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Market Cross Wedge Tomb is a Neolithic or Bronze Age megalithic monument situated in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 14972. Wedge tombs represent a distinctive class of megalithic burial structures that developed during the later prehistoric period, typically comprising a stone burial chamber and associated stonework aligned along an axis running from south-west to north-east.
The site rests upon bedrock composed of felsic igneous material, part of an unnamed igneous intrusion of Ordovician to Silurian age. This hard, acidic geology would have presented considerable challenges to the tomb's builders, who nevertheless selected this location for their mortuary structure. The underlying stone may have provided serviceable material for construction, though the builders' choice of position likely also reflected its prominence within the local landscape and its relationship to other contemporary sites.
The monument survives in Omagh's townscape, where its presence demonstrates the deep continuity of human settlement in this part of west Ulster. Wedge tombs are distributed widely across Ireland and northern Britain, with their survival and recognition dependent upon the preservation of key structural elements. This example contributes to understanding prehistoric burial practice and megalithic construction in the north-western province.
Market cross. wedge tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14972. View the official record →
Market Cross Wedge Tomb is a Neolithic or Bronze Age megalithic monument situated in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14972.
Market cross. wedge tomb dates from the neo/b.a. period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Market cross. wedge 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 14972.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bivallate rath (3.7 km), Cloghfin. portal tomb (5.7 km), Termon rock, tearmann comain, termon-conyn, termon cumainig. church, 2 graveyards, 5 wells & cross-carved stone (6.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Market cross. wedge 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.
Market cross. wedge tomb stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.