The case of the lost stones

This monument is known as Nine Stones Close, so why are there only four stones here? Six of the original nine are accounted for: the four seen here upon a bright British dawn, a fifth serving unceremoniously as a fencepost close by, and another found lying flat in an adjacent field. As for what became of the last three (or possibly even more), that's a mystery lost to history.Nine Stones Close is one of many small stone circles found around Derbyshire, England. Like its partial disappearance, its purpose remains mysterious. We have some clues: The stones are etched with markings seen on other Bronze Age artifacts, and their placement seems to trace the setting moon to the nearby Robin Hood's Stride. But the stones' true significance to a prehistoric society—ritual, astronomical, or otherwise—may never be known.