A link rich Introduction to Neolithic Megalith Transport from Cáceres Puro et al. (2025):
"Most of the stones used in prehistoric megalithic
constructions were transported by land through a diversity of technical
procedures (see discussion in Garfitt, 1979; Hoskin, 1986; Van Tilburg, 1995; Kalb, 1996; Adams, 2007; Harris, 2018; etc.). For a long time, however, there
have been suggestions that, in some specific cases, stones were transported by
water ways, either along rivers or marine coasts.
Transport of megaliths by water is well attested among the
prehistoric societies of Micronesia (Hazell and Fitzpatrick, 2006)
and, of course, in ancient Egypt (Landström, 1970). Although little
is known about navigation and sailing technology in Neolithic Europe (Morgado et al., 2018; Gibaja et al., 2024; Morgado-Rodríguez et al., 2025),
water transport was probably restricted to stones of a limited size. It is
unlikely that massive stones weighting several tens of tons were transported by
boat. At any rate, there are very few cases for which water transportation of
megaliths has been postulated. Probably, the best-known case is that of
Stonehenge (Wiltshire, UK), where the ‘bluestones’ have been interpreted to
have been carried over a distance of 210 km from their geological place of
origin in the Preseli mountains (Wales) to the building site (Parker Pearson, 2012; Parker Pearson et
al., 2015) and the “Altar Stone”, whose provenance could be
in Scotland, some 700 km north of the monument (Clarke et al.,
2024; Bevins et al., 2024).
Both coastal and river routes have been hypothesised for the ‘bluestones’ (Parker Pearson, 2012; Clarke et al., 2024), which are
relatively small, weighting between two and five tons each, and therefore would
not have posed an unsurmountable challenge for boat transportation to Late
Neolithic communities. A water route has also been postulated for the
kerbstones of Newgrange (Ireland), which, weighting around three tons each,
were quarried at Cloger Head and transported strapped underneath boats along
the coast and up the River Boyne (Stout and Stout, 2008). Seafaring
transportation of megalithic stones over distances of up to 40 km have
also been suggested for some of the Neolithic monuments of the Locmariaquer
region, in French Brittany (Cassen et al., 2019)."
| Site | Stone Type | Weight (tons) | Distance (km) | Proposed Transport Route | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stonehenge, UK | Bluestones | 2–5 | 210 | Coastal and river routes (e.g., River Avon) | Parker Pearson (2012) |
| Stonehenge, UK | Altar Stone | ~6 | 700 | Coastal and river routes | Bevins et al. (2024) |
| Newgrange, Ireland | Kerbstones | ~3 | Unknown | Coastal and River Boyne | Stout and Stout (2008) |
| Locmariaquer, France | Various | Unknown | Up to 40 | Seafaring along Brittany coast | Cassen et al. (2019) |
| Valencina, Spain | Matarrubilla Basin | Unknown | 8.5 - 15 | Potential river/coastal routes | Cáceres Puro et al. (2025) |
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