NEOLITHIC · MEGALITHIC TOMB

Portal tomb

Omagh, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 15008
Period
NEOLITHIC
Site type
MEGALITHIC TOMB
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 15008
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H6398075240
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Omagh Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Dating to the fourth millennium BC, this portal tomb represents a distinctive type of megalithic burial structure characteristic of Ireland's earliest farming communities. The monument comprises a stone-built burial chamber accessed through a monumental entrance portal, constructed from massive stone slabs set upright to frame the passage into the tomb.

The site is situated upon bedrock composed of mafic igneous rock from the Ordovician to Silurian period, which would have been exposed or easily quarried by Neolithic builders. The underlying geology of this region, formed during the Silurian epoch, provided the stone resources necessary for the monument's construction, making the landscape itself integral to the tomb's creation and positioning.

The portal tomb is protected as a scheduled monument under reference 15008 by the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland. Such sites represent significant evidence of prehistoric territorial organisation, ritual practice and social hierarchy among early agricultural communities. The monument survives as a substantial physical record of the technological capabilities and cultural values of Neolithic Ireland.

Portal tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15008. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Portal tomb?

Omagh Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15008.

What period does Portal tomb date from?

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.

Who is responsible for protecting Portal tomb?

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 15008.

What other scheduled monuments are near Portal tomb?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dunmisk fort. enclosure, monastic settlement, church & graveyard (site of) (4.7 km), Horned cairn. court tomb (4.9 km), Multiperiod burial mound - court tomb, 4 neolithic pit burials, 8 bronze age burials & rath (6.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Portal tomb

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:

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 Portal tomb

Portal tomb stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.