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Mount Sandel is a Mesolithic settlement site located at Coleraine in Northern Ireland. The site occupies a distinctive position on bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, principally mafic lava and tuff laid down during the Paleogene period. This volcanic geology, now weathered and settled, forms the physical foundation of one of the earliest known human habitations in Ireland.
The settlement dates to the early Mesolithic period, representing a crucial phase in post-glacial human occupation when hunter-gatherer communities began to establish more sustained settlements. The site's location, elevated above the surrounding landscape, would have offered strategic advantages for observing game movements and accessing the river systems that characterised the local environment. Archaeological evidence from the site has revealed insights into the daily life and subsistence practices of these early inhabitants.
Mount Sandel is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 11625, recognising its significance as an archaeological monument of national importance. The site remains a key reference point for understanding Mesolithic settlement patterns and the transition to more permanent occupation strategies in Early Holocene Ireland.
Mount sandel. mesolithic settlement site is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11625. View the official record →
Mount Sandel is a Mesolithic settlement site located at Coleraine in Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11625.
Mount sandel. mesolithic settlement site dates from the mesolithic period, and is classified as a settlement site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Mount sandel. mesolithic settlement site 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 11625.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Loughan island or inis-an-loughan. castle (3.1 km), Mound (3.3 km), Piper's hill. long mound (4.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Mount sandel. mesolithic settlement site'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.
Mount sandel. mesolithic settlement site stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.