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The Cairn and Enclosure near Limavady is a prehistoric burial monument consisting of a substantial stone cairn surrounded by an enclosure. Located in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, the site sits upon bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lava and tuff deposited during volcanic activity in the geological past. These dark igneous rocks would have provided the primary stone source for the monument's construction.
Cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age or earlier prehistoric periods and served as communal or elite burial monuments. The enclosure surrounding the cairn suggests ritual or ceremonial significance beyond its funerary function, possibly defining sacred space or controlling access to the burial. The monument's construction required considerable labour and organisation, reflecting the social importance of the deceased.
The site is protected as a scheduled historic monument under reference 11725 by the Historic Environment Division. Despite its antiquity, the cairn and enclosure remain a substantial landscape feature, preserving evidence of prehistoric settlement patterns and burial practices in the north-west of the island. The monument contributes to understanding Bronze Age society and the distribution of significant burial sites across the region.
Cairn & enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11725. View the official record →
The Cairn and Enclosure near Limavady is a prehistoric burial monument consisting of a substantial stone cairn surrounded by an enclosure. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11725.
Cairn & enclosure dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cairn & enclosure 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 11725.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath (1.3 km), Rath (1.6 km), Drumachose church. multiperiod church site & graveyard (c6th-post-med.) (3.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cairn & enclosure'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.
Cairn & enclosure stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.