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The Castlereagh Ring Barrow is a Neolithic or Bronze Age burial monument situated on gently sloping ground near Castlereagh in County Antrim. The site lies over Sherwood Sandstone Group bedrock, a reddish geological formation dating from the Ladinian period of the Triassic era. This sandstone, interspersed with siltstone and mudstone layers, would have been visible as exposed outcrops in the Bronze Age landscape, potentially influencing its selection as a burial location.
Ring barrows are circular monuments typically comprising a low earthwork bank surrounding a central grave or graves. This monument type became increasingly common during the Bronze Age across the British Isles, though examples may originate from the preceding Neolithic period. The circular ditch-and-bank configuration served both funerary and territorial functions, marking significant burial places within the prehistoric landscape.
The Castlereagh Ring Barrow is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 6338. Located at grid reference J438 207, the site remains an important record of Bronze Age burial practice in the Belfast area and contributes to understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and land use across the drumlin landscape of County Antrim.
Ring barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 6338. View the official record →
The Castlereagh Ring Barrow is a Neolithic or Bronze Age burial monument situated on gently sloping ground near Castlereagh in County Antrim. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 6338.
Ring barrow dates from the neo/b.a. period, and is classified as a barrow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Ring barrow 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 6338.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Motte (5.8 km), Rath (6.2 km), Deserted settlement (6.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Ring barrow'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.
Ring barrow stands on Sherwood Sandstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Ladinian. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.