Carn Menyn

Carn Menyn is a grouping of craggy spotted dolerite outcrops in the Preseli Hills of Pembrokeshire, Wales, long identified as a source of Stonehenge's bluestones. In the 1920s, petrographer H.H. Thomas first linked the Preseli dolerite to Stonehenge, and subsequent research by Darvill and Wainwright supported Carn Menyn as a primary quarry. More recent UCL-led excavations confirmed nearby Carn Goedog as the main source of spotted dolerite bluestones (quarried c. 3200 BC) and Craig Rhos-y-felin for rhyolite bluestones (c. 3400 BC), located 140 miles from Stonehenge. The 500-year gap between quarrying and Stonehenge installation (c. 2900 BC) suggests the stones may have first been used locally before transport eastward.