Detrital zircon–apatite fingerprinting challenges glacial transport of Stonehenge’s megaliths

2026/01/21 by Anthony J. I. Clarke, Christopher L. Kirkland · 2 voices · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s43247-025-03105-3

openalex publication_date 2026/01/21 · openalex created_date 2026/01/22 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

Salisbury Plain detrital zircon ages align with southern British rocks from the London Basin, indicating local sedimentary recycling without glaciogenic evidence, negating glacial transport of the Stonehenge blocks, according to detrital zircon and apatite U-Pb isotopic fingerprinting of stream sediments across the Salisbury Plain.

Citations

• Plešovice zircon — A new natural reference material for U–Pb and Hf isotopic microanalysis
• Uranium mobility in organic matter-rich sediments: A review of geological and geochemical processes
• Apatite: a U-Pb thermochronometer or geochronometer?
• A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge
• A day at the beach: a portrait of British geology through sand
• A bluestone boulder at Stonehenge: implications for the glacial transport theory
• Growth and retreat of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet, 31 000 to 15 000 years ago: the BRITICE‐CHRONO reconstruction
• When the river meets the sea: Transport and provenance in a long‐lived estuary
• Australian continental‐scale heavy mineral patterns track climate, weathering and erosion

Cited by

• From Highlands to Henge: Refining the Provenance and Transport Pathways of Stonehenge's Altar Stone

Discussions

• New #openaccess in Comms Earth and Environment, Tony and @geochronchris.bsky.social use stream sediment sampling to challenge suggestions that long distance transport of Stone Henge's megaliths could [bsky, 3 points, 0 comments]
• They use U–Pb dating of zircon & apatite from nearby river bed samples to argue convincingly that the sediments contain nothing from southwest Wales or the Midlands (bar one grain!), which they would [bsky, 2 points, 1 comments]

Related

• A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge
• A day at the beach: a portrait of British geology through sand
• The enigmatic ‘Newall boulder’ excavated at Stonehenge in 1924: New data and correcting the record
• A bluestone boulder at Stonehenge: implications for the glacial transport theory
• From Highlands to Henge: Refining the Provenance and Transport Pathways of Stonehenge's Altar Stone