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Giant's Grave is a portal tomb located near Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. This neolithic megalithic monument belongs to the portal tomb tradition, a distinctive class of chambered tombs that flourished during the early neolithic period across the island of Ireland. Portal tombs are characterised by their impressive entrance formed by two large upright stones supporting a massive capstone, creating a portal-like opening that leads to an internal burial chamber. The monument is protected as a scheduled historic monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 14529.
The site sits upon bedrock of the Argyll Group, ancient metamorphic strata formed during the Neoproterozoic era, comprising marble and meta-limestone that would have been exposed in the local landscape when the tomb was constructed. These hard, durable stone formations provided suitable raw materials for the megalithic builders of the neolithic period, and the stone naturally occurring in the surrounding terrain influenced the monument's construction and survival.
As a portal tomb, Giant's Grave represents an important expression of early neolithic funerary practice and communal identity in northern Ireland. These monuments served as focal points for family groups and communities, their substantial construction requiring coordinated labour and demonstrating the social organisation of their builders. The survival of such monuments across millennia offers valuable insight into neolithic settlement patterns and ritual practice in the region.
Giant's grave. portal tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14529. View the official record →
Giant's Grave 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 14529.
Giant's grave. 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.
Giant's grave. 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 14529.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castlederg castle. fortified house & bawn (3.5 km), Two standing stones (3.5 km), Portal tomb (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Giant's grave. 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.
Giant's grave. portal tomb stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is marble, meta-limestone.