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# Cookstown Stone Circles
Cookstown Stone Circles is a Bronze Age ceremonial complex comprising two stone circles, associated alignments and a cairn, located near Cookstown in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument stands upon ancient igneous bedrock of Silurian origin, a felsic intrusion that has weathered to form the underlying geology of this upland setting. The site occupies grid reference H6498086140 and is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Division reference 14449.
The two circles and their attendant features represent a planned ritual landscape typical of Bronze Age ceremonial sites in Ireland. Stone circles of this period commonly served multiple functions as gathering places, burial monuments and centres of astronomical or ceremonial significance. The presence of both circles and the cairn suggests this was a location of considerable importance to Bronze Age communities, possibly serving a territory spanning the surrounding region.
The survival of the Cookstown complex provides valuable evidence of Bronze Age settlement patterns and ritual practice in mid-Ulster. Such monuments are increasingly rare, making this site an important record of prehistoric religious and social organisation. The igneous bedrock beneath preserves the ancient context of the monument and contributes to understanding the geological resources and landscape that drew Bronze Age peoples to establish their ceremonial centre at this location.
Two stone circles, alignments & cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14449. View the official record →
# Cookstown Stone Circles Cookstown Stone Circles is a Bronze Age ceremonial complex comprising two stone circles, associated alignments and a cairn, located near Cookstown in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14449.
Two stone circles, alignments & cairn dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a stone circle complex. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Two stone circles, alignments & 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 14449.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone, three cairns & two stone circles (1.8 km), Burnt mound / fulacht fiadh (3.2 km), Ogham stone (3.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Two stone circles, alignments & 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.
Two stone circles, alignments & cairn stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.