What is recorded here
The Watch Carn in Ballykeel has watched County Antrim since the Bronze Age, though uncertainty still clings to its exact purpose. It stands as a cairn, a simple heap of stones that may have marked a boundary, honoured the dead or guided travellers through dark land. The name suggests vigilance, as if the stones themselves kept watch over the valley below.
The official Northern Ireland record identifies this as CAIRN: THE WATCH CARN. Recorded period: BRONZE AGE; UNCERTAIN. The official map point was placed at the centre of the recorded archaeological site from the source map reference.
Bronze Age cairn; its significance lies in contributing to the understanding of burial and ritual practices in early Bronze Age Northern Ireland.
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
Places near here
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Ulster BankBank · 2.4 mi
Town HallTown hall · 2.4 mi
Garden TrailWalking route · 3.2 mi
MV Princess Victoria MemorialMemorial · 3.4 mi
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Ballygalley HeadCliff · 3.8 mi