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Cookstown Megalithic Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic tomb situated in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, near Cookstown. The monument represents one of the most enduring burial traditions of Ireland's earliest farming communities, constructed during the Neolithic period when such monumental structures served both practical and ceremonial functions. Built above bedrock composed of Ordovician extrusive rocks—mafic lava and tuff formed over 450 million years ago—the tomb's location reflects the enduring geology of the Ulster landscape.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 14466, recognising its archaeological and cultural significance. Like other megalithic tombs of its type, it would have been built using substantial stone slabs to create a chamber for collective burial, with earth or stone mounded over the structure. Such tombs typically served multiple generations of a community, holding the remains of the dead alongside grave goods and offerings.
The specific character of this monument is shaped by its setting on ancient volcanic bedrock, part of the geological foundation underlying much of north-central Ulster. Though megalithic tombs survive across Ireland in varying states of preservation, each reflects the particular landscape and resources available to its builders, making this Cookstown example significant to understanding Neolithic settlement patterns and practices in this region.
Megalithic tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14466. View the official record →
Cookstown Megalithic Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic tomb situated in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, near Cookstown. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14466.
Megalithic 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.
Megalithic 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 14466.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles (2.2 km), Burnt mound / fulacht fiadh (2.8 km), Ogham stone (3.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Megalithic 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.
Megalithic tomb stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.