Scheduled MonumentsNorthern IrelandCookstownGiant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb
NEO/B.A. · MEGALITHIC TOMB

Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb

Cookstown, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 14431
Period
NEO/B.A.
Site type
MEGALITHIC TOMB
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 14431
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H7014787081
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Giant's Grave is a wedge tomb located near Cookstown in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. This Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument belongs to the wedge tomb tradition, a distinctive type of gallery grave found across Ireland and western Britain. Wedge tombs are characterised by their tapering rectangular chambers, wider at the entrance and narrowing towards the rear, constructed from stone slabs and typically covered by a cairn of stones.

The monument sits on bedrock composed of Ordovician extrusive rocks, mafic lava and tuff that formed over 450 million years ago. This volcanic stone would have been available locally for the builders of the tomb, who selected and shaped it to construct their funerary monument. The presence of such resistant geology shaped both the landscape and the practical possibilities for monument construction in this region.

Giant's Grave is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 14431. The name reflects folk tradition associated with such impressive megalithic structures, a pattern repeated across the Irish landscape where local communities named these Bronze Age tombs after giants and legendary figures. The monument remains an important record of early funerary practices and settlement patterns in Neolithic and Bronze Age Ulster.

Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14431. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb?

Giant's Grave is a wedge tomb located near Cookstown in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14431.

What period does Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb date from?

Giant's grave, big man's grave. 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb?

Giant's grave, big man's grave. 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 14431.

What other scheduled monuments are near Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cairn (2.8 km), Cairn (2.8 km), Cairn & alignment (3.2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb

Giant's grave, big man's grave. wedge tomb stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.