Higher than Stonehenge: scientists learned how 25-tonne “Devil’s Arrows” crossed 11 kilometers without wheels

Three stone giants near the town of Borobridge in North Yorkshire have puzzled locals for centuries. Standing almost seven meters tall, these enigmatic monuments, nicknamed the “Devil’s Arrows,” form the tallest megalithic row in Britain, noticeably surpassing even the famous Stonehenge stones.

For decades historians debated whether these 25-tonne fragments were brought by prehistoric glaciers or if it was a titanic feat of ancient people. At last the mystery has been solved, according to york.ac.uk.

A new joint study by the University of York and Australia’s Curtin University finally put an end to this debate. Builders of the Neolithic era wrenched 18 kilometers of hilly terrain, dragging multi-ton stone giants to a sacred site.

Isotopic trail from ancient cliffs

To identify the exact source of the rock, geochemists used microscopic analysis of zircon and apatite minerals, uncovering inside the sandstone a unique geological “age imprint.” It turned out that the builders deliberately ignored local outcrops located just five kilometers from the site and set off 18 kilometers to the west—to the bizarre Brimham Rocks cliffs.

Riddle of the millennia / Photo Folklore in the Landscape

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For people of the Stone Age, it was not merely a search for building materials, but a true sacred quest where every meter of the path and the mystic power of the rock from which the monoliths were carved mattered.

The vanished monolith lay in full view

Historical sources indicate that once there were at least four, or even five stone fingers in the row, but in the 17th century one of the arrows was toppled. According to legend, its fragments were used to build a bridge, and the top was moved to the neighboring village of Oldborough.

In the 19th century, local antiquarians conjectured that another fragment of the Neolithic column went to the creation of a 5,5-meter Battle cross, erected in honor of the bloody Battle of Borobridge in 1322. Modern isotopic scanning confirmed this bold hypothesis: the ancient Christian monument, which locals walk past daily, was actually carved from the summit of the vanished prehistoric “Devil’s Arrow.”

Gateway to the Sacred Valley

A stone row measuring 174 meters extends toward an ancient ford across the River Yore. Archaeologists are convinced that this complex served as a monumental southern gateway to a vast ceremonial area between the Swayle and Yore rivers, where seven late Neolithic henges are concentrated.

Old folklore attributed the stones’ appearance to an evil force that allegedly hurled colossal arrows from a hill to destroy the town, but missed. Today science has proven that the real story of these megaliths is far grander than any legend, for it is backed by superhuman persistence and the craftsmanship of Britain's ancient peoples.