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Stone Fish Trap at Ards, County Down is a medieval fish trap constructed from stone, located at grid reference J595806 2060. The monument sits upon Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of Silurian age, part of the ancient bedrock that underlies the Ards Peninsula. This geology provided the stone material used in the trap's construction, sourced from the local landscape.
Medieval fish traps of this type were engineered to exploit coastal tidal movements, channelling fish into holding chambers as water receded. Built from dry stone or mortared rubble, such structures typically occupy rocky foreshore zones where bedrock provides a stable foundation. The trap at Ards represents one of several surviving examples of this specialised form of medieval aquaculture infrastructure, demonstrating the systematic exploitation of marine resources in medieval Ulster.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Northern Ireland Department for Communities under statutory reference 13480. Fish traps of this period are comparatively rare in the archaeological record, making this example significant for understanding medieval coastal economies and fishing practices in Ireland.
Stone fish trap is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 13480. View the official record →
Stone Fish Trap at Ards, County Down is a medieval fish trap constructed from stone, located at grid reference J595806 2060.
Stone fish trap dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a fish trap. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Stone fish trap 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 13480.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Kircubbin harbour. quay, slipway and mooring (1 km), Tidal mill wall (1.5 km), Ardkeen castle, castle hill. motte and bailey with later tower-house (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Stone fish trap'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.
Stone fish trap stands on Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is sedimentary rocks.