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Humans, Not Ice, Moved Stonehenge’s Bluestones: New Study Upends Century-Old Theory

July 21, 2025

Key Takeaway

New petrographic and wear analyses tie Stonehenge’s Newall Boulder to Wales’s Craig Rhos-y-felin, ruling out glacial delivery by 3000 BCE.

The seagull-sized pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae, found in 209-million-year-old ash at Petrified Forest NP, is North America’s oldest.

Over 450 waterlogged fragments of a Moriori waka, complete with lashings, shell inlays and obsidian fittings, were discovered in a Chatham Island creek bed.

Archaeologists have documented over 150 coastal petroglyphs on Kauai dating to 1000–1200 CE, revealing new facets of early Hawaiian voyaging and ritual life.

The wreck of the Akizuki-class destroyer Teruzuki was located in Iron Bottom Sound at 1,400 m depth, offering first-ever visuals of the ship lost in 1942.

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Study Reaffirms Human Transport of Stonehenge’s Bluestones

A new paper in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports overturns the century-old ice-transport theory for Stonehenge’s famous bluestones. Researchers re-examined the so-called Newall Boulder, once touted as a glacial erratic on Salisbury Plain, and found:

No diagnostic wear of sub-glacial abrasion

A complete lack of other glacial deposits in Wiltshire

Petrographic features matching Craig Rhos-y-felin in Wales

Together, these lines of evidence strengthen the case that Neolithic communities quarried and hauled every bluestone by human effort around 3000 BCE.

New Pterosaur Species Identified at Petrified Forest National Park

A team led by UC Berkeley alumnus and Smithsonian paleontologist Ben Kligman has unearthed North America’s oldest known pterosaur in the badlands of Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. The fossils, entombed in volcanic ash dated to about 209 million years ago, yield a definitive time stamp for a previously missing slice of Late Triassic life.

Rather than the early mammals scientists sought, the excavation revealed a seagull-sized flyer whose worn teeth and co-located fish scales point to a diet of armored fish. The new species, Eotephradactylus mcintireae, bridges a critical gap in terrestrial fossil records just before the end-Triassic extinction and sheds light on the evolution of pterosaur flight.

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Moriori War Canoe Fragments Unearthed on Chatham Island

A local fisherman and his son have uncovered a remarkable window into Moriori maritime heritage on New Zealand's Chatham Island. After heavy rains exposed odd carvings in a creek, Vincent and Nikau Dix recovered dozens of wooden fragments at home before alerting archaeologists.

450+ pieces including plank sections, braided lashings and pāua shell inlays were excavated.

Waterlogged preservation has yielded an exceptionally complete set of materials, from sail fibers to decorative obsidian nodules.
Conservation teams, working closely with Moriori and Māori leaders, are now radiocarbon-dating the find, which could predate European contact and reshape our understanding of early Polynesian navigation.

1,000-Year-Old Petroglyphs Discovered on Kauai

KAPA‘A, KAUAI (July 2025) — A joint survey by the University of Hawai‘i and the State Historic Preservation Division has uncovered more than 150 previously undocumented petroglyphs on a coastal bluff above Hanalei Bay. Preliminary radiocarbon dating of nearby charcoal places the carvings between 1000 and 1200 CE, making them among the oldest rock art on Kauai.

Key highlights:

Anthropomorphic figures, outrigger canoes and geometric motifs carved in basalt.

Evidence suggests navigational markers and ceremonial gathering spots.

Digital 3D recording and consultation with Native Hawaiian elders now under way.

Wreck of IJN Destroyer Teruzuki Found in Iron Bottom Sound After 83 Years

A U.S.-led marine research team has discovered the wreck of the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki, sunk in December 1942 while delivering supplies to Guadalcanal. Located in Iron Bottom Sound—site of five major naval battles between August and December 1942—the 134 m-long, radar-equipped Akizuki-class escort was disabled by U.S. torpedoes, its rudder and propeller shafts destroyed before oil-tank fires and ammunition detonations sealed its fate.

This marks the first visual survey of Teruzuki’s remains, revealing collapsed superstructure and gun-turret placements that match survivor accounts. Fewer than 100 Allied and Japanese vessels have been imaged in the 25 × 40-nautical-mile, 1,400 m-deep battlefield, underscoring the discovery’s significance for WWII naval history.

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