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Carrigakill is a court tomb, a type of Neolithic megalithic monument dating from the fourth millennium BC. Located in County Newry and Mourne in Northern Ireland, the monument sits on bedrock formed from a Late Silurian to Early Devonian igneous intrusion of felsic rock. This geological foundation of ancient igneous stone provides a fitting base for a structure erected some three thousand years after the rocks themselves were formed.
Court tombs are characteristic of Irish Neolithic communities and typically comprise a sunken courtyard fronting a covered burial chamber or gallery. The court would have served as a communal gathering space during funeral rites and ceremonies, whilst the chamber beyond accommodated the cremated remains of the deceased. Such monuments functioned as territorial markers and repositories of collective memory, anchoring communities to the landscape.
Carrigakill is a scheduled monument protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 8722. The site's preservation ensures that this important archaeological record remains intact for continued study and interpretation. Court tombs across the Irish landscape provide essential evidence of Neolithic settlement patterns, burial practices and social organization among Ireland's earliest farming communities.
Carrigakill. court tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8722. View the official record →
Carrigakill is a court tomb, a type of Neolithic megalithic monument dating from the fourth millennium BC. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 8722.
Carrigakill. court tomb dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Carrigakill. court tomb 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 8722.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stone faced rath - one of a pair with 051 (6.1 km), Standing stone (6.1 km), Stone faced rath - one of a pair with 051 (6.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Carrigakill. court tomb'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.
Carrigakill. court tomb stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Late Silurian To Early Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is felsic-rock.