© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Souterrain is an early Christian underground stone-lined passage located in County Down, Northern Ireland. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of wacke deposited during the Wenlock period of the Silurian. This dense, fine-grained sandstone provided a stable foundation and likely supplied stone for the souterrain's construction.
Souterrains were subterranean structures built by early Christian communities from around the 5th century onwards, serving purposes that remain partially unclear but possibly included refuge, storage or ritual functions. The confined underground environment, protected by overlying earth, would have maintained relatively stable temperatures year-round, making it suitable for preserving perishable goods.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Northern Ireland Executive under reference number 8569. Souterrains represent a distinctive form of early medieval settlement archaeology across Ireland, Scotland and northern Britain, and this example contributes to understanding local patterns of early Christian occupation and land use in County Down during the centuries following the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
Souterrain is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8569. View the official record →
Souterrain is an early Christian underground stone-lined passage located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 8569.
Souterrain dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a souterrain. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Souterrain 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 8569.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Newark & horn castle, adrglass castle. tower-house, merchants stores & c18th castle (1 km), Margaret's castle. tower-house (1.1 km), Windmill stump - ihr 03465 (1.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Souterrain'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.
Souterrain stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.