Daw, T. 2025-07. sarsen.org blog post "the demise of glacial transport theory". link (open access)
• Daw, T. 2025-08. sarsen.org blog post "stonehenges bluestones putting human vs". link (open access)
• Daw, T. 2025-08. sarsen.org blog post "evidence for glacial transport theory". link (open access)
• Daw, T. 2026-01. sarsen.org blog post "not speck of hope for glacial transport". link (open access)
• Daw, T. 2024-04. sarsen.org blog post "the natural corridor for bluestones". link (open access)
• Daw, T. 2024-04. sarsen.org blog post "walking bluestone route". link (open access)
• Daw, T. 2012-01. sarsen.org blog post "bluestone transport by boat to". link (open access)

Search quotes on this subject

Experimental, built for research bots; results are short quotes with sources. From Tim Daw's Stonehenge research notes; see sarsen.org. Search · All topics · llms.txt