The Devil's Arrows, Boroughbridge

Many pre-historic monuments and structures can be found all over England. One intriguing structure is The Devil's Arrows or The Three Arrows that are found just outside of the town of Boroughbridge.

The biggest stone

The other two stones

Marker stone

The Arrows are three large stones placed in a row and have grooves on the top. Their placement is dated somewhere between 2000 and 2700 BC. A report from John Leland in the 1530s states there were four stones at that time, though one had been knocked down by treasure hunters hoping for valuables inside or underneath the stone. None was found. Nearby houses have boulders of the same material and one of the town's bridges also has similar stone, both of which are assumed to be the remains of the fourth stone.

This marking on the big stone is quite recent

The original source of the stones is most likely Plumpton Rocks in Knaresborough, about nine miles away. Erosion has created many similar slabs there. Moving the rocks would have been difficult but not impossible in BC times in spite of their weight being higher than 25 tons. Hundreds of men using ropes could have pulled them on a sledge along wooden tracks. The process would have taken six months. Perhaps glacial activity moved the stones nearby and they did not have to drag them so far.

Excavators in the 18th century found the stones to be worked flat at the base and packed in with topsoil, cobbles, grit, and clay. The stones are buried with about five or six feet below the ground. Above ground, they are 18, 22, and 22.5 feet tall. The tallest is taller than anything found in Stonehenge.

Nearby road, named after the ancient locals?

The popular question is what the purpose of the stones was. Theories range from Romans building them to commemorate a victory (obviously false by at least 1900 years) to the most likely, that they are aligned with the southernmost summer moonrise. Some religious purpose is often assumed by people, which leads to the story of the name.

The name "The Devil's Arrows" dates to the end of the 17th century. The story is that Satan was upset by the people of Aldborough (not far from Boroughbridge) and he threw the stones from How Hill just south of Fountains Abbey. His strength or his aim was off and he missed his target by a country mile. Legend claims that walking anti-clockwise (or counter-clockwise for American readers) around one of the stones twelve times at midnight will summon Old Scratch. We did not try this since we were there during the day.

Lucy says, "Yikes! Who'd want to do that?!?"

Other reports claim that the Devil tried to hang his grandmother from the stones. She kept twisting out of the noose. This is the mythical explanation of the grooves at the top of the stones. Others claim that the grooves are carved by men for some purpose, but there is no evidence of tool work and several stones in Plumpton Rocks have the similar groves caused by weathering.

Also, the Devil would have used awfully long ropes

We can't wait to find our next prehistoric monolithic monuments.

Avebury Stone Circle

One of our many guidebooks includes the tantalizing quote that Avebury "does as much exceed in greatness the so renowned Stonehenge as a cathedral doeth a parish church." So said John Aubrey, 17th century antiquarian. When a trip took us nearby, we couldn't resist a detour to Avebury. After perusing How to Read Prehistoric Monuments we felt ready to absorb the awesome spectacle.

Avebury is similar to Stonehenge in that it contains huge rocks arranged in specific patterns. They are both classified as "henges" because they are neolithic earth works with ditches and banks. The big stones are just gravy. What makes Avebury a cathedral of megalithic sites is that it contains multiple huge stone circles, ditches, lanes of stones, etc. It is so big that words and photos don't really do it justice.

Just a small slice of one of the stone circles

We took in some views of the circles and touched a few rocks on our way to the visitor's center.

This one looks like it came from Easter Island

Lucy was too tired to turn around

Lucy got her energy back!

Avebury was built around 5000 years ago during the stone age. It was built using only stone tools, rope, and deer antler "shovels". And lots and lots of human sweat. It must have taken thousands upon thousands of hours of labor, at a time when England was probably very lightly populated.

Not much progress from pre-historic to post-modern man

The visitor center was not fancy, but Jacob and Lucy were highly entertained by it. One display described the animals that lived in the area 5000 years ago and had little cubby holes to put your hand into. Assuming it had some sort of "feel this thing and guess what it is" purpose, I put my hand in. A wolf howled immediately and I jumped back. My hand was okay. I showed it to Jacob, who also jumped. But he loved it. Jacob decided to listen to 20 howls and put his hand in repeatedly while counting out loud. Other nervous patrons decided that they were done with the visitor center and ducked outside. This gave us plenty of time to play with all the exhibits, including the neolithic tool set.

Neolithic tools:  Deer shoulder=shovel  Deer antler=pick axe

Ready to get to work 3000 BC style

Using those simple tools, Avebury's builders moved an incredible amount of earth and stones. The whole complex is really awe-inspiring. Archeologists still aren't sure exactly how they built it or what the purpose was.

The site contains an inner circle of stones with no ditch and then a larger outer circle that includes a fair bit of the town within itself. People are free to roam through most of the area and ponder the amazing accomplishment of our forebears.

Stones inside the ditch and berm

Jacob by the inner circle

The path outside one of the circles

The henge or ditch that goes all the way around the site

Trees are few in the area

The inner circle is near the town (that's a chapel on the far right)

We also discovered other real and frivolous mysteries.

Why do people put ribbons in this tree by the stone circle?

Is ice cream allowed by the stones?

Lucy wonders how to play the game

Jacob enjoyed the peddle-powered tractor, especially when we pushed from behind!

The area also includes the recently restored Avebury Manor (which was featured in a BBC show, or so lots of signs said) and gardens, neither of which we saw.

The Manor tours started late and were of less interest to us

Spring had not reached the garden yet

We visited St. James' Church in Avebury, though that's a topic for the next post!