NEO/B.A. · MEGALITHIC TOMB

Wedge tomb

Dungannon, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 15704
Period
NEO/B.A.
Site type
MEGALITHIC TOMB
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 15704
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H4689755975
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Dungannon Wedge Tomb is a Neolithic or Bronze Age megalithic burial monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument sits on bedrock of the Fintona Group, a geological formation of sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate laid down during the Late Devonian period. The site lies at grid reference H468975, and is protected as a scheduled historic monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 15704.

Wedge tombs are a distinctive class of passage grave, predominantly found in Ireland, with examples concentrated particularly in the west and south-west. These monuments typically consist of a wedge-shaped burial chamber constructed from large stone slabs, often set within a stone cairn and aligned to the south-west. The form and distribution of wedge tombs suggest they were built during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, representing a later development in megalithic funerary practice than earlier passage grave styles.

The Dungannon example occupies a landscape shaped by Devonian geology, part of the complex geology of the Tyrone region. The underlying bedrock geology would have influenced both the selection of the site and the sourcing of stone for the monument's construction. As a protected scheduled monument, the wedge tomb survives as evidence of early prehistoric burial practices and the social communities that constructed it during the third and second millennia before the present.

Wedge tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15704. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Wedge tomb?

Dungannon Wedge Tomb is a Neolithic or Bronze Age megalithic burial monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15704.

What period does Wedge tomb date from?

Wedge tomb dates from the neo/b.a. period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Wedge tomb?

Wedge tomb 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 15704.

What other scheduled monuments are near Wedge tomb?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Wedge tomb (2.4 km), Rath - one of a pair with tyr 051 (2.8 km), Rath one of a pair with tyr 051 (2.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Wedge tomb

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Wedge tomb's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Wedge tomb

Wedge tomb stands on Fintona Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate.