Scheduled MonumentsNorthern IrelandStrabaneGiant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle
NEO/B.A. · MEGALITHIC COMPLEX

Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle

Strabane, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 13900
Period
NEO/B.A.
Site type
MEGALITHIC COMPLEX
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 13900
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H4882094530
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Giant's Grave is a wedge tomb and stone circle forming a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic complex near Strabane in County Tyrone. The monument sits upon bedrock of mafic igneous origin, part of an unnamed Neoproterozoic intrusion that has shaped the local geology for over 600 million years. This dark, hard stone would have presented both challenge and resource to the prehistoric builders who constructed the site.

The wedge tomb represents the characteristic passage grave tradition of Neolithic Ireland, with its distinctive tapering chamber and approach. The associated stone circle extends the ritual and ceremonial function of the site into the Bronze Age, suggesting continued use and reuse across millennia. Such complexes often occupy prominent positions within their landscape, though local topography here would have been determined by the underlying igneous geology.

The site is recorded under the Historic Environment Division's monument protection system as reference 13900 and remains subject to statutory protection. The combination of tomb and circle at a single location reflects the layering of sacred and communal spaces that characterised Irish prehistoric settlement patterns, with the durable mafic bedrock providing a permanent geographical anchor for successive generations of ritual activity.

Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 13900. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle?

Giant's Grave is a wedge tomb and stone circle forming a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic complex near Strabane in County Tyrone. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 13900.

What period does Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle date from?

Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle dates from the neo/b.a. 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. wedge tomb & stone circle?

Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle 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 13900.

What other scheduled monuments are near Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Portal tomb (3.4 km), Two stone circles, cairn with cist & two alignments (4 km), Rath (4.3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle'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. wedge tomb & stone circle

Giant's grave. wedge tomb & stone circle stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Neoproterozoic, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.