© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
A.p. site – large enclosure is an uncertain prehistoric settlement located near Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The site comprises a substantial earthwork enclosure whose precise chronological placement remains undetermined, though its scale suggests occupation during the Bronze Age or Iron Age. The monument lies upon bedrock comprising the Hibernian Greensands Formation and Ulster White Limestone Formation, Late Cretaceous deposits of chalk and sandstone that would have provided both building stone and flint for prehistoric communities exploiting this coastal landscape.
The enclosure's form and construction reflect the practical needs of ancient settlement and land management on the drumlins and valleys of east Antrim. The underlying geology, with its flint-bearing chalk deposits, would have made this area particularly attractive to prehistoric populations, though direct archaeological evidence for the site's date and function has not been conclusively established. The monument is protected as a site of archaeological importance by the Historic Environment Division under reference 2059, recognising its potential to contribute to understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns in the region.
A.p. site - large enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 2059. View the official record →
A.p. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 2059.
A.p. site - large enclosure dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a a.p. site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
A.p. site - large enclosure is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 2059.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including The mass rock, headless cross, headless cross, the priest's grave. cross-incised boulder - penal altar (6.8 km), Giant's grave. wedge tomb (6.8 km), C17th settlement overlying neolithic settlement & bronze age round cairn (7.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of A.p. site - large enclosure's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
A.p. site - large enclosure stands on Hibernian Greensands Formation And Ulster White Limestone Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Cretaceous. The rock here is chalk and sandstone.