United Kingdom

Beaghmore

Early Bronze Age stone circles, Northern Ireland

Location

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Historical Context

About

Beaghmore is a complex of early Bronze Age megalithic features, stone circles and cairns, 8.5 miles north west of Cookstown, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, on the south-east edge of the Sperrin Mountains. Mackay's Dictionary of Ulster Place-names says that it is from Irish an Bheitheach Mhór, meaning "big place of birch trees", a name that reflects the fact that the area was a woodland before being cleared by Neolithic farmers. Beaghmore stone circles, alignments and cairns are State Care Historic Monuments in the townland of Beaghmore, in the Cookstown District Council area, grid ref: Area of H684 842. At Beaghmore a cairn (grid ref: H6872 8470), a cairn (grid ref: H6856 8472), stone circles, alignments and cairns (grid ref: area of H684 842), round cairn with standing stones: Bradley's Cairn (grid ref: H6830 8401) and cairn and alignment (grid ref: H6863 8431), are all Scheduled Historic Monuments.

Paleolithic
Mesolithic
Neolithic
Chalcolithic
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Classical Period
Post-Classical Period
Early Modern Period
Industrial Period
Contemporary Period
Temporal Epochs

Historical Timeline

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Discovery during peat cutting

late 1930s

Excavation and state care

1945–1949

Further excavation

1965

Radiocarbon dates from deposits

c. 2900–2600 BC

Classification

Archaeological Features

Unique architectural and cultural elements found at this historical site

category

Burial and Funerary Structures

CairnsRound cairn with standing stones
category

Religious and Ritual Structures

Stone CirclesStanding Stones
category

Agricultural and Land Use Features

Field SystemsCultivation Plots
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Environmental and Natural Features

Artificial MoundsSoil Layers
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Astronomical and Timekeeping Structures

Stone Alignments
category

Food Production and Processing Features

Hearths
Knowledge Base

Frequently Asked Questions

Reference

Details

Country

United Kingdom

Coordinates

54.70° N, -6.94° E