BRONZE AGE · BARROW

Barrow

Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 3681
Period
BRONZE AGE
Site type
BARROW
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 3681
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
J2851086660
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Barrow, Newtownabbey is a Bronze Age burial monument situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The site lies upon bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, specifically mafic lava and tuff deposits laid down during volcanic activity in the Paleogene period. This geological foundation provided a stable base for the monument's construction during the Bronze Age, roughly 4,500 to 2,500 years ago.

The barrow represents a characteristic funerary practice of Bronze Age communities in Ireland, when the dead were typically interred beneath earthen or stone mounds. Such monuments served both as burial places and as prominent landscape markers signifying the territorial identity and status of the deceased and their family groups.

The site is recorded under Historic Environment Division reference 3681 and benefits from statutory protection, reflecting its significance as evidence of early Bronze Age settlement patterns and ritual practices in the Newtownabbey area. The barrow contributes to the archaeological record of the north-eastern Irish coast during a formative period of Irish prehistory.

Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 3681. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Barrow?

Barrow, Newtownabbey is a Bronze Age burial monument situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 3681.

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 3681.

What other scheduled monuments are near Barrow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath (6.7 km), Court tomb (7.3 km), Berginniss mount, barginnis mount. motte (7.7 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.