NEOLITHIC · MEGALITHIC TOMB

Court tomb

Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 10852
Period
NEOLITHIC
Site type
MEGALITHIC TOMB
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 10852
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H1602330480
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Court Tomb at H1602 3048 is a Neolithic megalithic monument in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The site is situated on bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a geological formation of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone laid down during the Visean period, interspersed with chert, coal and conglomerate. This mixed lithology would have provided both building stone and flint for the monument's constructors and users during the Neolithic period.

Court tombs are collective burial structures built between approximately 3800 and 3000 BC, comprising a central gallery or chamber accessed through a distinctive open forecourt. The forecourt facilitated communal gatherings and ritual activity alongside interment. This example is situated in the drumlin country of Fermanagh, a landscape shaped by glaciation that characterised much of the region during the Neolithic.

The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division as a scheduled ancient monument under reference 10852, acknowledging its significance as evidence of early farming communities and their ceremonial practices. Court tombs cluster widely across Ulster and are among the earliest monumental structures constructed in Ireland, reflecting the architectural and social developments of the Neolithic population establishing themselves in this region.

Court tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 10852. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Court tomb?

Court Tomb at H1602 3048 is a Neolithic megalithic monument in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 10852.

What period does Court tomb date from?

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.

Who is responsible for protecting Court tomb?

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 10852.

What other scheduled monuments are near Court tomb?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Multiple cist cairn (1.4 km), Giant's grave. wedge tomb (1.7 km), Prehistoric enclosure (1.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Court tomb

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Court tomb'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 Court tomb

Court tomb stands on Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.