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Mound — motte? is a medieval mound located near Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 4082. The mound occupies ground underlain by Palaeogene extrusive rocks, a mafic lava and tuff formation dating to the Paleogene period around 66 to 23 million years ago. This ancient volcanic bedrock characterises much of the Antrim plateau and would have presented a substantial quarrying challenge for medieval builders.
The monument's form as a possible motte suggests occupation during the medieval period, likely between the 12th and 14th centuries. Mottes served as fortified residences and administrative centres across the Anglo-Norman territories of Ireland, and their distinctive artificial mounds provided defensive advantage across surrounding terrain.
The uncertainty surrounding this particular site's classification reflects the fragmentary nature of the archaeological record in medieval Antrim. Without excavation, the mound's exact purpose and date remain open to interpretation. Its preservation as a scheduled monument ensures that this landscape feature retains the potential to contribute to understanding medieval settlement and land use in the region.
Mound - motte? is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4082. View the official record →
Mound — motte? is a medieval mound located near Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4082.
Mound - motte? dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a mound. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Mound - 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 4082.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Donald's mound. mound - burial mound? (4.5 km), Counterscarp platform rath (6 km), Bivallate rath (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Mound - 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.
Mound - motte? stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.