© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
The Forth is a cross-inscribed standing stone and cairn, an uncertain ecclesiastical site located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of a dressed stone bearing a carved cross, associated with a cairn of heaped stones. Such sites frequently mark the locations of early Christian activity, though the precise religious or commemorative purpose remains unclear. The stone itself represents a common form of Christian marker from the early medieval period, when the incised cross became a widespread symbol across Ireland and Britain.
The monument stands on bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a geological formation from the Visean period comprising limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone interspersed with chert, coal and conglomerate. This varied underlying geology is characteristic of Fermanagh's landscape. The surrounding terrain of mudstone and limestone would have been worked by local communities for millennia before and after the Christian monument's establishment.
The Forth is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 10875. The combination of cross-inscribed stone and associated cairn contributes to understanding early Christian settlement patterns and the role of such markers in the medieval Irish and northern British ecclesiastical landscape. The site merits careful preservation as evidence of early Christian practice in the region.
The forth. cross-inscribed standing stone & cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 10875. View the official record →
The Forth is a cross-inscribed standing stone and cairn, an uncertain ecclesiastical site located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 10875.
The forth. cross-inscribed standing stone & cairn dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a ecclesiastical site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
The forth. cross-inscribed standing stone & cairn 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 10875.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Enclosure (0 km), Giant's grave, the star cairn. court tomb (0.9 km), Multiple cist cairn (2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of The forth. cross-inscribed standing stone & cairn'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.
The forth. cross-inscribed standing stone & cairn stands on Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.