BRONZE AGE · BARROW

Barrow

Lisburn, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 5031
Period
BRONZE AGE
Site type
BARROW
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 5031
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
J2549068250
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Barrow is a Bronze Age funerary mound located in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The monument sits on bedrock of the Mercia Mudstone Group, a geological formation of mudstone, sandstone and limestone laid down during the Rhaetian period. This underlying geology has shaped the landscape in which this prehistoric burial monument was constructed.

The barrow represents a significant Bronze Age burial tradition practised across the British Isles during the second millennium BC. Such mounds served as communal or elite burial places and remain important archaeological records of Bronze Age society, belief systems and land use. Their prominence in the landscape would have made them enduring markers of territorial identity and ancestral significance.

The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland under reference 5031, recognising its importance as a scheduled archaeological site. The barrow's survival at this location provides evidence for understanding Bronze Age settlement patterns and funerary practices specific to the Lisburn area and the wider landscape of medieval Ulster.

Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 5031. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Barrow?

Barrow is a Bronze Age funerary mound located in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 5031.

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 5031.

What other scheduled monuments are near Barrow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lime kilns (5no. associated with knocknadona quarry (3.7 km), Lisburn castle, castle gardens, lisnagarvey. castle later artillery fort (site of) & gate (4.2 km), Barrow (4.2 km).

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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 Mercia Mudstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Rhaetian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.