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Court tomb and sweat house near Omagh is a Neolithic megalithic tomb of the type common across Ulster and the wider north of Ireland. The monument consists of two distinct structures: a court tomb, characteristic of the fourth millennium BC, and an associated sweat house. The court tomb would have served as a communal burial monument for the Neolithic farming communities occupying this landscape, whilst the sweat house represents a later ritual or domestic addition to the site.
The monument sits upon Ordovician bedrock composed of extrusive mafic rocks—ancient lavas and pyroclastic deposits formed over 440 million years ago. This rugged geology of the Sperrins area has shaped settlement patterns throughout prehistory. The volcanic character of the underlying stone differs markedly from the sandstones and shales found elsewhere in the region, and the local stone sources would have influenced the monument's construction.
The site is protected as a scheduled historical monument by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under reference 14974. Court tombs and their associated features remain among Northern Ireland's most significant Neolithic remains, providing evidence of early farming settlement, ritual practice and social organisation in the fourth and third millennia BC.
Court tomb & sweat house is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14974. View the official record →
Court tomb and sweat house near Omagh is a Neolithic megalithic tomb of the type common across Ulster and the wider north of Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14974.
Court tomb & sweat house 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 & sweat house 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 14974.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Termon rock, tearmann comain, termon-conyn, termon cumainig. church, 2 graveyards, 5 wells & cross-carved stone (3.6 km), Druids' altar. portal tomb (5.3 km), Bivallate rath (6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Court tomb & sweat house'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 & sweat house stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.