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Coleraine Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic tomb constructed from grey stone. It belongs to the portal tomb tradition, a form of megalithic monument built during the Neolithic period, typically comprising a burial chamber accessed through a distinctive entrance formed by two upright portal stones. These structures served as communal burial places for local populations during the fourth and third millennia before the Common Era.
The monument stands on bedrock formed from Palaeogene extrusive rocks, comprising mafic lava and mafic tuff that emerged as volcanic activity in the region during the Palaeogene period. This ancient volcanic geology underlies much of the landscape around Coleraine and would have shaped the availability of building stone and the character of the surrounding terrain known to Neolithic communities.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 11782, ensuring its preservation and archaeological significance. Portal tombs represent important evidence of Neolithic settlement patterns, ritual practices and social organisation in Ireland. Their distribution across the landscape, including examples in the Coleraine area, reflects the movements and territorial claims of prehistoric communities and their monumental investment in burial places that endured for millennia.
Grey stone. portal tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11782. View the official record →
Coleraine Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic tomb constructed from grey stone. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11782.
Grey stone. 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.
Grey stone. 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 11782.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Barrow (3.1 km), Sweat house (4.1 km), Rath (4.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Grey stone. 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.
Grey stone. portal tomb stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.