© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Cookstown Standing Stone is a Bronze Age standing stone located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, at grid reference H8353172066. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 15110. Standing stones of this period, typically erected between 2000 and 500 BCE, served functions ranging from territorial markers to ritual or ceremonial focal points within prehistoric communities.
The stone rises from bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, specifically mafic lava and tuff formed during intense volcanic activity in the Paleogene period. This underlying geology of volcanic material, which shaped the local landscape millions of years before the Bronze Age, would have been familiar to the prehistoric communities who selected and positioned this monument. The Cookstown area's rugged terrain and distinctive geological character form the immediate setting for this important Bronze Age feature.
The standing stone survives as testimony to Bronze Age monumentality in the Irish midlands. Such stones frequently marked significant sites within the broader landscape, whether associated with burials, assembly places or territorial boundaries. The Cookstown example contributes to our understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns and ceremonial practices across Ulster during the Bronze Age, occupying a landscape shaped by forces far older than human activity.
Standing stone is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15110. View the official record →
Cookstown Standing Stone is a Bronze Age standing stone located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, at grid reference H8353172066.
Standing stone 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 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 15110.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stewartstown castle. castle & village (2.8 km), Trivallate enclosure (2.9 km), Counterscarp rath (3 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 Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.