Prehistoric builders dragged 25-tonne stones 18 kilometres to raise the Devil’s Arrows

New research has traced the origin of Britain’s tallest surviving prehistoric stone row to a source far more distant than anyone expected. The towering monoliths known as the Devil’s Arrows, which stand near Boroughbridge in northern England, were carved from stone hauled at least 18 kilometres from their resting place, according to a study that used a new low-impact sampling method to identify exactly where the rock came from.

The stones, some weighing more than 25 tonnes and standing up to seven metres tall, form a rare lowland stone alignment whose origins had remained a mystery until the new analysis pinned them to a specific outcrop in North Yorkshire.

Britain’s Tallest Prehistoric Stone Row

The Devil’s Arrows are believed to have been transported and erected during the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, possibly around 2000 B.C., making them contemporaries of other major stone monuments built across Britain during that period. Unlike upland monuments such as stone circles set into hillsides, the Arrows stand in open lowland terrain, which made the question of where their builders sourced such enormous blocks especially puzzling.

The study, led by Curtin University in collaboration with the University of York, is the first to pin down the geological source of the stones with confidence, according to a Curtin University release on the findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

Tracing the Stones Back to Brimham Rocks

Lead author Dr Anthony Clarke, from Curtin’s Timescales of Mineral Systems Group within the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the findings overturn a long-standing assumption about where the Arrows’ builders got their material. Plumpton Rocks, a formation closer to the monument, had previously been proposed as the likely source. The new analysis instead points to Brimham Rocks, a rugged gritstone outcrop roughly 18 kilometres away.

“Our research shows these stones weren’t simply taken from the nearest available source – they were deliberately chosen from a challenging landscape 18 kilometres away,” Clarke said. “Plumpton Rocks, which is closer to the Devil’s Arrows, had previously been identified as the probable source of the stones. Our findings instead point to Brimham Rocks, showing that prehistoric builders transported these enormous stones significantly further than thought.”

Tape, Not Chisels: A Low-Impact Sampling Method

Pinpointing the source required a technique that would not damage the monument itself. The research team used a new low-impact sampling method involving adhesive tape to lift tiny mineral grains directly off the surface of the standing stones, avoiding the kind of invasive coring or chipping that has limited past studies of protected monuments. By analysing the age “fingerprints” locked into those grains, the researchers were able to match the Devil’s Arrows stones to the specific mineral signature of Brimham Rocks.

Ruling Out Glaciers, Confirming Human Hands

The same analysis also closed off an alternative explanation for how the stones ended up at their present location. The results ruled out natural processes such as glacial movement, according to the Curtin release, demonstrating that the stones were intentionally transported by people rather than carried into position by ice sheets during a past glaciation. That distinction matters for how archaeologists interpret the monument: it confirms the 18-kilometre journey was a deliberate act of engineering and logistics rather than a geological accident that Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age builders simply took advantage of.

Why Distance Mattered to the Builders

Moving stones weighing upward of 25 tonnes across such a distance, without wheeled vehicles or draft animals suited to the task, would have demanded significant planning and coordinated labour. Clarke said that effort points to something beyond practicality. “This tells us prehistoric people placed real importance on the landscape itself,” he said. “It wasn’t just about convenience – the location the stones came from likely held meaning for them.”

Co-author Dr Jim Leary of the University of York said the findings reshape how researchers understand prehistoric monument-building more broadly. “These results show that ancient communities were making deliberate and meaningful choices about where their stones came from,” Leary said. “It highlights the importance of landscape and shared belief systems, as well as the remarkable effort involved in transporting and raising stones of this size.”

What Brimham Rocks’ Own Deep History Adds

Brimham Rocks’ distinctive shapes are themselves the product of a much longer geological story. According to the National Trust’s history of the site, the formation is built largely from millstone grit laid down more than 300 million years ago, when rivers deposited sand and pebbles containing quartz and feldspar across what was then a tropical delta near the equator. Later tectonic pressure from the formation of the Alps fractured the rock, and an Ice Age glacier that carved out the nearby Nidderdale Valley left the harder gritstone outcrops exposed to the elements, weathering them into the jagged forms visible today.

The research team said it now plans to apply the same non-invasive sampling method to other standing stones whose origins remain unknown, along with targeted excavations at both the Devil’s Arrows and the newly identified quarry site at Brimham Rocks. Justin Scully, National Trust general manager for Fountains Abbey, Studley Royal and Brimham Rocks, said the study had revealed a direct link between two Yorkshire landscapes that had not previously been connected, adding a new chapter to a monument already deeply valued by nearby communities.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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