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Omagh Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic monument situated in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. This type of tomb, characteristic of the Irish Neolithic period, comprises a rectangular burial chamber defined by upright stones and roofed by a massive capstone, with a portal formed by two tall stones framing the entrance. The monument is positioned on bedrock formed from the Tyrone Group, a geological sequence of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone laid down during the Visean period, with subordinate deposits of chert, coal and conglomerate. This varied geology would have influenced both the construction materials available to its builders and the visibility of the site within the local landscape.
Portal tombs served as communal burial places during the Neolithic, typically dated to between 3500 and 3000 BCE, and their distinctive architectural form—particularly the prominent entrance portal—distinguishes them from other megalithic tomb types found across the British Isles. The Omagh example represents an important survival of this prehistoric funerary tradition in the Sperrins region.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 14865, ensuring its preservation as a nationally significant archaeological site.
Portal tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14865. View the official record →
Omagh Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic monument situated in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14865.
Portal 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.
Portal 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 14865.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stone alignment (5.3 km), Stone circle & two alignments (5.3 km), Stone alignment (5.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Portal 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.
Portal tomb stands on Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.