Community

Has the mystery of how Preseli rock got stonehenge finally been solved?

Published

5 months ago

June 17, 2024

‘Lost’ Boulder Proves the Bluestones Were Transported from Wales by Glacier Ice – and NOT by Humans, Study Claims

A NEW study of the ‘lost’ Newall Boulder suggests it was transported by ice, potentially overturning the theory that humans moved the stones for Stonehenge.

How Neolithic humans might have transported so many huge boulders from Wales to Stonehenge is one of archaeology’s most enduring mysteries. However, a new study of a ‘lost’ boulder taken from the Stonehenge site over 90 years ago suggests that humans might not have moved the stones at all.

Dr Brian John, a retired geology lecturer from Durham University who lives in Pembrokeshire, argues that this bluestone boulder bears marks which suggest it was moved by glacial ice. This would undermine the common theory that the bluestone was quarried in the Preseli Hills of southwest Wales and manually transported to the Salisbury Plain.

***Natural transport: Could movement of ice pushed the stones to Mendip?***

Dr John said: “I think it’s hugely significant because it supports the assumption I’ve had for some years that these are not humanly-transported.”

In addition to the tall Sarsen stones that make up Stonehenge’s distinctive appearance, the site is also home to around 80 smaller bluestones. It is generally agreed that these stones originate from the Preseli Hills of south-west Wales, but how they got to Stonehenge is often debated.

Dr John’s argument centres on an analysis of a bluestone boulder about the size of a human skull, known as the Newall boulder. This boulder was first excavated in 1924 by the geologists Colonel Hawley and Robert Newall. Hawley originally thought the rock was just a piece of rubbish and wanted to throw it away rather than analyse it. However, Newall saved the stone from the rubbish heap and placed it in a cardboard box in his attic alongside a number of other finds from the site.

***New theory: Dr John (Pic: Martin Cavaney)***

The boulder remained there until Newall passed it over to the Salisbury Museum shortly before he died in 1976. There was a brief burst of interest in the boulder around 1977, but then it was placed back into storage and effectively forgotten for another 46 years.

However, in 2022, Dr John found a reference to the boulder and asked the Museum Director, Adrian Green, if it was still in storage. On discovering that it was, he was given permission to examine it and undertake a careful examination of its surface features.

Through a detailed analysis of the boulder’s surface, Dr John identified a series of marks that suggest glacial, rather than human transport. “Glacially transported boulders tend to have facets,” Dr John explains. “That means they’ve got a number of different faces at angles to one another which actually indicated where a boulder has been abraded or, basically, sanded down.”

**Is current theory wrong?: Volunteers pull bluestone from Pembrokeshire to Stonehenge (Image: Martin Cavaney)**

As boulders move with a glacier, they get flipped over from side to side, creating several different flat faces with rounded edges, just like the Newall boulder. In addition, the boulder bears a series of scratches and small fractures, called striations and chatter marks, which are often caused by glacial transport.

And although the Newall Boulder isn’t exactly the same type of rock as the other bluestones, Dr John says this is exactly what his theory would predict. He says: “It’s often claimed in popular articles that the bluestones are all made of spotted dolerite which is this type of igneous rock we get on the Preseli Hills but they’re actually about 30 different rock types. That enormous range of rock types is absolutely typical of the way that ice travels across the terrain and picks up boulders from here there and everywhere.”

Dr John suggests that this provides convincing evidence that the Newall boulder and all of the smaller bluestone boulders at Stonehenge were moved by glacier. His claims land him squarely at the centre of one of Stonehenge’s most contentious debates. The idea that the stones were transported to Salisbury Plain began with the geologist Herbert Henry Thomas in 1923. Although Thomas was quite spectacularly wrong about almost everything, the human transport theory is still extremely popular.

A team of researchers led by Professor Mike Parker Pearson of UCL have been some of the most active proponents of this theory, arguing that the stones were moved over land. Recently, Professor Pearson and his team even claimed to have discovered evidence which identifies the quarry of the Stonehenge bluestone, dating this to 3000 BC.

***Previously, two curraghs were readied to see if Bluestones could be floated to Stonehenge (Image Martin Cavaney)***

However, Dr John now says his discovery should “open up the debate” for a consideration of other theories. He says: “Herbert Thomas thought that because glacial transport was impossible they must have been carried by human beings. That’s now part of our national myth because people have not seriously questioned it before; it’s just been accepted as the truth.”

Instead of the orderly and rather deliberate building project we sometimes imagine Stonehenge to be, Dr John says: “I think it’s always been a bit of a shambles.” He argues that the Neolithic builders simply used the stones they had in their immediate vicinity, rearranging and moving the smaller bluestones as needed. And, when they eventually had to travel too far to gather more stones, the project was simply abandoned in the state we now find it. “It was a Neolithic cost-benefit analysis that eventually the costs of getting the stones were greater than the benefits that were coming from it,” he says.

However, the ultimate test for his theory would be cosmogenic dating – a test to determine how long rocks have been exposed to the surface by measuring their exposure to cosmic rays. If Dr John is right, the deeply weathered surface of the rocks should have been exposed to the elements for hundreds of thousands of years. Alternatively, if the stones were quarried they should only have been exposed to cosmic radiation for around 3,000 to 5,000 years.

While the debate over the origin of the stones is still very much alive, Dr John believes the evidence of weathering will remain strong. He concludes: “I’m very confident that if one or other university can get its act together and actually get this done these stones will be seen to have been subject to cosmogenic bombardment from the atmosphere for possibly hundreds of thousands of years. That would knock the quarrying idea on its head once and for all.”

Community

Rent in Pembrokeshire rises 7% over past year

Published

16 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Design Team

NEW figures reveal that private rental costs in Pembrokeshire have climbed by 7% in the past year, with the average monthly rent reaching £625 in October. This is a significant increase from £582 a year earlier and represents a 22% rise over the past five years, where the average rent was estimated at £511.

The data, collected by Rent Officers Wales as part of the Housing and Regeneration Division, highlights growing pressure on tenants amidst rising costs. The collection aims to cover approximately 15% of the rental market by gathering data from landlords and letting agents.

Across Wales, the average monthly rent has risen 8% year-on-year to £766. Cardiff recorded the highest rental cost in the country at £1,062 per month, while Powys had the lowest at £556.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented on the challenges faced by renters in a press statement sent to The Pembrokeshire Herald. She said: “Getting good news about your rent is about as common as discovering your housemates have washed up for you, or your landlord suggesting you get a dog. For many, the only way out of the endless cycle of rising costs is to buy, but that’s far easier said than done when rents absorb so much of your income.”

The situation is compounded by a lack of available rental properties. Nathan Emerson, chief executive at Propertymark, explained: “As we continue to see further increases in rental prices across the UK, our members emphasize the lack of rental stock versus an ever-growing number of tenants. Selling up or turning to the short-term letting market has become a more attractive option for landlords due to challenging legislative changes and increased financial liabilities.”

Breakdown of Rental Costs in Pembrokeshire

The figures show a range of costs depending on property type and size in Pembrokeshire:

– A one-bedroom property: £462 per month

– A two-bedroom property: £576 per month

– A three-bedroom property: £732 per month

– Homes with four or more bedrooms: £934 per month

By property type:

– Detached houses: £768 per month

– Semi-detached houses: £653 per month

– Terraced houses: £629 per month

– Flats or maisonettes: £521 per month

In October, the average rent for private properties across Great Britain stood at £1,307 per month—up 9% compared to the same period last year. This equates to an increase of £105 per month.

As landlords adapt to changing regulations and financial pressures, the shortage of rental properties continues to push prices higher, creating further challenges for tenants across Pembrokeshire and beyond.

Climate

Pembrokeshire group plans for larger community wind turbine

Published

20 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A NORTH Pembrokeshire group which has raised more than £76,000 from its community wind turbine for local projects is hoping to expand with a bigger turbine.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Abergwaun Community Turbine Ltd, through agent Machynlleth-based Dulas Ltd is hoping to get permission for a larger turbine to replace the existing Abergwaun Community Turbine.

The proposed turbine, in a pasture field at Trebover Farm, to the south of Fishguard, would be 67m tall, the existing 2015 one being 45 metres.

In supporting statements, parent company Transition Bro Gwaun said: “The Community Climate Fund (CCF) is the mechanism by which Transition Bro Gwaun (TBG) is fulfilling our ambition of funding projects in Fishguard, Goodwick and across North Pembrokeshire, using income from the community wind turbine.

“The core themes for grants are climate change mitigation and adaptation, enhancement of biodiversity and improvements to community resilience through promotion of community engagement and resource sharing.”

In 2015, TBG raised its 50 per cent share of capital funding for the project by means of loans from 28 local individuals and four community groups, contributing a total of £286,500, the other 50 per cent contributed by landowners Parc-y-Morfa Farms Ltd.

The statement added: “Profit generated by sale of electricity from the turbine is split 50:50 between TBG and Parcy-Morfa Farms Ltd through the jointly owned trading arm, Abergwaun Community Turbine. By the end of 2022, all loans had been repaid, allowing the launch of TBG’s Community Climate Fund. This year we have awarded our third round of grants bringing the total amount granted to £76,036.”

In 2022, £15,274 was awarded to seven projects, including Fishguard Sports AFC to install solar panels on their clubhouse as part of their Tregroes Park development, Ysgol Bro Gwaun for their Increasing Biodiversity and Bees project, and Nevern Valley Veg / Llysiau Cwm Nyfer to install a solar powered vegetable irrigation scheme.

In 2023, £39,85 was made available for seven projects, including Sea Trust Wales to part fund the installation of solar panels on the Ocean Lab roof and to produce a display on solar technology, Letterston Memorial Hall to part fund the installation of an air source heat pump heating system, and Fishguard and Goodwick Rugby Club to install solar panels on their clubhouse.

2024 awards of £20,917 were made to six projects, including Theatr Gwaun to insulate their loft to reduce heating loss, Parc Cerrig Growers for developing a rainwater harvesting system with a pond to irrigate their allotments, Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture for an electric cargo bike for delivering organic vegetables in the Fishguard and St Davids areas, and Nevern Valley Veg to develop wildlife ponds and rainwater harvesting for food production.

The supporting documentation concludes: “The repowering of the existing turbine at Trebover would require a limited increase in turbine size which would result in a very limited change in landscape and visual effects in comparison to the existing Trebover turbine.”

The application will be considered by planners at a later date.

Community

Council warns of icy conditions as temperatures drop

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

ROAD users in Pembrokeshire are being urged to exercise caution tonight as temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing.

Pembrokeshire County Council has announced that road surface temperatures could reach as low as -2°C, with the possibility of sleet or snow on higher ground. In response, precautionary salting of the county’s primary routes will be carried out this evening and overnight.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Road users are advised to take care if travelling on untreated roads.”

Motorists are reminded to plan ahead and drive carefully, particularly in areas that may not have been treated.

Stay tuned to The Herald for updates on road conditions and weather warnings.