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Moyle Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic monument comprising massive stone uprights supporting a capstone, characteristic of the portal tomb type. Located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, this structure dates to the Neolithic period and represents a form of communal burial architecture widespread across Britain and Ireland during the fourth and third millennia before present. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 800.
The tomb sits upon bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, predominantly mafic lavas and tuffs formed during intense volcanic activity in the early Tertiary period. This geological foundation of dark igneous rock provided local stone sources that may have influenced the siting and construction of the monument, though the massive megaliths themselves were selected and transported by Neolithic communities according to their building requirements rather than purely local availability.
Portal tombs served as permanent burial chambers for community members across several centuries of use. The characteristic portal facade, formed by two tall uprights flanking the entrance, marked these tombs as significant ritual and burial sites within the Neolithic landscape. Such monuments remain important records of social organisation, labour investment and spiritual beliefs of early farming societies in prehistoric Ireland.
Portal tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 800. View the official record →
Moyle Portal Tomb is a Neolithic megalithic monument comprising massive stone uprights supporting a capstone, characteristic of the portal tomb type. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 800.
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 800.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Craigagh altar. craighagh altar and enclosure (4.9 km), Standing stone (5 km), Two standing stones (5.1 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 Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.