Scientists have solved the mystery of three 4,000-year-old giant stones, known as ‘Devil’s Arrows’, in Yorkshire, UK.

Each stone weighs more than 25 tons and is up to 23 feet high.

According to experts, they were somehow moved at least 11 miles away by builders in prehistoric times and installed near Borough Bridge.

For years, researchers could not determine where these giant stones were originally brought from and whether they were moved by humans or brought near by glaciers.

New research has confirmed that these stones belong to the Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire.

The researchers carried out isotopic analysis of very small mineral particles extracted from the rocks and compared them to nearby rock formations.

The results showed that the ‘Devil Arrows’ were brought from Brimham Rocks, about 18 kilometers away, although suitable stones were available even closer.

This discovery proves that prehistoric people deliberately moved these heavy stones from different parts of Yorkshire.

Each stone weighs more than 25 tonnes, so moving them will require extraordinary planning, collaboration and engineering skills, according to study author Dr Anthony Clark.

However, experts still cannot figure out how these giant stones were moved thousands of years ago.

Known as the ‘Devil Arrows’, these stones are thought to have been erected during the late Neolithic (New Stone Age) or early Bronze Age, possibly around 2000 BC. The remaining 3 stones form the tallest row of prehistoric standing stones in Britain.

During the research, scientists also solved another mystery, according to historical records, there was once at least a fourth stone, which disappeared several centuries ago.

Mineralogy has now confirmed that part of the missing stone was re-used in the construction of a medieval battle cross in nearby Aldborough.