I have just got a bee in my bonnet about how Shap is/was one of the most extensive and important monuments in the country and we now know so little about it.[/quote]

Hi Claire
I share your frustrations, I have been fascinated and frustrated by the Shap monuments for a good few years now.
Tom Clare surveyed the area in 1978 and then revisited the site for his excellent 2007 book. Sadly his work leaves more questions than answers and he states that 'without survey and or excavation it is now impossible to determine the original arrangements of the stones.'

The mighty Stubob and myself have visited the site and tried to get to grips with what is there, you can find our observations in a blog I posted in 2004. http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/29979/weblog/
I've been back on a number of occasions and always come away completely baffled by the place.

The local history society may be a start but they don't seem to do a lot of work on the prehistory of the area, contacting Mr Clare may be useful or having a chat with the archaeologists up in Penrith.
It's a shame the local heritage initiative scheme has finished, to me a site like Shap is crying out for something a little more than a decent coat of looking at. Sadly, under the current regime I doubt anyone is going to throw any time and money at this wonderful site unless we could somehow transport it down to Wiltshire.
Best of luck
f.