Taller than Stonehenge: the mysterious Devil’s Arrows yield their secrets in new research
The people who put up these giant stones did not choose the nearest possible source.
The Devil's Arrows, three enormous prehistoric megaliths standing up to seven meters high and weighing about 25 tonnes each, have long been shrouded in mystery. Legend has it that the stones were hurled from Howe Hill towards the town of Aldborough, but upon impact, they fell short and landed outside Boroughbridge, becoming known as the Devil's Arrows. Despite this dramatic account, recent research suggests a different explanation for the origin of these towering stones.
Geologists have long recognized the Devil's Arrows as being made of Millstone Grit, a tough sandstone found in the nearby Pennine Hills. However, the rocks beneath Boroughbridge are quite different, leading researchers to search for the true source of these impressive monuments. The obvious candidate, Plumpton Rocks, just 13 kilometers away, was ruled out as it lacks a match with the Devil's Arrows.
To identify the true origin of the stones, researchers turned to microscopic mineral grains locked inside the Devil's Arrows. By pressing tape onto inconspicuous areas of each stone and analyzing the tiny mineral grains revealed, they created a unique "fingerprint" for the stones. This fingerprint revealed that all three megaliths shared similar age patterns, pointing to a common geological source.
The oldest zircon crystals found in the Devil's Arrows dated back 377 million years, with one crystal even boasting an astonishing age of 3.7 billion years. These ancient zircon grains were traced back to Greenland, home to some of the oldest surviving rocks on Earth. When compared to potential sources in the surrounding Pennine Hills, the Devil's Arrows' fingerprint did not match.
Instead, it closely resembled the rocks found at Brimham Rocks, a striking landscape featuring huge towers, overhangs, and naturally eroded blocks that bear a resemblance to the Devil's Arrows themselves.
What sets Brimham Rocks apart is that it is farther away from Boroughbridge than any other Millstone Grit outcrop, suggesting that the people who built the Devil's Arrows selected the material from this particular landscape and went to considerable effort to move the enormous blocks 18 kilometers to their current location. This new research provides a more plausible explanation for the origin of these mysterious and towering prehistoric monuments, dispelling the long-held legend of the Devil's involvement.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
