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Cookstown Round Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Built upon bedrock of Silurian-age felsic igneous rock, the cairn represents a form of monumental architecture that first appeared in the Neolithic period and continued in use throughout the Bronze Age. Round cairns typically served as burial structures, often containing cremated remains or inhumations within stone-built chambers or simple cists.
The monument sits within the drumlin landscape of central Ulster, an area rich in prehistoric archaeology. The underlying igneous bedrock would have provided suitable stone for cairn construction, though glacial activity during the last ice age would have deposited further stone and gravel across the local terrain, making material readily available to prehistoric builders. The site's location reflects patterns of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement in this region.
The round cairn is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division (reference 15019), recognising its archaeological importance and potential to yield evidence of prehistoric burial practices and material culture. Such monuments contribute significantly to understanding the ceremonial and social organization of prehistoric communities in Ireland. The preservation of this site allows future investigation of burial traditions and the landscape choices made by these early populations.
Round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15019. View the official record →
Cookstown Round Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15019.
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 15019.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stone circles (3) & alignment (3 km), Stone circles (2) & double alignment (3.6 km), Rath (4 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 Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.