The 25-tonne Devil’s Arrows began their journey at Brimham Rocks
Geological fingerprinting traced Yorkshire’s Devil’s Arrows megaliths to Brimham Rocks, 18 kilometres away. Three stones survive, each weighing about 25 tonnes, and their match to a distant source rather than suitable nearby rock weakens the idea that Ice Age glaciers moved them. The finding indicates that Neolithic communities deliberately selected a particular landscape while building Britain’s tallest standing-stone row.
Science··Midday
The fingerprint points to Brimham Rocks
Researchers compared the mineral composition of the Devil’s Arrows with possible sources across Yorkshire. The geological fingerprint matched the giant sandstone pillars near Boroughbridge to Brimham Rocks, 18 kilometres west. Curtin University and Dnevnik report the same central result: Neolithic communities selected a distant source even though suitable rock was available nearby. The study supports human transport of the roughly 25-tonne stones rather than the alternative that glaciers deposited them at their present site.[1], [2]
Three pillars form Britain’s tallest row
The three surviving pillars rise to nearly seven metres and form Britain’s tallest standing-stone row. The research also identifies the missing fourth stone in nearby Aldborough, where it was reshaped into a cross. The geological match therefore connects both the source landscape and a monument element that was later broken up and reused. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A.[1]
The distant source was a deliberate choice
Identifying the source does not by itself explain why the community that moved the stones chose it. Yet bypassing nearer alternatives shows that convenience alone did not determine the building material. The researchers suggest that the builders may have deliberately linked Brimham Rocks with the monument’s landscape. The precise route and transport system remain unknown; the result establishes the scale of human effort and the source choice rather than providing a complete logistical account.[1], [2]
