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The Potters' Cave is an Iron Age occupation site located near Moyle in Northern Ireland. The site sits upon Palaeocene volcanic bedrock, a foundation of ancient lava flows and related volcanic materials formed over 66 million years ago during the early Tertiary period. This geological setting would have provided natural shelter and access to raw materials suitable for early settlement.
The cave represents a significant record of Iron Age habitation in the region, a period when communities across Ireland exploited natural rock shelters for domestic occupation and craft production. The site's name reflects evidence of pottery manufacture, suggesting it served as both a residence and a working space for craftspeople. The volcanic geology underlying the site may have been particularly attractive to Iron Age potters, offering both protective shelter and proximity to clay sources.
The Potters' Cave is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 5, ensuring its preservation for future archaeological study. Its survival as a recognisable occupation site contributes to understanding Iron Age settlement patterns and economic practices in the northern Irish landscape.
The potters' cave. iron age occupation site is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 5. View the official record →
The Potters' Cave is an Iron Age occupation site located near Moyle in Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 5.
The potters' cave. iron age occupation site dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a occupation site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
The potters' cave. iron age occupation site 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 5.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Druid's stone, mount druid, druid stone, the druid stone, mount druid cromlech. passage tomb (1.4 km), Clegnagh cromlech. passage tomb (1.4 km), Cloughnaboghil, druids stone, cloghnaboghil, cloghnaboghil. passage tomb (1.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of The potters' cave. iron age occupation site'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 potters' cave. iron age occupation site stands on Palaeocene undifferentiated, bedrock that formed in the Paleocene. The rock here is volcanic.