BRONZE AGE · BARROW

Barrow

Antrim, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 2758
Period
BRONZE AGE
Site type
BARROW
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 2758
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
J2231093410
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Barrow is a Bronze Age funerary mound located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument sits upon bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lava and tuff formed during volcanic activity in the Palaeogene period. This distinctive geological foundation of ancient volcanic material reflects the dramatic geological history of the region, which experienced significant igneous activity tens of millions of years before the barrow's construction during the Bronze Age, roughly 4,000 to 2,500 years ago.

The barrow represents a burial monument type characteristic of Bronze Age communities in Ireland, erected to contain and commemorate the dead whilst serving as a visible territorial marker across the landscape. Such mounds typically covered inhumation or cremation burials, often accompanied by grave goods including pottery, metalwork and tools that reflected the status and beliefs of Bronze Age society.

The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 2758, ensuring its preservation for future study and public understanding. Located at grid reference J2231093410, the barrow contributes to the archaeological record of Bronze Age settlement and ritual practice in County Antrim, part of the broader network of prehistoric monuments across the island of Ireland.

Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 2758. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Barrow?

Barrow is a Bronze Age funerary mound located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 2758.

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 2758.

What other scheduled monuments are near Barrow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Barrow (7.1 km), Mound (7.3 km), Ballymartin church, old town. pre-norman? & medieval church & graveyard, with well & souterrain (7.9 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.