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Devil's Arrows Mystery Solved: Stones Came 18km From Brimham
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
Isotopic fingerprinting shows Yorkshire's Devil's Arrows monoliths were hauled 18km from Brimham Rocks, not Plumpton Rocks as signs claim.
A Neolithic epic quest, finally traced
Three giant monoliths known as the Devil's Arrows have stood in a farmer's field in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, for thousands of years, and their origin has long been marked by information signs pointing to Plumpton Rocks. BBC reports that academics in York and Australia have now used isotopic fingerprinting techniques to determine the stones were transported instead from Brimham Rocks, a National Trust attraction, 18km (11 miles) away. According to the BBC, Dr Jim Leary of the University of York said researchers 'have now proved Neolithic communities moved several 25-tonne stones'.
Why the finding overturns the signs
The surprise is that a familiar heritage interpretation has been quietly wrong: the onsite information signs stated the columns came from Plumpton Rocks, now a pleasure garden, yet the new analysis points to a different quarry source altogether. BBC reports that the determination was made by academics working in York and Australia, whose isotopic fingerprinting replaced guesswork with geochemical evidence. Rather than a modest local errand, moving several 25-tonne monoliths 18km across Yorkshire now reads as what Dr Leary described, per the BBC, as 'an epic quest to create a sacred landscape'.
What the stones tell us about Stone Age society
The evidence rests on isotopic fingerprinting, a technique that matches chemical signatures in the stone to known rock sources, allowing researchers to distinguish Brimham Rocks from Plumpton Rocks with confidence. BBC reports the work was carried out by academics at the University of York together with partners in Australia.
What comes next for Boroughbridge
The wider stakes are archaeological — the result, per BBC coverage, demonstrates that isotopic fingerprinting can settle long-running questions about prehistoric monument logistics. For now, the three Devil's Arrows remain standing in the farmer's field where they have stood for thousands of years, their true journey finally documented.