Isotope analysis showed that the three standing stones known as the Devil’s Arrows, near Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, were brought from Brimham Rocks, 18 kilometers (11 miles) away, rather than from the nearby Plumpton Rocks as previously thought. Regional ice-flow reconstructions revealed that the stones could not have been transported by glaciers. Researchers said Neolithic communities moved the stones, each weighing 25 tons, through planning, coordination and engineering skill.
The Devil’s Arrows are part of a wider Neolithic complex. The tallest stone is 6.85 meters (22.5 feet) high, and the alignment is thought to correspond with the southernmost summer moonrise. A geophysical survey conducted in 2025 identified two areas of magnetic disturbance that may indicate the former positions of removed stones. Possible stone sockets also suggest that the alignment once extended northward and may have been used as a waymarker along the Great North Route.
Historical records mention a fourth stone to the north-northwest of the surviving stones in the 16th century; it had fallen by the early 17th century. A record from 1687 reports that local people broke up one stone and used it to build Peg Bridge, while taking its upper section to Aldborough Manor. J.R. Walbran, meanwhile, had suggested that a reused monolith was the Battle Cross Monument, which was moved from Boroughbridge market square to Aldborough in 1852.
Anthony Clarke and his team used adhesive tape to collect samples from the three Devil’s Arrows stones, the Battle Cross Monument and Peg Bridge. Minerals such as quartz and feldspar were separated, and the remaining material was examined with an electron microscope. Isotope analysis of zircon and apatite minerals produced an age “fingerprint,” which was compared with the possible source. The results identified Brimham Rocks as the most likely source and also confirmed that the Battle Cross Monument was one of the missing Devil’s Arrows stones.
The study was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences in 2026. DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2026.0504.
Why it matters
The shift in the source from the immediate vicinity to Brimham Rocks turns the monument’s construction from a matter of simply using local materials into a larger-scale question of transport and organization. The finding that glaciers played no role in this process means the movement of the 25-ton blocks must be assessed in terms of the planning, coordination and engineering capabilities of Neolithic communities. Confirmation that the Battle Cross Monument was one of the missing stones combines historical records with scientific analysis, making it possible to trace how parts of the monument were reused in later periods. The geophysical findings also support the conclusion that the three stones standing today do not represent the entire original arrangement; the true length of the alignment, the number of stones removed and its function in connection with the Great North Route have yet to be established conclusively.