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The Six Decorated Stones is a Bronze Age monument comprising six stones bearing carved markings, located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The site sits upon bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a geological formation dating to the Visean period, composed of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone interspersed with chert, coal and conglomerate. This varied geology has shaped the local landscape and would have influenced the selection of suitable stone for marking and use during the Bronze Age.
The decorated stones represent a form of monumental expression characteristic of the Bronze Age in Ireland, when communities marked significant locations with carved and positioned stones. The carvings on these six stones demonstrate the cultural and possibly ritual importance of the site, though the specific meanings of the decorations remain a matter of archaeological interpretation. Such decorated stones often served as territorial markers, burial monuments or meeting places within Bronze Age society.
The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 10005, recognising its significance as a heritage monument. The preservation of these decorated stones provides valuable evidence of Bronze Age artistic practice and settlement patterns in the Fermanagh region. The combination of six separate stones, each bearing decoration, suggests a deliberately composed arrangement rather than isolated finds, indicating careful Bronze Age planning and investment in this particular location.
Six decorated stones is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 10005. View the official record →
The Six Decorated Stones is a Bronze Age monument comprising six stones bearing carved markings, located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 10005.
Six decorated stones dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a decorated stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Six decorated stones 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 10005.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tampulanaffrin. church, graveyard & enclosure (7.3 km), The christening stone. bullaun (7.4 km), Round cairn (7.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Six decorated stones'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.
Six decorated stones stands on Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.