In Ring of Stone Circles, Stan Abbott sets out to explore one part of England for the visible clues to our mysterious past from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages: stone circles and standing stones, in Cumbria—the Northern English county that boasts more of these monuments than any other. Here, the country’s tallest mountains are ringed by almost fifty circles and henges, most of them sited in the foothills or on outlying plateaux. But why were these built?

We may never have a definitive answer to this question, but by observing and comparing sites, a greater understanding emerges. Were some circles built for ritualistic purposes, or perhaps astronomical? Were they burial sites, or simply meeting places?

Join Stan Abbott as he searches for the hidden stories these great monuments guard—and might reveal if we get to know them.