EXCLUSIVEThe debate over Stonehenge rages on: Experts hit back at 'seriously flawed' study claiming the landmark's 'bluestones' were transported naturally by ice from Wales - calling it 'nonsense'
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There's no doubt it's one of the world's most iconic historic sites and a British cultural icon.
But the debate over how Stonehenge came into existence about 5,000 years ago really is far from over.
A team of researchers has hit back at new study claiming that the landmark's 'bluestones' were transported from Wales naturally by glacier ice.
Leader Tim Daw, former historic property steward for Stonehenge and owner of the All Cannings Long Barrow, called the study 'nonsense' and 'seriously flawed'.
He told MailOnline that they were pulled by tribes along the ground using a series of logs – a generally-accepted theory for many decades.
There's no doubt it's one of the world's most iconic historic sites and a British cultural icon. But it seems the debate over how Stonehenge came into existence about 5,000 years ago is far from over
In addition to the tall Sarsen stones that make up Stonehenge's distinctive appearance, the site is also home to around 80 smaller 'bluestones' (pictured) which we know come from Wales. Dr John says these bluestones (pictured) are far too weathered and rough to have been quarried and transported
In addition to the tall Sarsen stones that make up Stonehenge's distinctive appearance, the world-famous site is also home to around 80 smaller 'bluestones'.
It is generally agreed that these bluestones originate from Craig Rhos-y-Felin in the Preseli Hills of south-west Wales – but how exactly they got to Stonehenge is hotly debated.
Dr Brian John, a retired geology lecturer from Durham University, proposed in his new study that a 'lost' bluestone boulder taken from the Stonehenge site over 90 years ago shows that humans didn't move the stones at all.
Dr John said this bluestone boulder bears marks that suggest it was moved by glacial ice – challenging the common theory that it was manually transported from Wales to Salisbury Plain by tribes.
But Daw and his fellow researchers – including Richard Bevins, a geologist at Aberystwyth University – say it's known with 'absolute certainty' that humans moved all of Stonehenge's bluestones.
The most commonly-accepted theory of how the Welsh 'bluestones' got to the Stonehenge site is they were transported manualkly along the ground using a series of logs. This photo shows a modern Indonesian tribe using this technique
Pictured, the 'lost' bluestone boulder taken from the Stonehenge site over 90 years ago - which Dr Brian John thinks was moved naturally by ice
Aerial view of Stonehenge (pictured) - one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments which is still being debated by experts
'They had the ability, knowledge and technology to transport them [the bluestones] – that isn't in question,' Daw told MailOnline.
'If you can move a rock a hundred meters, you can move it a hundred miles – that is simple logic.
'It might not be easy but it can be done.
'They were all moved into position and raised there by humans.'
What's more, Daw and his team contest Dr John's methods – which rely on his interpretations of the bluestone boulder.
Through a detailed analysis of the boulder's surface, Dr John identified a series of marks that suggest glacial impact and scarring, he said.
During a cold period of Earth's history before Stonehenge was built, much of Britain gradually froze over – in the process pushing bluestones from Wales southwards towards Wiltshire, he alleged.
However, Daw and colleagues contest this, firstly saying the ice didn't push as far south as that, and secondly that the marks on the boulder were made at Craig Rhos-y-Felin.
Dr John thinks that during a cold period of Earth's history before Stonehenge was built, much of Britain gradually froze over - in the process pushing bluestones from Wales southwards towards Wiltshire
Daw said: 'When we look at the boulders that are still at Craig Rhos-y-Felin, which is where it came from, we can see that the erosion happened there.
'The stones there are already shaped and scarred, so none of the "evidence of glacial transport" can be shown to be from its journey from Wales to Wessex.'
Dr John called the theory that the bluestones were manually transported a 'myth' that's 'just been accepted as the truth'.
But Daw and others strongly refute this and think Dr John's study adds to public misconceptions about Stonehenge's history.
'This is just a very annoying background rumble of nonsense that gets picked up and spread which takes the time and effort of academics to repeatedly refute,' Daw told MailOnline.
'This time and effort that could be better spent on real scientific investigations into the marvels of Neolithic Britain.'
There is something both parties agree on, however – that it was only the bluestones that came from Wales.
The much larger and more famous Sarsens are from the chalk land of southern England, probably near Marlborough 15 miles from Stonehenge.
The Stonehenge monument standing today was the final stage of a four part building project that ended 3,500 years ago
Stonehenge is one of the most prominent prehistoric monuments in Britain. The Stonehenge that can be seen today is the final stage that was completed about 3,500 years ago.
According to the monument's website, Stonehenge was built in four stages:
First stage: The first version of Stonehenge was a large earthwork or Henge, comprising a ditch, bank and the Aubrey holes, all probably built around 3100 BC.
The Aubrey holes are round pits in the chalk, about one metre (3.3 feet) wide and deep, with steep sides and flat bottoms.
Stonehenge (pictured) is one of the most prominent prehistoric monuments in Britain
They form a circle about 86.6 metres (284 feet) in diameter.
Excavations revealed cremated human bones in some of the chalk filling, but the holes themselves were likely not made to be used as graves, but as part of a religious ceremony.
After this first stage, Stonehenge was abandoned and left untouched for more than 1,000 years.
Second stage: The second and most dramatic stage of Stonehenge started around 2150 years BC, when about 82 bluestones from the Preseli mountains in south-west Wales were transported to the site. It's thought that the stones, some of which weigh four tonnes each, were dragged on rollers and sledges to the waters at Milford Haven, where they were loaded onto rafts.
They were carried on water along the south coast of Wales and up the rivers Avon and Frome, before being dragged overland again near Warminster and Wiltshire.
The final stage of the journey was mainly by water, down the river Wylye to Salisbury, then the Salisbury Avon to west Amesbury.
The journey spanned nearly 240 miles, and once at the site, the stones were set up in the centre to form an incomplete double circle.
During the same period, the original entrance was widened and a pair of Heel Stones were erected. The nearer part of the Avenue, connecting Stonehenge with the River Avon, was built aligned with the midsummer sunrise.
Third stage: The third stage of Stonehenge, which took place about 2000 years BC, saw the arrival of the sarsen stones (a type of sandstone), which were larger than the bluestones.
They were likely brought from the Marlborough Downs (40 kilometres, or 25 miles, north of Stonehenge).
The largest of the sarsen stones transported to Stonehenge weighs 50 tonnes, and transportation by water would not have been possible, so it's suspected that they were transported using sledges and ropes.
Calculations have shown that it would have taken 500 men using leather ropes to pull one stone, with an extra 100 men needed to lay the rollers in front of the sledge.
These stones were arranged in an outer circle with a continuous run of lintels - horizontal supports.
Inside the circle, five trilithons - structures consisting of two upright stones and a third across the top as a lintel - were placed in a horseshoe arrangement, which can still be seen today.
Final stage: The fourth and final stage took place just after 1500 years BC, when the smaller bluestones were rearranged in the horseshoe and circle that can be seen today.
The original number of stones in the bluestone circle was probably around 60, but these have since been removed or broken up. Some remain as stumps below ground level.
Source: Stonehenge.co.uk
