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Druid's Altar is a portal tomb located near Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. This Neolithic megalithic monument belongs to a class of chambered tombs that characterised early farming communities across the island of Ireland during the fourth millennium before the Common Era. Portal tombs are characterised by their distinctive entrance structure, formed by two tall uprights supporting a lintel stone, which frames access to the burial chamber within.
The monument sits upon quartzite bedrock of the Argyll Group, formed during the Neoproterozoic period and now exposed across the surrounding landscape. This hard, crystalline stone would have presented a challenging environment for Neolithic people constructing their tomb, yet the same quartzite outcrops would have provided suitable materials for tools and structural elements. The site's commanding position reflects the careful location choices made by prehistoric communities when establishing these communal burial places.
Druid's Altar is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 13916. The site remains a significant example of Neolithic funerary architecture in the north of Ireland, preserving evidence of ritual practices and social organisation among some of Europe's earliest farming populations. Its survival contributes to our understanding of prehistoric settlement and religious belief across the island.
Druid's altar. portal tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 13916. View the official record →
Druid's Altar is a portal tomb located near Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 13916.
Druid's altar. portal 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.
Druid's altar. portal 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 13916.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Aghnahoo fort. hillfort & ?cashel (0.6 km), Giant's grave. court tomb (2.6 km), Double stone alignment (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Druid's altar. portal 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.
Druid's altar. portal tomb stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is quartzite.