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Enclosure at Magherafelt is an uncertain enclosure located in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The site lies on bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, a volcanic formation of mafic lava and tuff laid down during the Palaeogene period. This geological foundation of dark igneous stone would have presented particular challenges and opportunities to prehistoric and early historic communities working the land.
The enclosure's precise date and function remain undetermined, though its morphology suggests origins in the Iron Age or early medieval period. The uncertain classification reflects the site's condition or the incomplete evidence available for its interpretation. Such enclosures typically served defensive, ritual or stock-management purposes in their time.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland under reference 12889, recognising its archaeological significance. The monument contributes to understanding of settlement and land-use patterns in the Magherafelt area, where volcanic bedrock geology would have influenced both the location and character of human activity across successive periods.
Enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12889. View the official record →
Enclosure at Magherafelt is an uncertain enclosure located in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12889.
Enclosure dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a enclosure. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Enclosure 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 12889.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Crannog (0.1 km), Rath (3 km), Barrow (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Enclosure'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.
Enclosure stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.