Stonehenge altar stone may have travelled via glacier, study suggests

For many years, experts have wondered how one of Stonehenge's largest stones travelled from Scotland to Wiltshire, where the landmark is located.

However, it now looks like they may have finally solved the mystery.

A new study suggests the six-tonne stone could have been transported via glacier to Doggerland - a prehistoric landscape which once connected Britain to mainland Europe.

From there, prehistoric Britons may have "carefully planned" the journey to move the block to the south of England.

The study was carried out by a team of researchers from Sheffield Hallam University and Curtin University in Australia.

They decided to take a look at how Stonehenge's central Altar Stone could have ended up on Salisbury Plain.

The Altar Stone is a six-tonne sandstone megalith which is now believed to have originated in north-east Scotland - more than 430 miles away from Wilshire.

Now experts say the stone may have travelled via glacier to Doggerland - an ancient landscape which once connected Britain to mainland Europe, before the area was abandoned and submerged under the North Sea.

Co-author of the study Dr Anthony Clarke, from Curtin University, explained: "Our modelling shows glaciers may have transported rocks part of the way during the last Ice Age...but not into southern England, meaning the stone would still have needed to be moved hundreds of kilometres by people."

The paper also suggested the altar stone could have been moved from Doggerland to an area close to the oldest road in Europe, called the Berkshire Ridgeway.

However, experts say moving the heavy stone was no easy task.

"Transporting a stone of this size over such a long distance would have required planning, coordination and a deep understanding of the landscape - not to mention tremendous determination," Dr Clarke added.