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Giant's Grave is a megalithic tomb located in Lisburn, County Antrim. The monument stands upon bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, comprising mafic lava and tuff formed during the Palaeogene period. This volcanic geology underlies much of the local landscape and would have been part of the familiar terrain when the tomb was constructed during the Neolithic period, several millennia after the bedrock itself had cooled and solidified.
The site takes its name from local folklore tradition, common throughout Ireland and Britain, which attributed such substantial stone monuments to giants or other supernatural beings. Giant's Grave represents one of many megalithic tombs constructed across Northern Ireland during the prehistoric period, serving as communal burial places for early farming communities. These monuments required considerable labour and organisation to erect, indicating significant social investment in ritual and commemoration of the dead.
The tomb is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 4553, recognising its importance to the archaeological and cultural heritage of Lisburn. The site contributes to our understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns and religious practices in the region, forming part of the broader landscape of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments that characterise County Antrim.
Giant's grave. megalithic tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4553. View the official record →
Giant's Grave is a megalithic tomb located in Lisburn, County Antrim. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4553.
Giant's grave. megalithic tomb dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Giant's grave. megalithic 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 4553.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Counterscarp rath (1.8 km), Bivallate rath (1.9 km), Barrow (4.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Giant's grave. megalithic 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.
Giant's grave. megalithic tomb stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.