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Moyle Standing Stone is a prehistoric monolith located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The stone rises from landscape underlain by the Sherwood Sandstone Group, a red sandstone formation laid down during the Ladinian period of the Triassic era. This geological foundation, composed of sandstone interbedded with siltstone and mudstone, has shaped the local terrain and influenced settlement patterns since the earliest periods of human occupation.
Standing stones of this type were erected by prehistoric communities across the Irish landscape, typically during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Their precise original purpose remains debated amongst archaeologists, though they may have served as territorial markers, ritual focal points, or monuments to commemorate significant individuals or events. The stone's survival in the Moyle landscape is testament to its enduring presence across millennia.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 597, reflecting its archaeological significance and cultural importance to Northern Ireland's prehistoric heritage. Such isolated upright stones represent a distinctive aspect of the region's material culture and offer insight into the monument-building traditions of ancient communities. The site remains an important archaeological resource within its local landscape context.
Standing stone is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 597. View the official record →
Moyle Standing Stone is a prehistoric monolith located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 597.
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 597.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Enclosure & souterrain - part of armoy ecclesiastical site [ant 013 (2.8 km), Standing stone (4.2 km), Clegernagh, clegernagh graveyard, kilcroagh fort, kilcroagh fort. graveyard, stone cross & souterrain (5.1 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 Sherwood Sandstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Ladinian. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.