Isotopic analysis revealed the most likely source of the Devil's Arrows to be Brimham Rocks, not nearby Plumpton Rocks. The Devil's Arrows is Britain's tallest standing stone alignment, but little was known about its stones' provenance. Scientists confirmed the stones came from a site 18 kilometers (11 miles) away, transported by humans rather than glacial movement, per a paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

"Sites in southern England and Scotland receive considerable attention but monuments like the Devil's Arrows have remained comparatively understudied despite their significance," said co-author Jim Leary of the University of York. "We have now proved that Neolithic communities moved several 25-ton stones across Yorkshire, transforming a familiar site into an epic quest to create a sacred landscape."

Stonehenge has been the focus of recent chemical analyses identifying stone origins. A 2019 study concluded the 42 bluestones came from western Wales, while sarsen stones hail from Marlborough Downs, 25 to 30 km north. In 2024, Anthony Clarke and team found the Altar Stone originated from Orkney, Scotland. Earlier this year, Curtin's team produced strong evidence that humans, not glaciers, transported the stones.

Now Curtin et al. have turned to the Devil's Arrows: three aligned stones near Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire. Local legend holds the Devil formed the arrangement by hurling giant stone arrows. The tallest stands 6.85 meters (22.5 feet). The stones are part of a broader Neolithic complex, believed to align with the southernmost summer moonrise.