The Stargates are devices created by the Ancients for instantaneous travel across the universe.
Creation[]
The Stargates were created by the Altera (later known as the Ancients) as a way to travel quickly across the galaxies. It is unknown whether the Stargates were designed before or after the Great Exodus from the Alteran home galaxy, but it is known that the technology was still somewhat new to the Ancients in Avalon, the galaxy we call the Milky Way.
Operation[]
The Stargates are primarily composed of a quartzite substance called Naquadah. Naquadah is capable of absorbing and channeling massive amounts of energy, and this is employed in the Stargates to create traversable Wormholes.