© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Ballymurphy Round Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The cairn sits upon bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, composed of mafic lava and mafic tuff laid down during volcanic activity in the early Tertiary period. This geological foundation of dark, dense volcanic stone would have been familiar to the prehistoric communities who constructed the monument, drawn from the local landscape that shaped their built environment.
Round cairns served as burial structures and ceremonial centres for Bronze Age and Iron Age communities across Ireland. Such monuments typically comprised stone heaps raised over cremated or inhumed remains, often accompanied by grave goods. The Ballymurphy cairn represents an important element of Belfast's prehistoric heritage, marking a location significant enough to warrant ceremonial investment and ongoing community memory.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 4299, ensuring its preservation as an archaeological and cultural resource. Its position within the urban landscape of modern Belfast makes it a tangible link to the Bronze and Iron Age settlement patterns of the greater Belfast area, a period when this terrain held deep meaning for its inhabitants.
Round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4299. View the official record →
Ballymurphy Round Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4299.
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 4299.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Clarendon dock (southerly), ritchies dock. graving dock (5.1 km), Red brick chimney stack (ihr no.10370) (5.6 km), Chimney stack - ihr 010369 (5.6 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.