We Found a NEW STONE Near Stonehenge... And It Makes No Sense [15:58] | 215K subscribers

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0:00 · So, that's a bit I prepared earlier. Can we put that beside it? Yeah. Okay. I don't like
0:06 · using the phrase this changes everything. Can be a bit clicky unless you really come
0:10 · up with the goods. I'm filming this from home this morning. I was just mid-edit as you can
0:15 · see and I've just received an email from an archaeologist friend and he's used the words,
0:20 · "This changes everything with regard to something he's just found." So, we're going to pack our bags
0:26 · up, head in that general direction. fact that this is here in the first place. Can't really
0:31 · mention what it is yet or mention the location because I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say
0:37 · and it's on the same route that the Presili stones would have taken. But all will be
0:44 · revealed throughout this video. Oh no, what's that? Okay, you might be thinking a number
0:50 · of different things, not least that doesn't look like a blue stone from Stonehenge. And
0:55 · you'd be right. It is however blue. And here in central southern England, well,
1:00 · it definitely doesn't belong here. The most curious aspect of all of this, the reason we
1:05 · are here today, the memory of a 76-y old man that said very recently when I was a kid here,
1:12 · well, we had a huge blue stone on this estate. I don't remember where it is now. I remember a
1:17 · few years later I came through and I noticed one piece had been put in a hole over here.
1:29 · Okay, there's a lot to unpack here. So, first of all, a little bit of context. And have you
1:34 · ever seen so many anomalies in such a small area as this? Over the last couple of years,
1:39 · we've been in contact with a very friendly bunch of archaeologists
1:42 · who have been working at a particular site on a specific estate. Mainly this place,
1:47 · which for the time being will remain undisclosed for reasons that might already be obvious. Now,
1:53 · we'd love to spend more time here helping out, but we're very much part-time archaeologists. In fact,
1:58 · we're not even that. I just spend most of my time looking confused and trying to understand
2:02 · the technical jargon. I am on wild beast duty to make sure they don't trip over the uh equipment.
2:10 · Perhaps I'm then going to convert it one day into layman's terms and maybe then I'm the Tony
2:15 · Robinson of the party. Two years ago, work started on this site, not least to find that elusive blue
2:22 · stone. The stone came from there. They couldn't have moved it that far, but also to give a sort
2:28 · of a wider context of the history on that site and its context within the much wider landscape.
2:33 · We are within a decent radius of Stonehenge. And lo and behold, we have a whole load of good stuff
2:40 · going on here. Even before a trial was lifted, LAR imagery showed scores of Bronze Age barrerows,
2:49 · possible henes, maybe even a stone avenue, and maybe even a Cerseus monument. There
2:54 · is a decade or more work to be done here. So when the inbox pinged with the message,
3:02 · well, it kind of gave all the work that had been done here so far a bit more credibility almost.
3:06 · It gave us a real tangible mystery to get our teeth into. And that to me is the significant
3:13 · factor. This stone is the only one of its type found in this location. As if the stuff they'd
3:21 · found wasn't good enough already. Okay, so we'll come back to that stone very shortly.
3:25 · But I guess first of all, the biggest question is why are we getting excited about a lump of rock?
3:33 · Stonehenge probably shouldn't get us as excited as it does based on how many other sites we have
3:39 · in the UK equally as mindboggling. So, let's take Stonehenge. Well, we have there three different
3:45 · types of stone to deal with. And maybe, just maybe, that will help give context to our stone in
3:51 · question. One. Okay. First up, the initial stages of Stonehenge took shape in the form of a circular
3:58 · earthwork which included a ditch and an inner and outer bank. Nothing but an earthwork. No stones
4:04 · to speak of. Roughly 30,000 BC. Two. At the same time, 3000 B.C.E., oddly or not, over in southwest
4:13 · Wales, the Pcelli Hills, the blue stones of Stonehenge were quarried 150 plus miles away. But
4:21 · then something odd happened. It would take around 600 years for those very stones to be placed in
4:27 · the position we see them now today. So that is a puzzle with many theories. Did they stop on
4:34 · the way or placed here somewhere else earlier on? Either way, 2,400 B.CE for their final placement
4:42 · free. Then we have the huge assassins, the megaliths. These came again from a very specific
4:47 · site maybe 20 mi north of here in the now west woods erected here around 2500 BCE give or take
4:56 · four job done not quite we have another stone the altar stone that lies at the center of Stonehenge
5:04 · right down there underneath the other fallen ones and get this was carried down in some form around
5:11 · the same time as the megaliths but this one came from over 400 miles away in Scotland. That's mad.
5:24 · Okay, so that's the context of what we've been up
5:25 · to for the last couple of years. And that's also the context of why stones
5:29 · out of place are really important. So with that in mind, what of our stone?
5:39 · So upon first inspection, well, we all knew this wasn't the same chemical composition as the blue
5:45 · stones we find within that Stonehenge setting. I don't think I don't think it spotted. This
5:53 · was very different, but above all, it was blue and it was a stone and it was very much out of
6:00 · context for this landscape. Now, that would turn out to be key. So before we get too excited,
6:07 · let's rule out a few obvious red herrings. I caught up with Clifford Jones, who runs the
6:12 · operation here. I wanted to play devil's advocate. Could this stone just be aggregate or somehow
6:17 · dragged into the field soil? So I have taken into account that in agriculture, you import soils to
6:26 · improve your land. Now, the chances of this stone getting through a muck spreader in one piece is
6:34 · thin. And to get through and not be chopped in half or damaged again is even more thin. And also,
6:42 · when I've looked through the field material that's been removed in the way of bricks,
6:48 · which have come in with soil, all those bricks are from local brick works. It doesn't fit with any
6:55 · local construction over the last 200 years that I can find. So where was it found and how does that
7:01 · help us? I believe it's moved through coluvial flow and I suggest that based on again local
7:10 · observation of the amount of flint that appears in the field every year that whatever came down from
7:19 · further up the valley. Yeah. And considering the only thing it can be is flint or imported stone.
7:26 · Yeah. And again I have to say agriculture has pro provided the answer to this question. Every year
7:32 · they take bedside table size pieces of flint out of that particular field and the following
7:39 · year the field is again full of flint. And so it it's churning every year and it's like a backflow.
7:46 · materials coming to the surface and from there it's it's a case of taking out the field every
7:52 · single year and that all becomes very clear when we look at the liar here. So the next step was
7:58 · to get this rock analyzed in a very scientific and uh professional way. Now everybody came to
8:04 · the conclusion of one particular name. Robixer is the person who does all done all the blue stone
8:13 · analysis. This man is the knowledge on all things rocks and analytical geocchemistry of said rocks.
8:24 · Okay. So, we picked up the stone and personally delivered it to Robixer untouched and just wrapped
8:31 · up like our lives depended on it. We left it with Rob to make a few initial notes. Now, I've learned
8:36 · a whole bunch of stuff about this over the last couple of months. Now Rob was very kind enough
8:41 · to give us a very brief initial analysis. So a very non-committal I'll take a quick look and
8:47 · uh try and understand and give you a very brief this is what it could be. He kindly sent that
8:52 · initial report across and gave us a huge amount of excitement. From that report we had reason to
8:57 · believe our initial thoughts were correct. So Rob suggested the next stage of this process would be
9:02 · to remove a small section of this stone uh so he could analyze it properly and we would need
9:08 · to get it polished. So first step we found a local stonemason who would be able to remove
9:13 · a small piece very carefully without sort of doing further damage to the stone. We would
9:18 · then send it to somebody of his recommendation to get it polished properly and uh thoroughly and as
9:25 · per proper process and then he would then send that back to Rob so he could start his proper
9:30 · full analysis. So now we had a good month to wait. Careful analysis takes many days of work.
9:36 · So everyone at this stage within the group began speculating on where this came from. The general
9:42 · consensus was west of the UK, maybe Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, South Wales, but we still had
9:48 · not had the results. South Wales would be wild for sure. Not the same chemistry as we see on the blue
9:54 · stones within Stonehenge and not potentially the same type of blue stone that the estate
10:00 · owner saw as a kid many years ago. Which begs the question, there's clearly a lot more to find here
10:06 · surely. But the mystery remained. What exactly was this blue stone doing here? A month or so later,
10:14 · the results from Dr. Robixer were in October the 24th, 23rd, maybe 2025, and we've now got a a good
10:23 · indication of what this is, what it constitutes, and therefore where it could be from. The analysis
10:30 · was truly something else. three or four pages of geocchemistry which I'll be honest I understood
10:36 · about 2% of I was spending a lot of time on Google trying to understand a lot of this so for you and
10:41 · I let's deal with this in layman's terms two important things one Rob seemed extremely clear
10:48 · to point out that this has no association with the stones already found at Stonehenge and we kind of
10:54 · knew that on first inspection but clarification welcomed all the same too this was blue penant
11:02 · sandstone. So, straight away, naturally, I'm now all over Google. Where exactly does blue
11:07 · penant sandstone come from? One, Swansea upper valleys. Two, the Bristol valleys, the Froom and
11:14 · the Avon. So, once again, I'm drawn back to that question. What exactly is that stone doing here?
11:24 · Okay, so let's play devil's advocate here. We know this isn't from imported soils. It's way
11:29 · too big. It's unique. The farmer has confirmed it definitely isn't what he's seen before. But
11:35 · then we need to go back to Rob's analysis, the big analysis, because Rob points out and is very keen
11:41 · to point out something that we should consider post prehistoric from the Roman era onwards to
11:47 · the 19th and 20th century. So Rob is rightly coming at this from a perspective that this
11:53 · material was used in buildings and therefore transported somewhere perhaps more local. It's
11:59 · extremely hard. So, let's hop back onto Google and ask a question. Where was blue penant sandstone
12:06 · used as a building material? Essentially, both South Wales and the Bristol and potentially the
12:13 · Bath area. And that makes complete sense because that's where it would have been quarried from and
12:18 · minimal transportation to its end use. It certainly isn't used locally at all. Yes,
12:25 · it can be used as a building stone. are very good for building stuff. Uh, but I've not come across
12:31 · any structure. Uh, especially not a Roman structure because the Romans found it very
12:35 · convenient to build with it. It's all by itself. It's above uh a river that's now subterranean
12:44 · and I believe it's moved probably quarter of a mile in 4,000 years. we here in this area? Well,
12:52 · I've never seen this type of material used in a building and I've been here a very long time. So,
12:58 · the question remains, really important question. In any event, what exactly is this stone doing
13:04 · here? Now, it would be fair to say I've not given you all of the context of this landscape. In fact,
13:11 · a tiny percentage. But suffice to say, we do have Bronze Age barrerows all along this
13:16 · subterranean river. This is one by Stonehenge, isn't it? Yes. Yes, Henry. He did. The big the
13:22 · king and queen barriers or whatever they call perhaps marking the end of its life. And we
13:27 · also have a Cerseus monument almost mimicking the dying river running parallel from the Neolithic
13:33 · era. So we really wouldn't be surprised to see this stone here from prehistory. And whatever
13:38 · the answer to that riddle, whatever era this came from and took its journey to here, well, we have a
13:44 · mystery on our hands. But more importantly than any of that right now is the following message.
13:55 · Now there is a huge amount of opportunity to be had here at this project many different ways.
14:02 · Now when we consider things like time team and all the real good that that did for archaeology.
14:06 · Well perhaps the one negative is we all think archaeology can be done within 3 days. Clearly
14:11 · that's not the case. Now, this project has got to where it is today in a couple of years purely
14:16 · based on the money from people's pockets that are involved. There's no significant grants here,
14:21 · no TV company backing this financially. And I want to make it very clear, I'm not directly involved
14:26 · in a authorative capacity or directorship capacity and this project. I just rock up when I have time,
14:32 · help them with a bit of media work. This is very much me. So, with that in mind, well, the
14:37 · team really do need some help. I asked Clifford what he wanted, what would be on his wish list,
14:42 · and he sent me the following list. So I suggested to Clifford, "It's very unlikely that my audience,
14:48 · you lot, are going to have a spare Terra Surveyor 64 in your garden shed. You never know. But what
14:54 · you lot are very good at is action." The peacocks are very loud. Whether in the form of volunteering
15:00 · or helping out on an archeological capacity, helping out with media or even donating. Yep,
15:06 · there's a very active Patreon just about ready for your support. Link below. Loads of opportunities
15:12 · here and a lot of help needed on the Hampshire Wiltshire borders. So, a Patreon page has been
15:17 · set up and I'll put the link here. I'll put it in the description and in the pin comment. So, if you
15:22 · think this is something you want to help donate to on a regular basis, you can. Or of course,
15:26 · if you think you can help in one of the many ways we've already mentioned, then I'm going to
15:30 · also put the email address for you to get in touch with in the pin comment and the description below
15:35 · as well. And from me, well, I assure you that I will keep you as posted as I possibly can on
15:40 · this channel as to the progress of that project with the odd sporadic video here and there. But
15:45 · don't forget, we are after media help, so maybe there will be its own YouTube channel one day.
15:50 · As for me, I'll be back this time next week with another random mystery from history. See you then.

Chat GPT: take the attached transcript from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsfyGvXWHPs, remove timestamps and format with paragraphs and section breaks where advises
Here’s a clean, reformatted version of the transcript you uploaded. I’ve removed all timestamps and structured it into readable paragraphs with natural section breaks where the speaker shifts topics or emphasis:

Opening Context
So, that’s a bit I prepared earlier. Can we put that beside it? Yeah. Okay. I don’t like using the phrase “this changes everything.” It can be a bit click‑bait unless you really come up with the goods. I’m filming this from home this morning. I was mid‑edit when I received an email from an archaeologist friend. He used the words “this changes everything” with regard to something he’d just found. So, we’re going to pack our bags and head in that general direction.

I can’t really mention what it is yet or the location, because I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say. But it’s on the same route that the Preseli stones would have taken. All will be revealed throughout this video.

Discovery of the Stone
You might be thinking: that doesn’t look like a bluestone from Stonehenge. And you’d be right. It is, however, blue. And here in central southern England, it definitely doesn’t belong. The most curious aspect is the memory of a 76‑year‑old man who said recently: “When I was a kid here, we had a huge blue stone on this estate. I don’t remember where it is now. A few years later I came through and noticed one piece had been put in a hole over here.”

Archaeological Context
There’s a lot to unpack. Over the last couple of years, we’ve been in contact with archaeologists working at a particular estate site. For now, the location remains undisclosed. Work began two years ago to find that elusive bluestone and to understand the wider history of the site within the landscape. We are within a decent radius of Stonehenge, and even before a trial was lifted, LIDAR imagery showed Bronze Age barrows, possible henges, maybe even a stone avenue or cursus monument. There is a decade or more of work to be done here.

So when the inbox pinged with that message, it gave credibility to all the work so far. It gave us a tangible mystery to get our teeth into. This stone is the only one of its type found in this location.

Stonehenge Context
Why get excited about a lump of rock? Because Stonehenge itself is a puzzle. It has three different types of stone:

Around 3000 BCE, the site began as an earthwork ditch and banks.

At the same time, the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales provided the bluestones, quarried 150 miles away. Oddly, it took 600 years for those stones to be placed in their final position around 2400 BCE.

Then came the huge sarsens, megaliths from West Woods about 20 miles north, erected around 2500 BCE.

Finally, the altar stone at the center, carried from Scotland over 400 miles away.

So, stones out of place matter. They tell us about movement, trade, and ritual.

Analysis of the Blue Stone
Upon inspection, we knew this wasn’t the same composition as Stonehenge’s bluestones. It was different, but it was blue, and it was out of context. Clifford Jones, who runs the operation, considered whether it could be aggregate or imported soil. But the chances of such a large stone surviving agricultural processes intact are slim. It didn’t match local construction materials either.

The stone was delivered to Dr. Rob Ixer, the geochemist known for bluestone analysis. After careful preparation, a small polished sample was analyzed. The results confirmed: this was blue pennant sandstone.

Origins and Implications
Blue pennant sandstone comes from two main areas: the Swansea upper valleys in South Wales, and the Bristol valleys (Frome and Avon). Rob emphasized that this stone has no association with Stonehenge’s bluestones. He also noted that it could be post‑prehistoric, used as building material in Roman or later times, especially in South Wales, Bristol, and Bath. Yet locally, it has never been used in construction.

So the question remains: what is this stone doing here? It sits above a subterranean river, in a landscape rich with Bronze Age barrows and Neolithic monuments. It could have moved a quarter mile in 4,000 years, but its presence is still a mystery.

Closing Appeal
This project has advanced purely on personal funding and volunteer effort. There are no major grants or TV backing. The team needs help — whether volunteering, media support, or donations. A Patreon page has been set up, and contact details are provided for those who want to contribute. The hope is to continue uncovering this mystery and perhaps even launch a dedicated channel for updates.

As for me, I’ll keep you posted with sporadic videos and return next week with another random mystery from history.

I ran the transcript through Grok to remove the time stamps. It’s kind of a wall of text, but I find it more readable.

Bluestone Transcript

So, that’s a bit I prepared earlier. Can we put that beside it? Yeah. Okay. I don’t like using the phrase “this changes everything.” Can be a bit clicky unless you really come up with the goods. I’m filming this from home this morning. I was just mid-edit as you can see, and I’ve just received an email from an archaeologist friend and he’s used the words, “This changes everything with regard to something he’s just found.” So, we’re going to pack our bags up, head in that general direction.

The fact that this is here in the first place… can’t really mention what it is yet or mention the location because I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say, and it’s on the same route that the Presili stones would have taken. But all will be revealed throughout this video.

Oh no, what’s that? Okay, you might be thinking a number of different things, not least that it doesn’t look like a blue stone from Stonehenge. And you’d be right. It is, however, blue. And here in central southern England, well, it definitely doesn’t belong here. The most curious aspect of all of this, the reason we are here today, is the memory of a 76-year-old man that said very recently, “When I was a kid here, well, we had a huge blue stone on this estate. I don’t remember where it is now. I remember a few years later I came through and noticed one piece had been put in a hole over here.”

Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. So, first of all, a little bit of context. Have you ever seen so many anomalies in such a small area as this? Over the last couple of years, we’ve been in contact with a very friendly bunch of archaeologists who have been working at a particular site on a specific estate — mainly this place, which for the time being will remain undisclosed for reasons that might already be obvious. Now, we’d love to spend more time here helping out, but we’re very much part-time archaeologists. In fact, we’re not even that. I just spend most of my time looking confused and trying to understand the technical jargon. I am on wild beast duty to make sure they don’t trip over the equipment. Perhaps I’m then going to convert it one day into layman’s terms, and maybe then I’m the Tony Robinson of the party.

Two years ago, work started on this site, not least to find that elusive blue stone. The stone came from there. They couldn’t have moved it that far, but also to give a sort of a wider context of the history on that site and its context within the much wider landscape. We are within a decent radius of Stonehenge. And lo and behold, we have a whole load of good stuff going on here. Even before a trial was lifted, LAR imagery showed scores of Bronze Age barrows, possible henges, maybe even a stone avenue, and maybe even a cursus monument. There is a decade or more work to be done here.

So when the inbox pinged with the message, well, it kind of gave all the work that had been done here so far a bit more credibility almost. It gave us a real tangible mystery to get our teeth into. And that, to me, is the significant factor. This stone is the only one of its type found in this location. As if the stuff they’d found wasn’t good enough already.

Okay, so we’ll come back to that stone very shortly. But first of all, the biggest question is, why are we getting excited about a lump of rock? Stonehenge probably shouldn’t get us as excited as it does based on how many other sites we have in the UK equally as mindboggling. So, let’s take Stonehenge. Well, we have there three different types of stone to deal with. And maybe, just maybe, that will help give context to our stone in question.

One. Okay. First up, the initial stages of Stonehenge took shape in the form of a circular earthwork which included a ditch and an inner and outer bank. Nothing but an earthwork. No stones to speak of. Roughly 30,000 BC.

Two. At the same time, 3000 B.C.E., oddly or not, over in southwest Wales, the Preseli Hills, the bluestones of Stonehenge were quarried 150 plus miles away. But then something odd happened. It would take around 600 years for those very stones to be placed in the position we see them now today. So that is a puzzle with many theories. Did they stop on the way, or were they placed somewhere else earlier on? Either way, 2,400 B.C.E. for their final placement.

Then we have the huge sarsens, the megaliths. These came again from a very specific site maybe 20 miles north of here in the now West Woods, erected around 2500 BCE give or take. Not quite done: we have another stone, the Altar Stone, that lies at the center of Stonehenge right down there underneath the other fallen ones, and get this: it was carried down in some form around the same time as the megaliths, but this one came from over 400 miles away in Scotland. That’s mad.

Okay, so that’s the context of what we’ve been up to for the last couple of years. And that’s also the context of why stones out of place are really important. So with that in mind, what of our stone?

So upon first inspection, we all knew this wasn’t the same chemical composition as the bluestones we find within that Stonehenge setting. I don’t think it was spotted at first. This was very different, but above all, it was blue and it was a stone, and it was very much out of context for this landscape. Now, that would turn out to be key.

So before we get too excited, let’s rule out a few obvious red herrings. I caught up with Clifford Jones, who runs the operation here. I wanted to play devil’s advocate. Could this stone just be aggregate or somehow dragged into the field soil? So I have taken into account that in agriculture, you import soils to improve your land. Now, the chances of this stone getting through a muck spreader in one piece is thin. And to get through and not be chopped in half or damaged again is even thinner. Also, when I’ve looked through the field material that’s been removed in the way of bricks, all those bricks are from local brickworks. It doesn’t fit with any local construction over the last 200 years that I can find.

So where was it found and how does that help us? I believe it’s moved through colluvial flow, and I suggest that based on local observation of the amount of flint that appears in the field every year, whatever came down from further up the valley. Considering the only thing it can be is flint or imported stone, and again I have to say agriculture has provided the answer to this question. Every year they take bedside-table-size pieces of flint out of that particular field, and the following year the field is again full of flint. It’s churning every year, like a backflow, materials coming to the surface, and from there it’s a case of taking out the field every single year. That all becomes very clear when we look at the layer here.

So the next step was to get this rock analyzed in a very scientific and professional way. Now everybody came to the conclusion of one particular name: Robixer is the person who does all the bluestone analysis. This man is the authority on all things rocks and analytical geochemistry of said rocks.

Okay. So, we picked up the stone and personally delivered it to Robixer, untouched and just wrapped up like our lives depended on it. We left it with Rob to make a few initial notes. Now, I’ve learned a whole bunch of stuff about this over the last couple of months. Rob was very kind enough to give us a very brief initial analysis — a very non-committal, “I’ll take a quick look and try to understand and give you a very brief this-is-what-it-could-be.” He kindly sent that initial report across and gave us a huge amount of excitement. From that report, we had reason to believe our initial thoughts were correct.

So Rob suggested the next stage of this process would be to remove a small section of this stone so he could analyze it properly, and we would need to get it polished. First step: we found a local stonemason who could remove a small piece very carefully without doing further damage to the stone. We would then send it to somebody of Rob’s recommendation to get it polished properly, thoroughly, and as per proper process, and then he would send that back to Rob so he could start his full analysis.

So now we had a good month to wait. Careful analysis takes many days of work. At this stage, everyone in the group began speculating on where this came from. The general consensus was west of the UK — maybe Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, South Wales — but we still had not had the results. South Wales would be wild for sure. Not the same chemistry as we see on the bluestones within Stonehenge, and not potentially the same type of bluestone that the estate owner saw as a kid many years ago. Which begs the question, there’s clearly a lot more to find here surely. But the mystery remained. What exactly was this blue stone doing here? A month or so later, the results from Dr. Robixer were in October the 24th, 23rd, maybe 2025, and we’ve now got a good indication of what this is, what it constitutes, and therefore where it could be from. The analysis was truly something else. Three or four pages of geochemistry which I’ll be honest I understood about 2% of. I was spending a lot of time on Google trying to understand a lot of this so for you and I let’s deal with this in layman’s terms.

Two important things: one, Rob seemed extremely clear to point out that this has no association with the stones already found at Stonehenge and we kind of knew that on first inspection but clarification welcomed all the same. Two, this was blue pennant sandstone.

So, straight away, naturally, I’m now all over Google. Where exactly does blue pennant sandstone come from? One, Swansea upper valleys. Two, the Bristol valleys, the Frome and the Avon. So, once again, I’m drawn back to that question. What exactly is that stone doing here?

Okay, so let’s play devil’s advocate here. We know this isn’t from imported soils. It’s way too big. It’s unique. The farmer has confirmed it definitely isn’t what he’s seen before. But then we need to go back to Rob’s analysis, the big analysis, because Rob points out and is very keen to point out something that we should consider post-prehistoric from the Roman era onwards to the 19th and 20th century. So Rob is rightly coming at this from a perspective that this material was used in buildings and therefore transported somewhere perhaps more local. It’s extremely hard.

So, let’s hop back onto Google and ask a question. Where was blue pennant sandstone used as a building material? Essentially, both South Wales and the Bristol and potentially the Bath area. And that makes complete sense because that’s where it would have been quarried from and minimal transportation to its end use. It certainly isn’t used locally at all. Yes, it can be used as a building stone, very good for building stuff, but I’ve not come across any structure, especially not a Roman structure because the Romans found it very convenient to build with it.

It’s all by itself. It’s above a river that’s now subterranean and I believe it’s moved probably quarter of a mile in 4,000 years. We here in this area? Well, I’ve never seen this type of material used in a building and I’ve been here a very long time. So, the question remains, really important question. In any event, what exactly is this stone doing here?

Now, it would be fair to say I’ve not given you all of the context of this landscape. In fact, a tiny percentage. But suffice to say, we do have Bronze Age barrows all along this subterranean river. This is one by Stonehenge, isn’t it? Yes. Yes, Henry. He did. The big king and queen barrows or whatever they call, perhaps marking the end of its life. And we also have a cursus monument almost mimicking the dying river running parallel from the Neolithic era.

So we really wouldn’t be surprised to see this stone here from prehistory. And whatever the answer to that riddle, whatever era this came from and took its journey to here, well, we have a mystery on our hands.

But more importantly than any of that right now is the following message. Now there is a huge amount of opportunity to be had here at this project many different ways. Now when we consider things like Time Team and all the real good that that did for archaeology. Well perhaps the one negative is we all think archaeology can be done within 3 days. Clearly that’s not the case.

Now, this project has got to where it is today in a couple of years purely based on the money from people’s pockets that are involved. There’s no significant grants here, no TV company backing this financially. And I want to make it very clear, I’m not directly involved in an authoritative capacity or directorship capacity in this project. I just rock up when I have time, help them with a bit of media work. This is very much me.

So, with that in mind, well, the team really do need some help. I asked Clifford what he wanted, what would be on his wish list, and he sent me the following list. So I suggested to Clifford, “It’s very unlikely that my audience, you lot, are going to have a spare Terra Surveyor 64 in your garden shed. You never know. But what you lot are very good at is action.” The peacocks are very loud. Whether in the form of volunteering or helping out in an archaeological capacity, helping out with media or even donating. Yep, there’s a very active Patreon just about ready for your support. Link below.

Loads of opportunities here and a lot of help needed on the Hampshire–Wiltshire borders. So, a Patreon page has been set up and I’ll put the link here. I’ll put it in the description and in the pin comment. So, if you think this is something you want to help donate to on a regular basis, you can. Or of course, if you think you can help in one of the many ways we’ve already mentioned, then I’m going to also put the email address for you to get in touch with in the pin comment and the description below as well.

And from me, well, I assure you that I will keep you as posted as I possibly can on this channel as to the progress of that project with the odd sporadic video here and there. But don’t forget, we are after media help, so maybe there will be its own YouTube channel one day.

As for me, I’ll be back this time next week with another random mystery from history. See you then.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:00	·	So, that's a bit I prepared earlier. Can we put that beside it? Yeah. Okay. I don't like
0:06	·	using the phrase this changes everything. Can be a bit clicky unless you really come
0:10	·	up with the goods. I'm filming this from home this morning. I was just mid-edit as you can
0:15	·	see and I've just received an email from an archaeologist friend and he's used the words,
0:20	·	"This changes everything with regard to something he's just found." So, we're going to pack our bags
0:26	·	up, head in that general direction. fact that this is here in the first place. Can't really
0:31	·	mention what it is yet or mention the location because I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say
0:37	·	and it's on the same route that the Presili stones would have taken. But all will be
0:44	·	revealed throughout this video. Oh no, what's that? Okay, you might be thinking a number
0:50	·	of different things, not least that doesn't look like a blue stone from Stonehenge. And
0:55	·	you'd be right. It is however blue. And here in central southern England, well,
1:00	·	it definitely doesn't belong here. The most curious aspect of all of this, the reason we
1:05	·	are here today, the memory of a 76-y old man that said very recently when I was a kid here,
1:12	·	well, we had a huge blue stone on this estate. I don't remember where it is now. I remember a
1:17	·	few years later I came through and I noticed one piece had been put in a hole over here.
1:29	·	Okay, there's a lot to unpack here. So, first of all, a little bit of context. And have you
1:34	·	ever seen so many anomalies in such a small area as this? Over the last couple of years,
1:39	·	we've been in contact with a very friendly bunch of archaeologists
1:42	·	who have been working at a particular site on a specific estate. Mainly this place,
1:47	·	which for the time being will remain undisclosed for reasons that might already be obvious. Now,
1:53	·	we'd love to spend more time here helping out, but we're very much part-time archaeologists. In fact,
1:58	·	we're not even that. I just spend most of my time looking confused and trying to understand
2:02	·	the technical jargon. I am on wild beast duty to make sure they don't trip over the uh equipment.
2:10	·	Perhaps I'm then going to convert it one day into layman's terms and maybe then I'm the Tony
2:15	·	Robinson of the party. Two years ago, work started on this site, not least to find that elusive blue
2:22	·	stone. The stone came from there. They couldn't have moved it that far, but also to give a sort
2:28	·	of a wider context of the history on that site and its context within the much wider landscape.
2:33	·	We are within a decent radius of Stonehenge. And lo and behold, we have a whole load of good stuff
2:40	·	going on here. Even before a trial was lifted, LAR imagery showed scores of Bronze Age barrerows,
2:49	·	possible henes, maybe even a stone avenue, and maybe even a Cerseus monument. There
2:54	·	is a decade or more work to be done here. So when the inbox pinged with the message,
3:02	·	well, it kind of gave all the work that had been done here so far a bit more credibility almost.
3:06	·	It gave us a real tangible mystery to get our teeth into. And that to me is the significant
3:13	·	factor. This stone is the only one of its type found in this location. As if the stuff they'd
3:21	·	found wasn't good enough already. Okay, so we'll come back to that stone very shortly.
3:25	·	But I guess first of all, the biggest question is why are we getting excited about a lump of rock?
3:33	·	Stonehenge probably shouldn't get us as excited as it does based on how many other sites we have
3:39	·	in the UK equally as mindboggling. So, let's take Stonehenge. Well, we have there three different
3:45	·	types of stone to deal with. And maybe, just maybe, that will help give context to our stone in
3:51	·	question. One. Okay. First up, the initial stages of Stonehenge took shape in the form of a circular
3:58	·	earthwork which included a ditch and an inner and outer bank. Nothing but an earthwork. No stones
4:04	·	to speak of. Roughly 30,000 BC. Two. At the same time, 3000 B.C.E., oddly or not, over in southwest
4:13	·	Wales, the Pcelli Hills, the blue stones of Stonehenge were quarried 150 plus miles away. But
4:21	·	then something odd happened. It would take around 600 years for those very stones to be placed in
4:27	·	the position we see them now today. So that is a puzzle with many theories. Did they stop on
4:34	·	the way or placed here somewhere else earlier on? Either way, 2,400 B.CE for their final placement
4:42	·	free. Then we have the huge assassins, the megaliths. These came again from a very specific
4:47	·	site maybe 20 mi north of here in the now west woods erected here around 2500 BCE give or take
4:56	·	four job done not quite we have another stone the altar stone that lies at the center of Stonehenge
5:04	·	right down there underneath the other fallen ones and get this was carried down in some form around
5:11	·	the same time as the megaliths but this one came from over 400 miles away in Scotland. That's mad.
5:24	·	Okay, so that's the context of what we've been up
5:25	·	to for the last couple of years. And that's also the context of why stones
5:29	·	out of place are really important. So with that in mind, what of our stone?
5:39	·	So upon first inspection, well, we all knew this wasn't the same chemical composition as the blue
5:45	·	stones we find within that Stonehenge setting. I don't think I don't think it spotted. This
5:53	·	was very different, but above all, it was blue and it was a stone and it was very much out of
6:00	·	context for this landscape. Now, that would turn out to be key. So before we get too excited,
6:07	·	let's rule out a few obvious red herrings. I caught up with Clifford Jones, who runs the
6:12	·	operation here. I wanted to play devil's advocate. Could this stone just be aggregate or somehow
6:17	·	dragged into the field soil? So I have taken into account that in agriculture, you import soils to
6:26	·	improve your land. Now, the chances of this stone getting through a muck spreader in one piece is
6:34	·	thin. And to get through and not be chopped in half or damaged again is even more thin. And also,
6:42	·	when I've looked through the field material that's been removed in the way of bricks,
6:48	·	which have come in with soil, all those bricks are from local brick works. It doesn't fit with any
6:55	·	local construction over the last 200 years that I can find. So where was it found and how does that
7:01	·	help us? I believe it's moved through coluvial flow and I suggest that based on again local
7:10	·	observation of the amount of flint that appears in the field every year that whatever came down from
7:19	·	further up the valley. Yeah. And considering the only thing it can be is flint or imported stone.
7:26	·	Yeah. And again I have to say agriculture has pro provided the answer to this question. Every year
7:32	·	they take bedside table size pieces of flint out of that particular field and the following
7:39	·	year the field is again full of flint. And so it it's churning every year and it's like a backflow.
7:46	·	materials coming to the surface and from there it's it's a case of taking out the field every
7:52	·	single year and that all becomes very clear when we look at the liar here. So the next step was
7:58	·	to get this rock analyzed in a very scientific and uh professional way. Now everybody came to
8:04	·	the conclusion of one particular name. Robixer is the person who does all done all the blue stone
8:13	·	analysis. This man is the knowledge on all things rocks and analytical geocchemistry of said rocks.
8:24	·	Okay. So, we picked up the stone and personally delivered it to Robixer untouched and just wrapped
8:31	·	up like our lives depended on it. We left it with Rob to make a few initial notes. Now, I've learned
8:36	·	a whole bunch of stuff about this over the last couple of months. Now Rob was very kind enough
8:41	·	to give us a very brief initial analysis. So a very non-committal I'll take a quick look and
8:47	·	uh try and understand and give you a very brief this is what it could be. He kindly sent that
8:52	·	initial report across and gave us a huge amount of excitement. From that report we had reason to
8:57	·	believe our initial thoughts were correct. So Rob suggested the next stage of this process would be
9:02	·	to remove a small section of this stone uh so he could analyze it properly and we would need
9:08	·	to get it polished. So first step we found a local stonemason who would be able to remove
9:13	·	a small piece very carefully without sort of doing further damage to the stone. We would
9:18	·	then send it to somebody of his recommendation to get it polished properly and uh thoroughly and as
9:25	·	per proper process and then he would then send that back to Rob so he could start his proper
9:30	·	full analysis. So now we had a good month to wait. Careful analysis takes many days of work.
9:36	·	So everyone at this stage within the group began speculating on where this came from. The general
9:42	·	consensus was west of the UK, maybe Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, South Wales, but we still had
9:48	·	not had the results. South Wales would be wild for sure. Not the same chemistry as we see on the blue
9:54	·	stones within Stonehenge and not potentially the same type of blue stone that the estate
10:00	·	owner saw as a kid many years ago. Which begs the question, there's clearly a lot more to find here
10:06	·	surely. But the mystery remained. What exactly was this blue stone doing here? A month or so later,
10:14	·	the results from Dr. Robixer were in October the 24th, 23rd, maybe 2025, and we've now got a a good
10:23	·	indication of what this is, what it constitutes, and therefore where it could be from. The analysis
10:30	·	was truly something else. three or four pages of geocchemistry which I'll be honest I understood
10:36	·	about 2% of I was spending a lot of time on Google trying to understand a lot of this so for you and
10:41	·	I let's deal with this in layman's terms two important things one Rob seemed extremely clear
10:48	·	to point out that this has no association with the stones already found at Stonehenge and we kind of
10:54	·	knew that on first inspection but clarification welcomed all the same too this was blue penant
11:02	·	sandstone. So, straight away, naturally, I'm now all over Google. Where exactly does blue
11:07	·	penant sandstone come from? One, Swansea upper valleys. Two, the Bristol valleys, the Froom and
11:14	·	the Avon. So, once again, I'm drawn back to that question. What exactly is that stone doing here?
11:24	·	Okay, so let's play devil's advocate here. We know this isn't from imported soils. It's way
11:29	·	too big. It's unique. The farmer has confirmed it definitely isn't what he's seen before. But
11:35	·	then we need to go back to Rob's analysis, the big analysis, because Rob points out and is very keen
11:41	·	to point out something that we should consider post prehistoric from the Roman era onwards to
11:47	·	the 19th and 20th century. So Rob is rightly coming at this from a perspective that this
11:53	·	material was used in buildings and therefore transported somewhere perhaps more local. It's
11:59	·	extremely hard. So, let's hop back onto Google and ask a question. Where was blue penant sandstone
12:06	·	used as a building material? Essentially, both South Wales and the Bristol and potentially the
12:13	·	Bath area. And that makes complete sense because that's where it would have been quarried from and
12:18	·	minimal transportation to its end use. It certainly isn't used locally at all. Yes,
12:25	·	it can be used as a building stone. are very good for building stuff. Uh, but I've not come across
12:31	·	any structure. Uh, especially not a Roman structure because the Romans found it very
12:35	·	convenient to build with it. It's all by itself. It's above uh a river that's now subterranean
12:44	·	and I believe it's moved probably quarter of a mile in 4,000 years. we here in this area? Well,
12:52	·	I've never seen this type of material used in a building and I've been here a very long time. So,
12:58	·	the question remains, really important question. In any event, what exactly is this stone doing
13:04	·	here? Now, it would be fair to say I've not given you all of the context of this landscape. In fact,
13:11	·	a tiny percentage. But suffice to say, we do have Bronze Age barrerows all along this
13:16	·	subterranean river. This is one by Stonehenge, isn't it? Yes. Yes, Henry. He did. The big the
13:22	·	king and queen barriers or whatever they call perhaps marking the end of its life. And we
13:27	·	also have a Cerseus monument almost mimicking the dying river running parallel from the Neolithic
13:33	·	era. So we really wouldn't be surprised to see this stone here from prehistory. And whatever
13:38	·	the answer to that riddle, whatever era this came from and took its journey to here, well, we have a
13:44	·	mystery on our hands. But more importantly than any of that right now is the following message.
13:55	·	Now there is a huge amount of opportunity to be had here at this project many different ways.
14:02	·	Now when we consider things like time team and all the real good that that did for archaeology.
14:06	·	Well perhaps the one negative is we all think archaeology can be done within 3 days. Clearly
14:11	·	that's not the case. Now, this project has got to where it is today in a couple of years purely
14:16	·	based on the money from people's pockets that are involved. There's no significant grants here,
14:21	·	no TV company backing this financially. And I want to make it very clear, I'm not directly involved
14:26	·	in a authorative capacity or directorship capacity and this project. I just rock up when I have time,
14:32	·	help them with a bit of media work. This is very much me. So, with that in mind, well, the
14:37	·	team really do need some help. I asked Clifford what he wanted, what would be on his wish list,
14:42	·	and he sent me the following list. So I suggested to Clifford, "It's very unlikely that my audience,
14:48	·	you lot, are going to have a spare Terra Surveyor 64 in your garden shed. You never know. But what
14:54	·	you lot are very good at is action." The peacocks are very loud. Whether in the form of volunteering
15:00	·	or helping out on an archeological capacity, helping out with media or even donating. Yep,
15:06	·	there's a very active Patreon just about ready for your support. Link below. Loads of opportunities
15:12	·	here and a lot of help needed on the Hampshire Wiltshire borders. So, a Patreon page has been
15:17	·	set up and I'll put the link here. I'll put it in the description and in the pin comment. So, if you
15:22	·	think this is something you want to help donate to on a regular basis, you can. Or of course,
15:26	·	if you think you can help in one of the many ways we've already mentioned, then I'm going to
15:30	·	also put the email address for you to get in touch with in the pin comment and the description below
15:35	·	as well. And from me, well, I assure you that I will keep you as posted as I possibly can on
15:40	·	this channel as to the progress of that project with the odd sporadic video here and there. But
15:45	·	don't forget, we are after media help, so maybe there will be its own YouTube channel one day.
15:50	·	As for me, I'll be back this time next week with another random mystery from history. See you then.