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Moyle is a round cairn of prehistoric date located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Round cairns are substantial burial monuments built from heaped stone, typically dating to the Bronze Age, and often served as focal points for ritual activity and commemoration across generations. This example sits upon bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lavas and tuffs that represent volcanic activity during the early Cenozoic era, around 66 to 23 million years ago. The underlying geology would have presented both practical advantages and constraints to the monument's builders in terms of stone availability and construction.
The cairn survives today as evidence of Bronze Age funerary and ceremonial practice in the Moyle landscape. Its construction from locally available stone reflects the deep connection between prehistoric communities and their immediate environment. The monument's position within a geology dominated by volcanic bedrock is characteristic of the north Antrim plateau, an area rich in prehistoric remains.
Moyle is protected as a scheduled monument under the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities, registered under reference 1479, ensuring its preservation and restricting unauthorised disturbance or excavation of the site.
Round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 1479. View the official record →
Moyle is a round cairn of prehistoric date located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 1479.
Round cairn dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Round cairn 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 1479.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tievebulliagh. neolithic porcellanite axe factory (0.1 km), Lurigethan. multivallate promontory fort (3.6 km), Mound, possibly barrow (4.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Round cairn'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.
Round cairn stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.