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Sweat house at Coleraine is a possible sweat house of uncertain date and form, situated in County Londonderry in the north of Ireland. The monument lies on bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, principally mafic lava and tuff formed during volcanic activity in the early Tertiary period. This geological foundation of dark igneous stone would have been available locally for any structural elements of the building.
Sweat houses are small, typically single-chambered structures traditionally used for therapeutic bathing and heat therapy, with examples known across Celtic regions. The exact form and state of preservation of this particular structure remain undocumented, reflecting the fragmentary archaeological record of such modest domestic buildings. The site's uncertain classification indicates that physical remains may be incomplete or ambiguous in character.
The monument is recorded and protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under reference number 11787, ensuring its preservation and management as part of Northern Ireland's archaeological heritage. The site occupies grid reference C80 77321972 in the Coleraine area, where such vernacular structures form part of the wider settlement archaeology of the region.
Sweat house is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11787. View the official record →
Sweat house at Coleraine is a possible sweat house of uncertain date and form, situated in County Londonderry in the north of Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11787.
Sweat house dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a sweat house. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Sweat house 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 11787.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lissatinny. rath (6.4 km), St. adamnan's footprints, giant's track, shane's leap. inauguration stone (7 km), Rough fort. earthwork (7.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Sweat house'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.
Sweat house stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.