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Magherafelt Standing Stone is a Bronze Age standing stone located in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The monument marks a significant ritual or ceremonial site from the prehistoric period, when such stones served as focal points for community gatherings, burial practices and landscape demarcation. Standing stones of this type were typically erected between 3000 and 1000 BC, reflecting the beliefs and social organisation of Bronze Age societies across the Irish and British Isles.
The stone stands upon bedrock composed of mafic lava and tuff formed during the Paleogene period, evidence of the intense volcanic activity that shaped this region millions of years before the monument's erection. The underlying geology of extrusive igneous rock would have presented particular challenges for Bronze Age builders, yet the community chose this location for reasons that may have included spiritual significance, visibility across the landscape, or proximity to burial grounds.
The monument is protected under Historic Environment Division reference 12682 in recognition of its archaeological and cultural importance. Associated burial remains indicate that this site functioned as a focus for mortuary practice, a pattern common to standing stone sites throughout northern Ireland. The monument survives as evidence of Bronze Age settlement patterns and the enduring ceremonial significance of the landscape around Magherafelt.
Standing stone and burials is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12682. View the official record →
Magherafelt Standing Stone is a Bronze Age standing stone located in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12682.
Standing stone and burials dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a standing stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Standing stone and burials 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 12682.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bivallate rath (2 km), Rath (2.7 km), Rath (3.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Standing stone and burials'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.
Standing stone and burials stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.