Ancient builders moved massive stones 18km to build landmark
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Researchers traced the origin of the Devil's Arrows, Britain’s tallest prehistoric stone row near Boroughbridge in northern England, to Brimham Rocks, a rugged area 18 kilometers away.
For years, the source of the stones, which stand up to seven meters tall, remained unknown despite their prominence. A team led by Curtin University used a new sampling method, collecting tiny mineral grains with adhesive tape, to analyze the stones’ composition and match them to Brimham Rocks, proving people deliberately transported them.
Previous theories suggested the stones came from Plumpton Rocks, a closer location, but the new analysis disproves this. Each stone weighs over 25 tonnes, meaning the builders required significant planning and engineering skills to move them. The research indicates that the ancient people who built the monument, likely around 2000 B.C. chose the stones not for convenience, but because the source location itself held cultural or symbolic importance.
The discovery reshapes understanding of prehistoric monument construction, demonstrating that ancient communities intentionally selected materials based on meaning and belief systems. Researchers plan to use the same noninvasive sampling technique on other standing stones with unknown origins and to excavate both the Devil’s Arrows site and Brimham Rocks to learn more about the construction process and timing. The National Trust, which manages Brimham Rocks, celebrated the findings as a new link between two important Yorkshire landscapes.
