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Big Collin is a Bronze Age round cairn located near Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument sits on bedrock comprising Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lava and tuff formed during volcanic activity in the early Tertiary period. This geological foundation of ancient volcanic material lies beneath the cairn's stone construction, creating a landscape shaped by two distinct periods of geological time.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments for individuals of status within their communities. The cairn would originally have comprised a substantial mound of stones, often covering a central burial chamber or cist. Big Collin's position on volcanic bedrock is characteristic of many Northern Irish Bronze Age monuments, which were frequently constructed on high ground offering commanding views across the surrounding countryside.
The site is now protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities, ensuring its preservation for future study and public understanding. Its survival near Ballymena contributes to the archaeological record of Bronze Age burial practice in the northeastern counties of Ireland, where such cairns remain important evidence of prehistoric communities and their relationship with the landscape.
Big collin. round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 3025. View the official record →
Big Collin is a Bronze Age round cairn located near Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 3025.
Big collin. round cairn dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Big collin. round cairn 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 3025.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Mound - ?barrow (7.1 km), Donegore hill. neolithic hilltop causewayed enclosure & occupation site (7.7 km), Motte (7.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Big collin. round cairn'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.
Big collin. round cairn stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.