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# Cross Head
Cross Head is a fragmentary early Christian cross located in Dungannon, County Tyrone. The monument survives as a decorated stone head, representing one of the distinctive carved monuments that emerged across early medieval Ireland from approximately the seventh century onwards. Such crosses, whether free-standing or built into ecclesiastical structures, served both spiritual and commemorative functions within Christian communities, and their carved ornament reflects the artistic traditions of the period.
The cross head rests upon bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a sequence of Carboniferous limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone deposited during the Visean period. This local geology provided the stone resource from which the monument was carved, though early Christian sculptors often selected suitable blocks from available material rather than quarrying specifically for such work. The quality and character of the stone would have influenced the depth and precision of the carving.
The cross head is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 14767, recognising its significance as evidence of Christian practice and artistic expression in early medieval Ulster. Though now fragmentary, it represents the survival of an important category of material culture from a formative period in the region's religious and cultural development.
Cross head is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14767. View the official record →
# Cross Head Cross Head is a fragmentary early Christian cross located in Dungannon, County Tyrone. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14767.
Cross head dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a cross. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cross head 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 14767.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lismalore fort. bivallate rath (1.5 km), Carnteel church. medieval parish church & graveyard, also site of c13th battle (1.8 km), Large hilltop enclosure (2.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cross head'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.
Cross head 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.