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Two booley huts is an uncertain settlement site in Moyle, County Antrim. The monument comprises the remains of two traditionally constructed dwellings of a type associated with pastoral exploitation of marginal upland landscapes. Booley huts typically functioned as seasonal shelters occupied during transhumant herding practices, allowing cattle to graze summer pastures whilst dairy production continued at these temporary settlements.
The site sits upon bedrock comprising Hibernian Greensands and Ulster White Limestone, Late Cretaceous formations that provide the chalky, stony soils characteristic of the high moorland terrain surrounding this location. Such geology often restricted arable cultivation, making pastoral land use the dominant economic strategy and explaining the prevalence of booley hut settlement patterns across northern Irish uplands.
The precise chronology of these structures remains uncertain, though booley huts of this morphology span several centuries, from medieval times into the early modern period. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 946, recognising the archaeological and historical significance of this transient settlement type in understanding rural economic organisation and land use in upland Antrim.
Two booley huts is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 946. View the official record →
Two booley huts is an uncertain settlement site in Moyle, County Antrim. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 946.
Two booley huts dates from the uncertain period, and is classified as a settlement site. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Two booley huts 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 946.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Portal tomb (4.9 km), Round cairn & neolithic occupation site (5.2 km), Court tomb (5.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Two booley huts'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.
Two booley huts stands on Hibernian Greensands Formation And Ulster White Limestone Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Cretaceous. The rock here is chalk and sandstone.