© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Dermot & Gráinia's Bed is a wedge tomb, a type of megalithic burial monument dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Located near Cookstown in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the site takes its name from figures in Irish legend, a naming convention common to many ancient monuments in the region. The tomb sits upon bedrock formed from psammite of the Moine Supergroup, metamorphic rock laid down during the Neoproterozoic era over 600 million years ago. This ancient geology provided the foundation for the monument's construction in the prehistoric period.
Wedge tombs are among the latest megalithic gallery graves to be built in Ireland and Britain, typically containing stone-built chambers designed for communal burial. Constructed from locally available stone, these tombs reflect both practical adaptation to their landscape and ceremonial significance within Neolithic and Bronze Age communities. The distinctive wedge shape, narrowing from a wider front to a narrower rear, characterises this particular tomb type across the Irish island.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities, Northern Ireland, under reference number 14686. This designation recognises its archaeological importance as a key survival of prehistoric funerary practice in the region, preserving evidence of early farming communities and their ritual beliefs.
Dermot & grania's bed. wedge tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14686. View the official record →
Dermot & Gráinia's Bed is a wedge tomb, a type of megalithic burial monument dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14686.
Dermot & grania's bed. wedge tomb dates from the neo/b.a. period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Dermot & grania's bed. wedge 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 14686.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Barrow (6.1 km), Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn (6.6 km), Stone circles (2), cairns (2) & alignment (6.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dermot & grania's bed. wedge 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.
Dermot & grania's bed. wedge tomb stands on Moine Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite.