Scheduled MonumentsNorthern IrelandOmaghGiant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn
BRONZE AGE · MEGALITHIC COMPLEX

Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn

Omagh, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 15005
Period
BRONZE AGE
Site type
MEGALITHIC COMPLEX
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 15005
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H6503075190
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Giant's Grave is a Bronze Age megalithic complex near Omagh, comprising a stone circle, linear alignment and cairn. The monument sits upon bedrock of mafic igneous rock, part of an unnamed Ordovician to Silurian intrusion that formed during the Silurian period. This geological foundation of dark, heavy stone reflects the ancient builders' choice of a naturally prominent location in the landscape.

The site represents the ritual and ceremonial practices of Bronze Age communities in Ulster, when such megalithic monuments served functions ranging from burial and astronomical observation to territorial and spiritual markers. The combination of circle, alignment and cairn suggests a complex of related structures, possibly developed over successive phases of use and reuse through the Bronze Age.

Giant's Grave is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 15005, recognising its archaeological significance as one of the region's Bronze Age megalithic sites. The monument contributes to our understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns and religious practice in the upper Strule Valley and wider County Tyrone landscape.

Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15005. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn?

Giant's Grave is a Bronze Age megalithic complex near Omagh, comprising a stone circle, linear alignment and cairn. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15005.

What period does Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn date from?

Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a megalithic complex. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn?

Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn 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 15005.

What other scheduled monuments are near Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Horned cairn. court tomb (4.4 km), Dunmisk fort. enclosure, monastic settlement, church & graveyard (site of) (5 km), Long cairns, giant's graves. court tomb (5.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn'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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn

Giant's grave. stone circle, alignment & cairn stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.