The placement of this stone at the heart of the monument, on the solstice axis, shows that they thought this stone, and by implication, the connection with the area to the north, was incredibly important,
By measuring the isotopic ratios of uranium and lead within these little crystals, we have miniature 'clocks',
We initially thought it had to have been moved by ice – it's just such a long distance for humans to transport. But if we look at ice flow directions during previous ice ages in the UK, ice was actually moving even further away from southern Britain,
I'm sure there's going to be a mixture of amazement and perhaps skepticism,
I grew up kind of wandering those [Preseli] hills, much like, maybe, Neolithic Britons did thousands of years ago, and in some way that must have inspired me,
And the match of this sort of age fingerprint that we got from these minerals is identical to the Orcadian Basin in Scotland, not Wales,
It really is unique in the monument,
It got its name because it is flat like a table, but we don't know if it always was like this, nor do we know what exactly it was used for. We do know the setting sun on the solstice lights it up,
How it was moved is uncertain but marine shipping is a realistic suggestion, given the mountainous and forested terrain of possible land routes,
It provides a connection to our ancient ancestors who made something that has endured time,
This finding radically refines our understanding of prehistoric connectivity and the technology of Neolithic Britain,
We couldn't believe it,
That geological ‘fingerprint’ isn’t repeated in any other area of sediment in the U.K.,
It’s a surprise that it’s come from so far away,
Stonehenge isn’t a settlement site, but a place of ceremony or ritual,
This stone has travelled an awful long way – at least 700 km - and this is the longest recorded journey for any stone used in a monument at that period
Given its Scottish origins, the findings raise fascinating questions, considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic era, as to how such a massive stone was transported over vast distances around 2600 BC.
[The ... The study] is exciting and it’s so significant,
Given major overland barriers en route from north-east Scotland to Salisbury Plain, marine transport is one feasible option,
It completely rewrites the relationships between the Neolithic populations of the whole of the British Isles,