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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15020395/Stonehenge-mystery-SOLVED-5-000-years.html

The tooth that solves the Stonehenge mystery after 5,000 years: Scientists uncover new evidence about how the stones were transported there

    READ MORE:  Bonding and booze secrets of Stonehenge exposed

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

Published: 10:29, 21 August 2025 | Updated: 14:32, 21 August 2025

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Stonehenge is how the heavy boulders got there.  While some of the rocks came from Wales, one has even been traced to a quarry in Scotland.  Recent research confirmed they were moved by humans not glaciers but it's not been clear how the bluestones, weighing over three tonnes, were transported hundreds of miles.  Now, a new discovery could expose one of the monument's best–kept secrets.  A century ago, in 1924, archaeologists discovered a cow's jawbone that had been carefully placed beside Stonehenge's south entrance and dated it to the monument's very beginning, around 5,000 years ago.  Experts have now used isotope analysis to finally bring the artefact to life revealing the cow likely originated in Wales before moving to Stonehenge.  The remarkable discovery adds further weight to theories that cows were used in the transportation of the enormous rocks across the country.  'A slice of one cow tooth has told us an extraordinary tale and, as new scientific tools emerge, we hope there is still more to learn about her long journey,' Professor Jane Evans, from the British Geological Survey, said.

The team, which also included scientists from Cardiff University and University College London, sliced the cow's third molar tooth, which records chemical signals from the animal's second year of life, into nine horizontal sections.  They were than able to measure carbon, oxygen, strontium and lead isotopes, which each offer clues about the cow's diet, environment and movement.  Analysis of the composition suggests the cow originated from an area with Palaeozoic rocks, such as the bluestones found in Wales, before moving to Stonehenge.  This is the first time that scientists have seen evidence linking cattle remains from the site in Salisbury to Pembrokeshire in Wales, where some of the stones originated.  'This study has revealed unprecedented details of six months in a cow's life, providing the first evidence of cattle movement from Wales as well as documenting dietary changes and life events that happened around 5,000 years ago,' Professor Evans added.

The researchers also concluded that unusual lead signals in the tooth could be explained by the stresses of pregnancy, indicating the cow was female.  Richard Madgwick, professor of archaeological science at Cardiff University, said: 'This research has provided key new insights into the biography of this enigmatic cow whose remains were deposited in such an important location at a Stonehenge entrance.  It provides unparalleled new detail on the distant origins of the animal and the arduous journey it was brought on. So often grand narratives dominate research on major archaeological sites, but this detailed biographical approach on a single animal provides a brand–new facet to the story of Stonehenge.'

The new findings, which the researchers say 'help fill in just a few more gaps about this legendary landmark', were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Michael Parker Pearson, professor of British later prehistory at University College London, said: 'This is yet more fascinating evidence for Stonehenge's link with south–west Wales, where its bluestones come from. It raises the tantalising possibility that cattle helped to haul the stones.'

Last month, researchers published a paper that concluded there is 'no evidence' to support the idea that some of Stonehenge's boulders had been deposited there by a glacier.  Transporting these bluestones, which can weigh over three tonnes, from Wales to Stonehenge would have been an incredible feat of human logistics.  'Part of the fascination of Stonehenge is that many of its megaliths, in contrast to the large, relatively local sarsens, can be proven to have been sourced from Wales, over 200km to the west,' the researchers wrote.

'Most archaeologists accept that Neolithic people achieved this remarkable feat, transporting blocks weighing up to 3.5 tonnes.'

While the large sarsen stones were only transported from West Woods in Wiltshire roughly 32km (20 miles) away they weighed over 20 tonnes each and stood up to seven metres tall.  The famous 'Altar Stone' was even transported from Scotland around 750km (466 miles) away, a study published last year revealed.  'There is no evidence for how they moved these stones,' the researchers wrote, 'but recent indigenous peoples have been transporting stones weighing many tonnes great distances with ropes, wooden sledges and trackways technologies which would have been available in the Neolithic.'

While builders 5,000 years ago normally used whatever materials were at hand for stone circles, Stonehenge is 'exceptional' for being constructed entirely of stones brought from long distances, the team said.  Researchers have previously suggested that the site may have had a political as well as a religious purpose, 'a moment of unification for the peoples of Britain, celebrating their eternal links with their ancestors and the cosmos'.

Despite recent findings, the mystery of exactly why Stonehenge is built and how is still ongoing.

STONEHENGE'S CONSTRUCTION REQUIRED GREAT INGENUITY

Stonehenge was built thousands of years before machinery was invented.  The heavy rocks weigh upwards of several tonnes each.  Some of the stones are believed to have originated from a quarry in Wales, some 140 miles (225km) away from the Wiltshire monument.  To do this would have required a high degree of ingenuity, and experts believe the ancient engineers used a pulley system over a shifting conveyor-belt of logs.  Historians now think that the ring of stones was built in several different stages, with the first completed around 5,000 years ago by Neolithic Britons who used primitive tools, possibly made from deer antlers.  Modern scientists now widely believe that Stonehenge was created by several different tribes over time.  After the Neolithic Britons likely natives of the British Isles started the construction, it was continued centuries later by their descendants.  Over time, the descendants developed a more communal way of life and better tools which helped in the erection of the stones.  Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis. 

What are the Stonehenge bluestones?

The bluestones of Stonehenge are a collection of smaller, distinctive stones that form the inner circle and horseshoe formations within the monument.  They are named for the bluish tinge they exhibit when freshly broken or wet, despite not always appearing blue in their current state.  These stones are not native to the Salisbury Plain area where Stonehenge is located, and are known to have been sourced from Pembrokeshire in Wales.

It's ParsnipPierre's turn to celebrate today!

I've just watched the video, well done 

thank you for all the kind words throughout the years i've been a member of this site, they lift my spirits when i'm feeling down, I will always be grateful for that.

just finished another animation, similar to the last one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHv1r0SlwwE 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-14954575/unfortunate-similarity-Princess-Anne-Henry-VIII-Princess-Royal.html#newcomment

The unfortunate similarity between Princess Anne and Henry VIII, as the Princess Royal turns 75 today

By ED HOLT

Published: 11:50, 15 August 2025 | Updated: 11:51, 15 August 2025

In no uncertain terms, Princess Anne has been a trailblazer within the Royal Family.  At the 1976 Montreal Olympics she became the first member of the family to take part in the tournament when she competed in the equestrian event.   The Princess Royal turns 75 today but has not let this slow her down with Anne holding the title for the hardest working royal, taking on 474 engagements last year and a whopping 20,000 throughout her adult life.  A more unfortunate record that Anne holds is being the first of Queen Elizabeth II's children to go through a divorce.  Anne separated from her husband Mark Phillips in 1989, and the couple announced they had filed for divorce in April 1992 after just shy of 19 years of marriage.  Writing in his biography of the Princess Royal titled Anne Brian Hoey acknowledged that after divorcing Mark and marrying Sir Tim Laurence Anne had a fascinating connection with her distant relative Henry VIII.  Hoey said that when The Princess Royal said 'I do' to Sir Tim in December 1992 she became the first major royal to divorce and then remarry in 459 years.  'Once again the Princess was notching up a first. She became the first member of the Royal Family to remarry after a divorce since Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn in 1533, after divorcing his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, the same year,' Hoey wrote.

Another royal, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, did divorce her husband in 1901 but she was not an immediate member of the Royal Family like the Princess Royal.  The marriage was unusual for a royal one. While her wedding to Mark in 1973 took place in Westminster Abbey and was watched by an estimated audience of 500 million, her second was a much more low-key affair.  Anne and Sir Tim said their vows in a tiny parish church in Crathie, Scotland, on a chilly December afternoon.  According to Hoey, Scotland was deliberately chosen as the venue for the wedding.  He wrote: 'Scotland was chosen to avoid any possible embarrassment to the Church of England as the Princess had so recently been divorced the Church of Scotland does not bar divorcees from remarrying in church.'

Thankfully for Anne and Sir Tim the similarities between their wedding and Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's nuptial ends there.  The Tudor King's marriage to his second wife ended with her execution - just three years after they walked down the aisle.  Fortunately, neither Anne nor Tim's heads have rolled and they have now been married for over 30 years. In fact, Tim is widely regarded as the Princess's rock.  Sir Tim's unwavering support has not gone unnoticed, with Anne's son Peter Phillips praising him during a documentary marking the Princess's 70th birthday.   'They both have an understanding of what being a part of the wider family means and what is required,' Peter told the programme, as he discussed the 'strong support' his step-father gives his mother.

The couple reportedly met when Sir Tim was stationed on the Royal Yacht Britannia.  At the time, Sir Tim was working for the Queen as the senior member of the British Armed Forces appointed to assist the royal family.  Despite reports that Anne and Mark were linked romantically to other people, the Queen was left upset by their divorce.   According to author Robert Hardman's book, Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen found the divorces 'deeply upsetting'.  He quoted former staffers as saying that the divorces 'distressed her much more than she let on'.

Anne and her first husband had two children Peter and Zara and the Princess Royal was desperate for her children to have as normal an upbringing as possible.   To do so, she decided on behalf of her son and daughter that they would forgo much of the trappings of royal life.  Anne's controversial decision happened immediately after the birth of her son Peter in 1977 when she decided her son would not be given a title.  Writing in his biography of Princess Anne, royal insider Brian Hoey said that Anne did so because she believed 'in this day and age a title would be more of a hindrance than an advantage as her children try to make their way in the world'.

Although Queen Elizabeth II reluctantly agreed to Anne's request, Hoey wrote that she had been 'anxious' to give her firstborn grandson a title.   And according to royal biographer Ingrid Seward, Elizabeth was left disappointed by her decision but was nevertheless persuaded to respect her daughter's decision.  Despite not being bestowed the title of prince, Peter still grew up with many of the airs and graces that define the royals.   After his birth Anne was quick to resume her own duties as a working member of the royals, which meant that Peter was brought up by a nanny.  Peter and later his sister also went to Gordonstoun, the same public school his grandfather Philip and his three uncles attended.  Hoey perfectly summarised Peter's upbringing as 'not exactly a run-of-the-mill commoner'.   When Anne's daughter was born in 1981, she again decided not to give her a royal title and broke convention in a different way when she named her Zara, an unusual name for a member of the Royal Family.  And the Princess Royal was very much involved with bringing up her daughter with a young Zara 'never very far from Anne's side'.   Whether Anne succeeded in giving Zara and Peter a 'normal' life is up for debate but they certainly got the best of both worlds in many respects.  While their cousins continue their roles as working members of the family, Anne's children have had successful careers elsewhere.

It's your turn today, carrie_m!