BRONZE AGE · BARROW

Barrow

Magherafelt, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 12895
Period
BRONZE AGE
Site type
BARROW
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 12895
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H8994099730
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Barrow, Magherafelt is a Bronze Age funerary monument situated in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The site lies upon bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, including mafic lava and tuff deposits formed during volcanic activity in the early Tertiary period. This geological foundation of ancient lava flows contrasts sharply with the earthwork constructed above it during the Bronze Age, several millennia later.

The barrow represents a form of burial practice characteristic of Bronze Age communities across the British Isles, typically comprising an earthen mound raised over cremated or inhumed remains, often accompanied by grave goods. Such monuments frequently served as focal points for Bronze Age settlement and ritual activity, with multiple burials sometimes added over generations.

The site is recorded at grid reference H8994099730 and is protected under the Historic Environment Division's scheduling system as monument number 12895. This protection ensures the preservation of the barrow and its surrounding landscape, allowing future research to illuminate the lives and beliefs of the Bronze Age communities who constructed and used this enduring monument.

Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12895. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Barrow?

Barrow, Magherafelt is a Bronze Age funerary monument situated in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12895.

What period does Barrow date from?

Barrow dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a barrow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Barrow?

Barrow 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 12895.

What other scheduled monuments are near Barrow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Counterscarp rath (0.6 km), Rath (1.9 km), Knockcloghrim windmill. windmill (2.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Barrow

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Barrow's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Barrow

Barrow stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.