Shungite has been around for an estimated two billion years, but what is Shungite and its healing potential was recognized through the 1996 Nobel Prize-winning research that discovered fullerenes within the stone. Shungite is composed mostly of pure carbon and is the only known natural mineral to contain fullerenes, which are specific molecular formations of carbon that act as powerful, long-lasting antioxidants.
Although this scientific breakthrough happened in more recent years, Shungite had been known to purify water long compressed charcoal or carbon blocks in water filters were used to do the same. In Russia, the only place in the world where this stone is found, springs that pass over Shungite rocks were turned into natural spas in the time of Peter the Great. It was known then, just as it is now, that Shungite works most powerfully when used in conjunction with water.