Scheduled MonumentsNorthern IrelandCookstownStanding stone, three cairns & two stone circles
BRONZE AGE · MEGALITHIC COMPLEX

Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles

Cookstown, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 14450
Period
BRONZE AGE
Site type
MEGALITHIC COMPLEX
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 14450
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H6532084400
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Beaghmore Stone Circles and Cairns is a Bronze Age megalithic complex located near Cookstown in County Tyrone, comprising two stone circles, a standing stone, and three cairns. The monument occupies high ground where Ordovician to Silurian felsic igneous rock forms the bedrock, part of the varied geological substrate that characterises this region of Northern Ireland. The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 14450.

The two stone circles represent a form of ceremonial or ritual landscape typical of Bronze Age communities across the British Isles. Such monuments often served as gathering places for communal gatherings, astronomical observation, or funerary practices. The associated cairns—burial mounds constructed from stone—suggest this complex held significant meaning for successive generations, who may have added to or reused the site over extended periods.

The standing stone, positioned within this setting, completes a carefully composed Bronze Age ensemble. The combination of circles, cairns and upright stone indicates a landscape deliberately organised for purposes now lost to time. The underlying felsic bedrock, being harder and more resistant than surrounding geology, may have influenced both the monument's placement and the practical ability to establish such substantial stone structures at this location.

Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14450. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles?

Beaghmore Stone Circles and Cairns is a Bronze Age megalithic complex located near Cookstown in County Tyrone, comprising two stone circles, a standing stone, and three cairns. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14450.

What period does Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles date from?

Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a megalithic complex. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles?

Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles 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 14450.

What other scheduled monuments are near Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including 'graveyard'. prehistoric burial (3.7 km), Stone circle (4.1 km), Dermot & grania's bed. wedge tomb (4.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles

Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.