NEO/B.A. · MEGALITHIC TOMB

Wedge tomb

Dungannon, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 15706
Period
NEO/B.A.
Site type
MEGALITHIC TOMB
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 15706
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H4747053630
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 monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The site sits on bedrock of the Fintona Group, a sequence of sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate formed during the Late Devonian period. This geology would have presented considerable challenges to the builders, who selected stone suitable for construction from the local landscape.

Wedge tombs are a distinctive megalithic form, characterised by a tapering burial chamber wider at the entrance and narrowing towards the rear. Built during the Neolithic period with some continuing in use into the Bronze Age, these monuments served as communal burial places and held ritual significance for prehistoric communities. Wedge tombs are particularly numerous in Ireland, with over 600 examples recorded.

The Dungannon example is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 15706. Its survival to the present day reflects the durability of its stone construction and the protection afforded by scheduling legislation. The site contributes to our understanding of prehistoric funerary practices and settlement patterns in mid-Ulster during the early agricultural period.

Wedge tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15706. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Wedge tomb?

Dungannon Wedge Tomb is a Neolithic or Bronze Age megalithic monument located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15706.

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 15706.

What other scheduled monuments are near Wedge tomb?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone (1.6 km), Wedge tomb (2.4 km), Aghintain castle, aughentaine castle. c17th fortified house & bawn (3.2 km).

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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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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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.