Overview
- The paper, published this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, matches the Devil’s Arrows to Brimham Rocks about 18 km (11 miles) west of Boroughbridge using mineral age fingerprints.
- Researchers used a low‑impact adhesive‑tape sampling technique to collect microscopic zircon and apatite grains and then compared their isotopic and age profiles to candidate outcrops.
- The analysis rules out glacial transport and shows the 7‑metre pillars were deliberately quarried and moved by people, implying major prehistoric planning and labour to move stones of roughly 25 tonnes each.
- Mineral matches confirm part of a missing Devil’s Arrow was reused as the medieval Battle Cross in nearby Aldborough, validating long‑standing antiquarian accounts.
- The team plans targeted excavations at the row and Brimham Rocks and will apply the non‑invasive fingerprinting method to other standing stones to refine dating, movement routes and construction methods.