© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
White Stones is a court tomb, a form of Neolithic megalithic monument dating to around 3500–2800 BC. Located near Omagh in County Tyrone, the site sits on bedrock of Ordovician to Silurian igneous intrusion, a felsic rock formation that would have presented considerable challenges to Neolithic builders. Court tombs are characterised by their distinctive D-shaped or semi-circular forecourt, which leads into a stone-built burial chamber. These monuments served as communal burial places for the farming communities of early Neolithic Ulster.
The monument's name derives from the white stones that form or once formed a conspicuous element of its construction, marking it as a significant landmark in the landscape. The felsic bedrock beneath White Stones, rich in lighter-coloured minerals, may have influenced both the visual character of the monument and the quarrying practices of its builders. Such distinctive stone features would have made the tomb visually prominent and easily identifiable to contemporary communities across the surrounding countryside.
White Stones is protected by the Historic Environment Division as a scheduled monument under reference 14955, ensuring the preservation of this important prehistoric structure. As one of Ulster's surviving Neolithic court tombs, it provides evidence of early agricultural settlement, monumental building practices and burial customs in the Omagh area during the early Neolithic period.
White stones. court tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14955. View the official record →
White Stones is a court tomb, a form of Neolithic megalithic monument dating to around 3500–2800 BC. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14955.
White stones. court tomb dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a megalithic tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
White stones. court 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 14955.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dunmisk fort. enclosure, monastic settlement, church & graveyard (site of) (4.9 km), Multiperiod burial mound - court tomb, 4 neolithic pit burials, 8 bronze age burials & rath (5.5 km), Standing stones (3) (6.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of White stones. court tomb'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 stones. court tomb stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.