PREHISTORIC · MEGALITHIC TOMB

Megalithic tomb

Armagh, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 5585
Period
PREHISTORIC
Site type
MEGALITHIC TOMB
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 5585
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H8077937075
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Armagh Megalithic Tomb is a prehistoric stone burial monument situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It belongs to the class of megalithic tombs constructed during the Neolithic period, typically between 4000 and 2500 BCE. These monuments were built by early farming communities and served as communal burial places for their dead, often becoming focal points for ritual and ceremony across generations.

The tomb sits upon bedrock of the Leadhills Supergroup, specifically wacke deposits formed during the Ashgill period of the late Ordovician. This underlying geology shaped the local stone resources available to the monument's builders, who selected suitable megaliths from the surrounding landscape. The underlying wacke, a compact sedimentary rock, would have provided a stable foundation for the structure and may have influenced the choice of this location.

The monument is registered with the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland under reference 5585, which recognises its significance as a protected archaeological site. Megalithic tombs such as this represent some of the oldest substantial structures surviving in the Irish landscape, offering valuable evidence of Neolithic social organisation, burial practices and the relationship between early communities and their environment.

Megalithic tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 5585. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Megalithic tomb?

Armagh Megalithic Tomb is a prehistoric stone burial monument situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 5585.

What period does Megalithic tomb date from?

Megalithic tomb dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Megalithic tomb?

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 5585.

What other scheduled monuments are near Megalithic tomb?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath, reused as tree ring & lime kiln (1.3 km), Rath (1.6 km), The doonan. mound (1.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Megalithic tomb

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:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Megalithic tomb

Megalithic tomb stands on Leadhills Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is wacke.