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Where exactly did the Altar Stone come from, and how did it travel?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·3 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: the stone came from the mainland Orcadian Basin, in Caithness or around the Moray FirthAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. The stone came from the mainland Orcadian Basin, in Caithness or around the Moray Firth. leads, with evidence 3 for, 1 against: supported by its tests. Two are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet.

Why it matters

A six-tonne stone from north-east Scotland implies contact across the whole island around 2500 BC⁠[1]⁠[2].

Answers 3

Evidence: 3 for, 1 against
Most likely
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Evidence: 1 against
Disputed

History

  1. Clarke et al. puts forward: the stone came from the mainland Orcadian Basin, in Caithness or around the Moray Firth.
  2. Clarke et al. puts forward: the stone came from Orkney, where Neolithic monuments of the period are concentrated.
  3. Bevins et al.: no specific outcrop has been matched and no transport evidence exists.Against: The stone came from the mainland Orcadian Basin, in Caithness or around the Moray Firth.
  4. Clarke et al.: detrital zircon, apatite and rutile ages match the Orcadian Basin and exclude Wales and England.For: The stone came from the mainland Orcadian Basin, in Caithness or around the Moray Firth.
  5. Bevins et al.: orkney sandstones are excluded by mineralogy and geochemistry.For: The stone came from the mainland Orcadian Basin, in Caithness or around the Moray Firth.
  6. Bevins et al.: orkney sandstones differ in mineralogy and chemistry from the Altar Stone.Against: The stone came from Orkney, where Neolithic monuments of the period are concentrated.
  7. Clarke et al.: caithness sandstones give the closest match to the stone's zircon age spectrum; candidate areas farther south…For: The stone came from the mainland Orcadian Basin, in Caithness or around the Moray Firth.
  8. Asked on this site
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