The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy

Ronald Hutton surveys religious beliefs and practices in the British Isles from the Old Stone Age to the coming of Christianity. The book considers what archaeology and historical evidence can reveal about ritual, belief and sacred activity before conversion, while recognising the limits of surviving evidence.

Alongside ancient religion, Hutton examines its later cultural legacy, including the ways pre-Christian traditions have been interpreted and reworked by modern Pagan movements. The study brings together Britain’s prehistoric, Roman and early medieval pasts, offering a critical account of claims surrounding continuity between ancient religion and contemporary Paganism.