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The standing stone at Limavady is a prehistoric megalithic monument of unknown date, likely erected during the Neolithic or Bronze Age. It stands within the townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, where the underlying bedrock comprises an unnamed mafic igneous intrusion of Neoproterozoic age. The stone itself may derive from this geological substrate or from glacial deposits left by ice sheets during the Quaternary period, reflecting the raw materials available to prehistoric communities in this region.
Standing stones served varied purposes in prehistoric society, functioning as territorial markers, ritual focal points, or monuments to the dead. Their construction required significant communal effort and technical knowledge, suggesting the community that erected this stone possessed organised labour and shared cultural practices. The isolated position of such monuments often reflects the Iron Age or earlier landscape, before subsequent agricultural reorganisation transformed the terrain.
The stone is now protected as a scheduled historic monument under reference 12589 by the Historic Environment Division. This designation safeguards the site from development and ensures its preservation for future study. Local topography and the geological character of the Limavady area continue to shape understanding of how prehistoric peoples related to their environment and chose locations for enduring stone monuments.
Standing stone is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12589. View the official record →
The standing stone at Limavady is a prehistoric megalithic monument of unknown date, likely erected during the Neolithic or Bronze Age. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12589.
Standing stone dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a standing stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Standing stone 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 12589.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone (0.6 km), Tandragee fort. rath (1 km), Standing stone (1.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Standing stone'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 stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Neoproterozoic, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.