Why a cow's tooth may help unlock Stonehenge mystery

An ancient cow's tooth has revealed fresh details about the mysteries of Stonehenge that have baffled scientists for centuries.

- TARA COBHAM

The new evidence has confirmed the link - first identified by archaeologists and geologists in the 2010s – between Stonehenge and two quarries in Wales, which are believed to be the sources of the Wiltshire landmark's legendary standing bluestones.

In a discovery that has intrigued experts for more than a century, archaeologists found a cow's jawbone in 1924 that had been carefully placed beside the south entrance to Stonehenge and dated it between 2,995 and 2,900BC.

Researchers from the British Geological Survey (BGS), Cardiff University and University College London (UCL) have now used isotope analysis on the cow's third molar tooth for clues about the animal's diet, environment and movement.