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Court Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic tomb located in Newry and Mourne, Northern Ireland. The monument sits on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a sedimentary formation of wacke dating from the Wenlock period. This durable sandstone base would have provided a firm foundation for the structure when it was built during the Neolithic period, roughly five to six thousand years ago.
Court tombs are passage graves characteristic of the Irish Neolithic, typically constructed with large orthostatic stones to form burial chambers and entrance courts. These communal burial monuments served as focal points for early farming communities across Ulster and Connacht. The Hawick Group bedrock at this location, formed from ancient marine sediments, would have weathered to expose suitable stone for construction, making this a practical site for monument builders.
The monument is recorded in the Historic Environment Division's archaeological records under reference 9064 and remains protected as a significant archaeological asset. The survival of this Neolithic structure reflects both the durability of megalithic construction and the preservation afforded by its remote location within the Newry and Mourne landscape, where it continues to stand as evidence of early farming settlement in Northern Ireland.
Court tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 9064. View the official record →
Court Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic tomb located in Newry and Mourne, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 9064.
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.
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 9064.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tamlaght. rath, reused as church site & graveyard (2 km), Motte (3.7 km), Church (3.8 km).
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:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Court tomb stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.