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Cashel is an early Christian cashel situated near Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference HED 7477. A cashel is a substantial stone-built enclosure, typically circular or oval in plan, constructed during the early medieval period as a defended homestead or monastic settlement. The underlying bedrock at this location comprises wacke of the Gala Group, formed during the Telychian period of the Ordovician, providing a foundation of hard sedimentary stone characteristic of the local geology.
Early Christian cashels served multiple functions across Irish and British monastic landscapes, functioning both as secular strongholds and as centres of religious activity. Their stone walls provided substantial protection and established clear territorial boundaries. The construction technique—drystone walling or mortared masonry—reflected the builder's status and the site's importance within the local community.
This cashel represents an important element of Lisburn's early medieval archaeological heritage, contributing to our understanding of settlement patterns, defensive architecture, and the role of early Christian communities in shaping the landscape of Ulster during the early medieval period.
Cashel is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7477. View the official record →
Cashel is an early Christian cashel situated near Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7477.
Cashel dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a cashel. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cashel 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 7477.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cup-marked stone (1.8 km), Rath (2.2 km), Dunbeg hill fort. fortification (3.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cashel'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.
Cashel stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.