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The three surviving stones of the Devil’s Arrows, near Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, came from Brimham Rocks rather than the nearer Plumpton Rocks, according to a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A on 9 September 2026. The stones are approximately 7 metres tall, weigh about 25 tonnes each and were moved at least 18 kilometres from their source landscape.
Mineral age fingerprints support the provenance match and regional ice-flow evidence rules out glaciers as the explanation. The result points to deliberate prehistoric extraction and transport, although the route, workforce and hauling technology remain unknown.
What are the Devil’s Arrows?
The Devil’s Arrows are a surviving prehistoric stone alignment near Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire. Three standing stones remain. Each is approximately 7 metres high and weighs about 25 tonnes, making the row Britain’s tallest surviving standing-stone alignment, according to the 2026 study by Anthony Clarke, Jim Leary and Chris Kirkland.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe stones are believed to have been erected during the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, possibly around 2000 BC. That is an archaeological estimate rather than a newly measured construction date, so it should not be read as a precise year.
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Where did the stones come from?
The new provenance result identifies distinctive Millstone Grit outcrops at Brimham Rocks, about 18 kilometres west of the monument. A closer source at Plumpton Rocks had previously been proposed, but the geological evidence now favors Brimham.
Brimham Rocks is a geomorphologically distinctive upland landscape. The study argues that the builders selected stone from that particular environment instead of taking blocks opportunistically from the nearest suitable exposure.
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How scientists identified the source
Mineral “age fingerprints”
The team used detrital zircon–apatite U–Pb dating. Zircon and apatite grains retain age information from the rocks in which they formed. By comparing the age patterns in grains from the Devil’s Arrows with grains from candidate outcrops, researchers could test which source had the matching geological signature.
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Researchers lifted tiny mineral grains with a low-impact adhesive-tape technique. This avoided removing conspicuous pieces from the monument stones while providing material for laboratory analysis.
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Independent geological and landscape clues
The provenance case also incorporates similarities in surface weathering and possible links between cup-and-ring rock art on the monument stones and features in the Brimham source landscape. These observations complement the mineral fingerprints rather than replacing them.
Why Brimham Rocks is stronger than the Plumpton hypothesis
| Evidence axis | Brimham Rocks | Plumpton Rocks |
|---|---|---|
| Geological fingerprint | Detrital zircon–apatite age patterns match the Devil’s Arrows stones. | Previously proposed because it is nearer; the new provenance result does not support it as the source. |
| Distance from the monument | Approximately 18 kilometres west of the alignment. | Closer than Brimham Rocks, but proximity alone is not a geological match. |
| Compatibility with glacial history | Regional ice-flow reconstructions exclude glacial transport from Brimham, supporting intentional human movement. | The current study does not establish Plumpton as an alternative transported source. |
| Evidence of deliberate selection | Distinctive outcrops, weathering similarities and possible rock-art connections point to a chosen landscape. | No equivalent combination of evidence is reported in the study. |
| Exact extraction and hauling details | Not established: the study does not identify a specific excavated quarry face, route, sled design or lifting system. | Not established. |
The key change is therefore not simply a longer travel distance. It is that the stones appear to have been selected from a particular landscape whose geological and cultural characteristics mattered to the builders.
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How far and how difficult was the prehistoric move?
The source-to-monument separation is at least 18 kilometres, and each stone weighs about 25 tonnes. Moving three blocks of that size across prehistoric terrain would have required planning, coordinated labor and some form of engineered support, but the surviving evidence does not reveal exactly how it was done.
The study does not provide a complete reconstruction of the route, sledges, rollers, workforce size or lifting arrangement. It is therefore not possible to claim that the stones were dragged by a particular method or along a specific ancient track.
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What the finding says about prehistoric landscape choices
Lead author Anthony Clarke said the stones “weren’t simply taken from the nearest available source” but were “deliberately chosen from a challenging landscape 18 kilometres away.” He also noted that moving blocks weighing more than 25 tonnes would have demanded “incredible planning, coordination and engineering skill.”
Clarke interpreted the choice as evidence that the source landscape itself likely held meaning for the people who built the monument. Co-author Jim Leary likewise said the results show ancient communities making “deliberate and meaningful choices about where their stones came from.”
That interpretation is stronger than a simple claim that Neolithic builders possessed enough labor to move heavy objects. Provenance links the monument to a named upland setting and suggests that engineering effort, material selection and place-based meaning were connected.
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What remains unknown
- The precise date of extraction and erection; around 2000 BC is only a possible estimate within the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age.
- The exact point or quarry face at Brimham Rocks from which each stone was taken.
- The complete transport route and whether the journey followed valleys, ridgelines or other terrain.
- The hauling technology, including any sledges, rollers, ropes, timber tracks or lifting frames.
- The number of people involved and the length of time required.
- Whether cup-and-ring rock-art connections represent a direct cultural link or a broader similarity between landscapes.
Why the study matters
Standing stones are often discussed as if builders used whatever rock was easiest to obtain. The Devil’s Arrows evidence challenges that assumption. A source more than a day’s logistical challenge away was selected despite a nearer candidate, and regional glacial history makes natural delivery an inadequate explanation.
The study, published by the Royal Society journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A on 9 September 2026, gives the monument a specific geological origin while preserving uncertainty about the human operation that moved the stones. Its DOI is 10.1098/rspa.2026.0504.
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