Find out the secret of self-rolling rocks in Ireland

Somehow, the giant rocks on the empty beaches of an archipelago of Ireland are constantly shifting and this phenomenon is a mystery to geologists.

Self-rolling rock phenomenon occurs on Irealand's Aran Islands. When people reach the beaches on the Aran Islands, they don't move. But after a while their position changed even though no one affected them, Livescience said.

A question arises: What invisible hand is capable of pushing large rocks from steep cliffs to the sea and causing them to roll deep into the islands?

Some researchers believe that tsunamis are the only natural phenomenon capable of pushing large rocks. However, a new study published in the Geological Journal of the University of Chicago in the US confirms the combination of strong storms and ocean waves that make rocks roll.

Rocks on the Aran Islands of Ireland.

Ronadh Cox, a geologist of Williams University in the US, is the author of the study. He and his students went to the Aran Islands to learn about the stone's self-rolling phenomenon. They found a stone of about 78 tons, but still pulled from a cliff about 10 meters above sea level and rolled into the island.

The team applied two methods to find the culprit. They compared the pictures of the coast on the Aran Islands today with a series of detailed maps from 1839 to determine the original location of the rock.

The results show that the rock is constantly moving away from the sea for decades with the speed of nearly 3m per decade.

In addition, the team used radioactive carbon to determine the age of tiny shells in the cracks of the rock. The chronology of the seashells helps scientists find the time when ocean waves start pushing rocks into the land. They noticed that many rocks began to move from 60 years ago.

'People are inclined to the tsunami hypothesis that moves the rocks, but we affirm that they roll by the impact of the waves' , Cox concluded.