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Antrim Motte is a medieval earthwork defence work situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument comprises an artificial mound typical of Norman and Anglo-Norman fortifications constructed from the 11th century onwards across Britain and Ireland. The motte would originally have supported a timber palisade and tower, with an associated bailey or outer defensive enclosure. Such structures served as administrative and military strongpoints during the early medieval period.
The monument's location is geologically distinctive, built upon Palaeogene extrusive rocks of mafic composition—ancient volcanic material comprising lava flows and pyroclastic deposits formed during the Paleogene period. This underlying basaltic bedrock influenced the site's topography and drainage characteristics, factors which the builders would have exploited when selecting and constructing the fortification. The volcanic geology of the area is a defining feature of north-east Ulster's landscape.
Antrim Motte is protected as a scheduled historic monument under the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland (reference 3676). The survival of the earthwork demonstrates the durability of motte construction despite centuries of exposure to the region's temperate, maritime climate. The site remains an important record of medieval settlement patterns and military organisation in the province.
Motte is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 3676. View the official record →
Antrim Motte is a medieval earthwork defence work situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 3676.
Motte dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Motte 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 3676.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath & souterrain (8.2 km), Raised rath or motte (8.6 km), Trivallate rath (8.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Motte'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.
Motte stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.