Overview
- Researchers led by Curtin University and the University of York published their findings in early September 2026 in Proceedings of the Royal Society A linking the Devil's Arrows to Brimham Rocks about 18 km west of their current site.
- The team used a low‑impact adhesive‑tape method to collect microscopic zircon and apatite grains and matched their age 'fingerprints' to Brimham Rocks to establish a geological source.
- High‑resolution mineral profiles rule out glacial transport and support deliberate Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age human movement and erection of the roughly 25‑tonne, nearly 7‑metre pillars.
- Mineral fingerprinting also confirmed a long‑held antiquarian claim that a missing Arrow was reused as the medieval Battle Cross at Aldborough, linking prehistoric reuse to later local history.
- Researchers plan to apply the non‑invasive sourcing method to other standing stones and carry out targeted excavations to narrow dates and recover evidence of how the stones were moved, with National Trust and Historic England noting the findings will inform site research and conservation.