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White Fort, Cashel, Souterrain and Cairn is a prehistoric cashel near Limavady in County Londonderry. A cashel is a stone-built circular or oval enclosure, typically measuring between 20 and 40 metres across, defended by substantial dry-stone walls that could reach heights of 4 to 6 metres. This example comprises a fortified homestead with associated underground stone-built passage and burial mound. The site is situated on bedrock of the Argyll Group, metamorphic rocks of Neoproterozoic age comprising marble and meta-limestone, which would have provided locally quarried stone for construction.
The monument's archaeological significance lies in its multi-period occupation indicators, combining residential, ritual and funerary elements typical of Atlantic Irish prehistoric settlement. The souterrain, an underground passage gallery, served defensive, storage or ritual functions common to such structures built between the Iron Age and medieval periods. The cairn represents a burial monument, suggesting sustained ritual activity and use of the site across generations.
This cashel complex is protected as a scheduled historic monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 12640, reflecting its importance as a surviving example of prehistoric settlement archaeology in the north-west of Ireland. The stone-built elements have endured due to both the durable quality of the local metamorphic bedrock and the robust construction techniques employed by its prehistoric builders.
White fort. cashel, souterrain & cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12640. View the official record →
White Fort, Cashel, Souterrain and Cairn is a prehistoric cashel near Limavady in County Londonderry. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12640.
White fort. cashel, souterrain & cairn dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a cashel. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
White fort. cashel, souterrain & 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 12640.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Black fort. rath (0.1 km), Rath (0.7 km), Altnaheglish reservoir. reservoir dam (3.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of White fort. cashel, souterrain & 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.
White fort. cashel, souterrain & cairn stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is marble, meta-limestone.