# How did the bluestones get from the Preseli Hills to Salisbury Plain? · Stonehenge > Three answers have been proposed. People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000… leads… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stonehenge/questions/QST0CRWPCNA3XRK/how-did-the-bluestones-get-from-the-preseli-hills-to Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:58:50+00:00 --- **0** # How did the bluestones get from the Preseli Hills to Salisbury Plain? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·3 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: people quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Three answers have been proposed. People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000… leads, with evidence 4 for, 1 against: supported by its tests. Two are still possible. ## Why it matters The 225 km journey of some 80 stones of 2 to 3 tonnes is the largest known movement of megaliths in Neolithic Europe if people did it; if ice did it, the quarries, the dates and the Welsh connection mean something else⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP0EP4M79/megalith-quarries-for-stonehenges-bluestones)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP3CE1VS0/a-bluestone-boulder-at-stonehenge-implications-for-the). ## Answers 3 [**People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stonehenge/answers/ANS0CRWPDMJ1XAS/people-quarried-the-stones-in-preseli-and-carried-them-to) Supported by its tests Evidence: 4 for, 1 against Most likely [**Irish Sea ice carried the stones to or near Salisbury Plain and the builders collected erratics.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stonehenge/answers/ANS0CRWPF3E185T/irish-sea-ice-carried-the-stones-to-or-near-salisbury-plain) Failed a test; not refuted outright Evidence: 1 for, 3 against Disputed [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stonehenge/answers/ANS0CRWPG2P0BNH/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 1971[Kellaway puts forward: irish Sea ice carried the stones to or near Salisbury Plain and the builders collected erratics.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP6ST1HZK/glaciation-and-the-stones-of-stonehenge) 1. 2014[Bevins et al.: most dolerite bluestones match Carn Goedog and the rhyolite debris matches Craig Rhos-y-felin to within…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWNZZ239T9/carn-goedog-is-the-likely-major-source-of-stonehenge)For: People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000… 1. 2018[Snoeck et al.: some people cremated at Stonehenge had lived in western Britain, consistent with west Wales.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP3W23MC6/strontium-isotope-analysis-on-cremated-human-remains-from)For: People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000… 1. 2019[Parker Pearson et al. puts forward: people quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP0EP4M79/megalith-quarries-for-stonehenges-bluestones) 1. 2019[Parker Pearson et al.: no route, trackway or lost stone between Wales and Wessex has been found.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP0EP4M79/megalith-quarries-for-stonehenges-bluestones)Against: People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000… 1. 2019[Parker Pearson et al.: extraction recesses, platforms, wedges and hammerstones at Craig Rhos-y-felin and Carn Goedog, dated about…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP0EP4M79/megalith-quarries-for-stonehenges-bluestones)For: People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000… 1. 2019[Parker Pearson et al.: the bluestones derive from a small number of outcrops with quarrying evidence, not a dispersed erratic train.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP0EP4M79/megalith-quarries-for-stonehenges-bluestones)Against: Irish Sea ice carried the stones to or near Salisbury Plain and the builders collected erratics. 1. 2024[John: the Newall boulder was proposed as a glacial erratic.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP3CE1VS0/a-bluestone-boulder-at-stonehenge-implications-for-the)For: Irish Sea ice carried the stones to or near Salisbury Plain and the builders collected erratics. 1. 2025[Bevins et al.: the Newall boulder shows no glacial features and is read as a worked monolith fragment; no glacial deposits…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP3M87HJH/the-enigmatic-newall-boulder-excavated-at-stonehenge-in-1924)For: People quarried the stones in Preseli and carried them to Wessex, overland or with a water stage, around 3000… 1. 2025[Bevins et al.: re-examination found no striations or glacial shaping on the boulder.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP3M87HJH/the-enigmatic-newall-boulder-excavated-at-stonehenge-in-1924)Against: Irish Sea ice carried the stones to or near Salisbury Plain and the builders collected erratics. 1. 2026[Clarke & Kirkland: river sands draining Salisbury Plain carry local recycled zircons; one grain in 401 is near the 464 Ma…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRWP6A65JCF/detrital-zirconapatite-fingerprinting-challenges-glacial)Against: Irish Sea ice carried the stones to or near Salisbury Plain and the builders collected erratics. 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/stonehenge/questions/QST0CRWPCNA3XRK/how-did-the-bluestones-get-from-the-preseli-hills-to%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/stonehenge/questions/QST0CRWPCNA3XRK/how-did-the-bluestones-get-from-the-preseli-hills-to%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/stonehenge/questions/QST0CRWPCNA3XRK/how-did-the-bluestones-get-from-the-preseli-hills-to%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/stonehenge/questions/QST0CRWPCNA3XRK/how-did-the-bluestones-get-from-the-preseli-hills-to%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/stonehenge/questions/QST0CRWPCNA3XRK/how-did-the-bluestones-get-from-the-preseli-hills-to%23add-source) Where it fits Stonehenge **How did the bluestones get from the Preseli Hills to Salisbury Plain?** Key question · you're here [ Ask a question under this one ]