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Large Enclosure at J164902 is a uncertain enclosure situated in the Newry and Mourne district of Northern Ireland. The monument occupies ground underlain by Hawick Group wacke of Wenlock age, bedrock typical of the Southern Uplands geological formation that dominates this region. This substantial earthwork comprises an enclosed area defined by banks and ditches, though its precise chronological attribution remains undetermined.
Uncertain enclosures of this type may originate anywhere from the later prehistoric period through the medieval centuries, reflecting the long continuity of enclosed land use in the Irish landscape. The monument's condition and morphology suggest it once served as a bounded territory, possibly for habitation, stock management, or ceremonial purposes. Such enclosures frequently occupy elevated or strategically positioned terrain in upland areas.
The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under monument reference 8840, securing its preservation as a significant archaeological asset. The enclosure contributes to the wider record of territorial organisation within the Newry and Mourne uplands, where comparable earthworks indicate intensive occupation and land division in antiquity and the medieval period.
Large enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8840. View the official record →
Large Enclosure at J164902 is a uncertain enclosure situated in the Newry and Mourne district of Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 8840.
Large enclosure dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a enclosure. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Large enclosure 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 8840.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Large hilltop enclosure (4 km), Stone faced rath - one of a pair with 051 (5.4 km), Mound - possibly barrow (5.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Large enclosure'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.
Large enclosure stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.