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Lyles Hill is a Neolithic palisaded settlement and Late Bronze Age to Iron Age hilltop enclosure located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The site occupies a prominent position on bedrock composed of Palaeogene mafic lava and tuff, volcanic rocks that would have provided a naturally commanding elevation above the surrounding landscape. The Neolithic settlement was defended by substantial timber palisades, evidence of the organised labour and communal effort characteristic of early farming communities in Ireland during the fourth millennium before present.
The monument was later reoccupied during the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, when a hilltop enclosure was constructed, suggesting continued recognition of the site's strategic advantages across more than two millennia. Such dual-period occupation demonstrates the enduring appeal of well-drained, elevated locations for settlement and defence in prehistoric Ulster. The volcanic geology would have offered both practical benefits for construction and visual prominence across the surrounding terrain.
Lyles Hill is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 4288, ensuring the preservation of this significant record of prehistoric occupation and settlement patterns in north-eastern Ireland.
Lyles hill. neolithic palisaded settlement & late bronze age - iron age hilltop enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4288. View the official record →
Lyles Hill is a Neolithic palisaded settlement and Late Bronze Age to Iron Age hilltop enclosure located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4288.
Lyles hill. neolithic palisaded settlement & late bronze age - iron age hilltop enclosure dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a settlement site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Lyles hill. neolithic palisaded settlement & late bronze age - iron age hilltop 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 4288.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bivallate rath - one of rath pair (c.f. 060 (6.7 km), Rath - one of rath pair (c.f. 060 (6.8 km), Bivallate rath (7.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lyles hill. neolithic palisaded settlement & late bronze age - iron age hilltop 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.
Lyles hill. neolithic palisaded settlement & late bronze age - iron age hilltop enclosure stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.