Stonehenge
Where Stonehenge’s stones came from, when they were set up, what is still unknown about how they were moved, and how the Merlin story began.
The question How did people move Stonehenge’s stones hundreds of miles, and is there any truth to Merlin, giants or aliens?
What the records say
Parts of the documented story are still open: 9 of 12 timeline steps are Confirmed, 2 disputed or disproven (score 88).
3 theories checked: 1 disproven, 1 unverified, 1 disputed. A theory is rated by its key claim.
Geoffrey of Monmouth writes that Merlin brought the stones from Ireland
confirmedCredible: it rests on a primary (tier-1) record. See the step
Down the rabbit hole
The ground line is the documented timeline. Each tunnel is a theory that branches off it; every chamber is a step, coloured by how well the records support it. The deepest chamber is the theory’s key claim. Tap one to open it.
Main timeline
Oldest first- 3620–3120 BClikely
A bluestone pillar is quarried in the Preseli Hills of west Wales
At Craig Rhos-y-felin, excavators found the recess left by a removed rhyolite pillar. Burnt hazelnut shells 1.5 m away date to 3620–3360 and 3500–3120 BC, which the team calls the most probable dates for its removal. The dates come from beside the recess, not the stone, so this is an inference.
T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2015pp. 1344–1345 - c. 3000 BCconfirmed
The first Stonehenge is a circular ditch and bank
The earthwork was about 110 m across, with a main entrance to the north-east. Its ditch was finished in 2990–2755 BC. A ring of 56 pits, the Aubrey Holes, lay inside, and cremated people were buried there.
T1Darvill et al., Antiquity 2012pp. 1026, 1028–1029T2English Heritage, History of StonehengeThe Earliest Monument - c. 3000 BCdisputed
The Aubrey Holes may have held the first Welsh bluestones
One research team holds that the bluestones were first set up in the Aubrey Holes. A 2022 article argues the holes held posts first. English Heritage says the long-held view was timber posts, but the idea that some held stones “has re-emerged”.
T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2021IntroductionT1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2022abstractT1Darvill, Antiquity 2022abstractT2English Heritage, History of StonehengeThe Earliest Monument - c. 3000 BCdisputed
A stone circle in Wales may have been taken down and moved to Stonehenge
A 2021 study dated a circle at Waun Mawn, near the bluestone sources, to about 3000 BC. Because its diameter and solstice orientation match Stonehenge’s ditch, the team suggested part of it was brought to Salisbury Plain. Two later papers dispute it.
T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2021abstractT1Darvill, Antiquity 2022abstractT1John, The Holocene 2024abstract - 2620–2480 BCconfirmed
The great sarsen stones go up, set on the line of the solstice sun
Five trilithons in a horseshoe, a double bluestone circle and a circle of 30 sarsen uprights with 30 lintels were built. The main axis points to the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset. The 2012 study says its “principal focus was the midwinter solstice”.
T1Darvill et al., Antiquity 2012pp. 1026, 1030T2English Heritage, History of StonehengeThe Stone Settings - c. 2500 BCconfirmed
Most of the big sarsens came from West Woods, 25 km to the north
Chemical tests showed that “50 of the 52 sarsens at the monument share a consistent chemistry”. A core from Stone 58 was compared with sarsen from 20 places across southern Britain, pointing to West Woods, Wiltshire, as the most probable source.
T1Nash et al., Science Advances 2020abstract; ResultsT2English Heritage, SignificanceThe Stone MonumentSources disagreeThe 2020 study says typical sarsen uprights weigh about 20 tonnes. English Heritage’s Building Stonehenge page says they average 25 tons. Both are shown. - 2620–2480 BCconfirmed
The 6-tonne Altar Stone came from north-east Scotland
Mineral grains in the Altar Stone match the Old Red Sandstone of the Orcadian Basin. The stone, 4.9 by 1.0 by 0.5 m, was therefore “sourced at least 750 km from its current location”. When it arrived is uncertain; it may have been placed in this building stage.
T1Clarke et al., Nature 2024abstract; MainSources disagreeBefore 2024 the Altar Stone was traced to Wales (the 2015 quarry paper says the Senni Beds). The 2024 Nature paper rules out that Welsh basin, but English Heritage’s Building Stonehenge page still gives south-east Wales. - c. 3000–2500 BCconfirmed
The stones were moved, but no trace of the route or method has been found
The excavators of the Welsh quarry found “no evidence along any of the hypothesised routes”, by sea or by land; they favour an overland route of about 220 miles. The Altar Stone study suggests that stone went by sea, as an inference from the difficulty of the land route.
T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2015p. 1347T1Clarke et al., Nature 2024abstract - c. 2500 BCconfirmed
Feasts 3 km away drew pigs from across Britain
Durrington Walls, 3 km north-east of Stonehenge, was the largest known settlement in north-west Europe around 2500 BC, “perhaps housing more than 4000 people seasonally”. Isotope tests on 131 pigs from four henge sites found few were raised locally; five probably came from Scotland, though other origins are possible.
T1Madgwick et al., Science Advances 2019abstract; The sites; Discussion - 2480–2020 BCconfirmed
The bluestones are rearranged, more than once
A central bluestone circle was set up, then taken down; the bluestones were rebuilt as an oval inside the trilithons and an outer circle of 40 to 60 stones. Only 43 bluestones survive on the site.
T1Darvill et al., Antiquity 2012pp. 1026, 1036–1037T2English Heritage, History of StonehengeThe Stone Settings - 1630–1520 BCconfirmed
The last prehistoric work: two rings of pits, the Y and Z Holes
They were dug outside the sarsen circle and left to fill with windblown soil. They may have been meant for a rearrangement that never happened.
T1Darvill et al., Antiquity 2012pp. 1026, 1038T2English Heritage, History of StonehengeThe Stone SettingsSources disagreeThe 2012 study dates the Y and Z Holes to 1630–1520 BC; English Heritage gives 1800–1500 BC from antlers found in them. Both are shown. - c. 1136confirmed
Geoffrey of Monmouth writes that Merlin brought the stones from Ireland
In his History of the Kings of Britain, Merlin moves a circle called the Giant’s Dance from Mount Killaraus in Ireland. English Heritage says the idea was widely accepted until the 16th century. This confirms the story was written, not that it happened.
T3Geoffrey of Monmouth, c. 1136Book 8, ch. 10–12T2English Heritage, History of Stonehengecaption, Later HistoryT1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2021Introduction
Branches
Go down oneA branch is only as strong as its weakest step so far. The count is how many sources back each step.
Merlin and the giants
Did Merlin, or giants, bring the stones from Ireland?
- confirmed
The story: Merlin moved the Giant’s Dance from Ireland with 15,000 men
In Geoffrey’s account, Uther Pendragon’s army defeats the Irish, Merlin takes the stones down with his “engines”, and they are shipped to Britain and set up as a monument to Britons killed by the Saxons.
T3Geoffrey of Monmouth, c. 1136Book 8, ch. 11–12T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2021IntroductionStartStrength so far:confirmed· 2 sources on this step - unverified
Giants first brought the stones from Africa to Ireland
Geoffrey has Merlin say: “The giants of old brought them from the farthest coast of Africa.” No tier 1 or tier 2 source supports this.
T3Geoffrey of Monmouth, c. 1136Book 8, ch. 11▼ WeakerStrength so far:unverified· 1 source on this step - disproven
Key claim: Stonehenge’s stones came from Ireland
Provenance studies trace the bluestones to the Preseli Hills in Wales, most sarsens to West Woods in Wiltshire and the Altar Stone to north-east Scotland. The 2021 Waun Mawn paper states “none of Stonehenge’s stones came from Ireland”.
T1Darvill et al., Antiquity 2012p. 1022T1Nash et al., Science Advances 2020abstractT1Clarke et al., Nature 2024abstractT1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2021Introduction▼ WeakerStrength so far:disproven· 4 sources on this step - disputed
A grain of truth: an older circle was moved from west Wales
The 2021 team suggested Waun Mawn was a circle partly moved to Stonehenge, noting that in Geoffrey’s day this part of Wales was seen as Irish. Darvill (2022) calls the claim “unsupported by the current evidence”; John (2024) says no circle there has been demonstrated.
T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2021Introduction; ConclusionT1Darvill, Antiquity 2022abstractT1John, The Holocene 2024abstract= HoldsStrength so far:disproven· 3 sources on this step
Bullshit meter
- Giants first brought the stones from Africa to Ireland. Unverified.
- Key claim: Stonehenge’s stones came from Ireland. Disproven.
- Key claim contradicted by tier 1? Yes. Independent peer-reviewed provenance studies trace the stones to Wales, Wiltshire and north-east Scotland, and none to Ireland.
Fluff meter: possibly planted
- Can’t be traced to an original record. Absent: traced to Geoffrey’s History, c. 1136.
- First appeared from new or anonymous accounts. Absent: the oldest known version is Geoffrey’s, a named writer (2021 Waun Mawn paper).
- Coordinated identical wording. Not measured.
- Cited source doesn’t exist. Not measured.
- Later contradicted. Present: stone-provenance studies of 2012–2024 trace no stone to Ireland.
● present · ○ absent · – not measured. Lists signals only. It never accuses anyone.
Personal interest meter
- None documented. With no sources attached there is no one to check.
“Has a documented interest” only, each one sourced. Never an implication of guilt.
Correlation meter
- Aubrey Holes, in the main timeline (steps 2 and 3) and the ‘computer’ branch. T1Darvill et al., Antiquity 2012pp. 1028–1029
- Waun Mawn, in the main timeline (step 4) and the Merlin branch. T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2021abstract; Conclusion
- Craig Rhos-y-felin quarry, in the main timeline (steps 1 and 8) and the aliens branch. T1Parker Pearson et al., Antiquity 2015pp. 1344–1348
Links to other cases appear once those cases exist.
Who worked on this
This case was assembled by the site from public records. Contributions are not open yet. Nothing here is invented, so the counts are zero.
This is the first published version of the case.
Sources
- T1Timothy Darvill, Peter Marshall, Mike Parker Pearson and Geoff Wainwright, “Stonehenge remodelled”, Antiquity 86 (2012), pp. 1021–1040. doi.org · copy read: eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk
- T1Mike Parker Pearson and 13 others, “Craig Rhos-y-felin: a Welsh bluestone megalith quarry for Stonehenge”, Antiquity 89 (2015), pp. 1331–1352. doi.org · copy read: eprints.gla.ac.uk
- T1Mike Parker Pearson and 12 others, “The original Stonehenge? A dismantled stone circle in the Preseli Hills of west Wales”, Antiquity 95 (2021), issue 379 (author’s copy-edited typescript read; its page numbers are not the journal’s). doi.org · copy read: discovery.ucl.ac.uk
- T1Timothy Darvill, “Mythical rings? Waun Mawn and Stonehenge Stage 1”, Antiquity 96 (2022), pp. 1515–1529 (abstract only read). doi.org · copy read: api.crossref.org
- T1Parker Pearson and colleagues, “How Waun Mawn stone circle was designed and built, and when the Bluestones arrived at Stonehenge: a response to Darvill”, Antiquity 96 (2022), pp. 1530–1537 (abstract only read). doi.org · copy read: api.crossref.org
- T1Brian John, “The Stonehenge bluestones did not come from Waun Mawn in West Wales”, The Holocene 34 (2024), pp. 895–907 (abstract only read). doi.org · copy read: api.crossref.org
- T1David J. Nash and 7 others, “Origins of the sarsen megaliths at Stonehenge”, Science Advances 6 (2020), eabc0133, published 29 Jul 2020. doi.org · copy read: www.ebi.ac.uk
- T1Anthony J. I. Clarke and 5 others, “A Scottish provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge”, Nature 632 (2024), pp. 570–575, published 14 Aug 2024. doi.org · copy read: www.ebi.ac.uk
- T1Richard Madgwick and 6 others, “Multi-isotope analysis reveals that feasts in the Stonehenge environs and across Wessex drew people and animals from throughout Britain”, Science Advances 5 (2019), eaau6078, published 13 Mar 2019. doi.org · copy read: www.ebi.ac.uk
- T2English Heritage, “History of Stonehenge” (web page, read 12 Oct 2026). www.english-heritage.org.uk
- T2English Heritage, “Significance of Stonehenge” (web page, read 12 Oct 2026). www.english-heritage.org.uk
- T2English Heritage, “Building Stonehenge” (web page, read 12 Oct 2026). www.english-heritage.org.uk
- T3Geoffrey of Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1136), Book 8, chapters 10–12, in the J. A. Giles translation, Six Old English Chronicles (1848). A record of the legend, not of events.. en.wikisource.org
- T2R. J. C. Atkinson, “Moonshine on Stonehenge”, Antiquity 40 (1966), pp. 212–216 (only the opening of p. 212 read, as given in the Crossref record; the rest is paywalled). doi.org · copy read: api.crossref.org
- T1Gerald S. Hawkins, “Stonehenge: A Neolithic Computer”, Nature 202 (1964), pp. 1258–1261. Title, volume and pages only (Crossref record); the paper itself could not be opened.. doi.org · copy read: api.crossref.org
- T1Gerald S. Hawkins, “Stonehenge Decoded”, Nature 200 (1963), pp. 306–308. Title, volume and pages only (Crossref record); the paper itself could not be opened.. doi.org · copy read: api.crossref.org