New piece in Stonehenge puzzle

Researchers have found evidence that Stonehenge, the ancient stone structure in England that has long fascinated and perplexed, may have actually been built in Wales, nearly 200 miles away, and sat there for hundreds of years before being moved to its current location.

On Monday, the University College London researchers published evidence in the journal Antiquity that two quarries in Wales were the source of the distinct "bluestones" used in Stonehenge.

Radiocarbon dating of remnants from campfires indicates the sites were mined around 3200 and 3400 B.C. But the rocks didn't make it to Stonehenge until 2900 B.C.

"It could have taken those Neolithic stone-draggers nearly 500 years to get them to Stonehenge, but that's pretty improbable in my view," UCL professor Parker Pearson said in a statement. "It's more likely that the stones were first used in a local monument, somewhere near the quarries, that was then dismantled and dragged off to Wiltshire."

The researchers suspect the original monument may have sat between the quarries and the final location of Stonehenge.

"We've been conducting geophysical surveys, trial excavations and aerial photographic analysis throughout the area and we think we have the most likely spot," Bournemouth University's Kate Welham said. "The results are very promising - we may find something big in 2016."