© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Down D-shaped enclosure is a possibly cemetery, an uncertain enclosure located in Northern Ireland at grid reference J3421036730. The monument lies upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of wacke stone laid down during the Wenlock epoch of the Silurian period. The D-shaped plan is characteristic of certain early medieval Irish enclosures, though the specific function of this example remains unconfirmed by excavation or detailed survey.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 8449, recognising its potential archaeological significance. D-shaped enclosures of this type, when documented elsewhere in the Irish landscape, have variously served as burial grounds, ritual spaces, or domestic sites. Without definitive archaeological evidence from this location, the true purpose and date of the Down enclosure cannot be stated with certainty.
The underlying geology of Hawick wacke would have presented both opportunities and constraints to those who constructed this earthwork. The hard, indurated sandstone bedrock common to this formation across parts of northern Britain and Ireland influences how ancient structures weather and survive into the modern landscape, often preserving enclosure banks and ditches in distinctive ways.
D-shaped enclosure - possibly cemetery is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8449. View the official record →
Down D-shaped enclosure is a possibly cemetery, an uncertain enclosure located in Northern Ireland at grid reference J3421036730.
D-shaped enclosure - possibly cemetery dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a enclosure. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
D-shaped enclosure - possibly cemetery 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 8449.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cashel & souterrain (3.4 km), Cashel (3.6 km), Cashel (4.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of D-shaped enclosure - possibly cemetery'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.
D-shaped enclosure - possibly cemetery stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.