New geochemical evidence links the Devil’s Arrows near Boroughbridge to Brimham Rocks 18 km away, showing Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age communities transported and deliberately selected massive stones for a major monument.
Geochemical ‘fingerprints’ match the Devil’s Arrows to Brimham Rocks, not the closer Plumpton Rocks.
A non‑invasive adhesive tape sampling method collected tiny mineral grains to determine origin and rule out glacial transport.
# What was discovered
# How the researchers proved it
# What the stones are and when they were moved The standing pillars reach as high as seven meters (23 feet). Each stone weighs about 25 tonnes (roughly 55,000 pounds). The movement and erection likely took place in the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, possibly around 2000 BC, based on archaeological context discussed by the authors.
# Why this matters
# Next steps The team plans to apply the same non‑invasive technique to other standing stones with uncertain origins and to carry out targeted excavations at both the Devil's Arrows site and Brimham Rocks. Those studies aim to refine the timing of transport and reveal construction methods.
# Bottom line Boroughbridge site around 4,000 years ago. The combination of a non‑invasive sampling method and mineral age fingerprints provides direct evidence of human transport, not glacial action, and points to deliberate cultural choices behind the sourcing of these massive stones.
Recent studies indicate that the Neolithic builders of the Devil's Arrows transported massive 25-tonne stones from Brimham Rocks, located 18 kilometers away, rather than using nearby glacial deposits. This geological research has resolved a persistent mystery regarding the stones' lineage. Additionally, a previously un
Learn how mineral clues traced Yorkshire’s Devil’s Arrows to a source 11 miles away and linked a missing stone to a medieval cross.
Isotopic analysis revealed the most likely source to be Brimham Rocks, not the nearby Plumpton Rocks.
Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - Scientists have long discussed whether ice-age glaciers or an enormous human effort moved giant megaliths known as Devil’s Arrow stones from Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire, England. The three surviving pillars near Boroughbridge form the tallest standing stone row in Britain. Image sou
Prehistoric builders in Britain went to extraordinary lengths to create one of the country’s most striking ancient monuments. New research shows they intentionally transported enormous stones weighing more than 25 tonnes for at least 18 kilometers (11 miles) before raising them as the famous Devil’s Arrows, Britain’s t
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