ANTRIM ROUND TOWER

Map Reference: J154878

A monastery may have existed at Antrim in the early 7th century but the Round Tower is the only survival of an early foundation. It is 28m high and is complete with conical cap. About 1820 it was struck by lightning, after which it was repointed and the cap reset. The square-headed doorway is about 2.5m above ground level and is about 1.5m high and 60cm wide. The large boulder nearby is called the "Witchs Stone" and contains a small and a large bullaun.

ARMOY ROUND TOWER

Map Reference: D078332

St Olcan, a disciple of St Patrick, is said to have founded a monastery at Armoy, but there is nothing known about it. In 1843 the Round tower was repaired for use as a belfry and fitted with a wooden roof. It now stands about 11m high and has a very narrow doorway about 1.5m above present ground level. It is reckoned to be the narrowest Round Tower doorway in Ireland and is about 50cm wide at the bottom. It is capped by a single stone with a raised moulding. There are no other openings in the tower. The church was rebuilt in 1820 and enlarged in 1846. The memorials in the churchyard are mainly 19th and 20th century with some 18th century stones.

DALWAY'S BAWN, BALLYHILL

Map Reference: J443914

This is a very fine example of an early 17th century planter's bawn. It was built about 1609 by John Dalway. It was a rectangular bawn with four round flanking towers, three of which still exist. The inner faces of the towers are square with crow-stepped gables.There would have been a dwelling house in the middle but this is now gone.

BALLYLUMFORD MEGALITHIC TOMB

Map Reference: D431016

This small megalithic tomb is known as the Druids Altar. A large capstone is supported by four uprights and another stone lies within the chamber. It may be a small portal tomb or a passage tomb denuded of its cairn.

DOOEY'S CAIRN, BALLYMACALDRACK

Map Reference: D021182

This court tomb is set within a trapezoidal cairn about 21m long by about 14m wide. The U-shaped forecourt at the SW end leads to a single burial chamber. Beyond this is a long cremation passage with three circular pits. Charcoal recovered from excavations may be dated to between 3000 and 2500 BC. Pottery recovered from the burial chamber has a similar date. The arms of the court are built with the post-and-panel technique, found at Annaghmare, Co Armagh and Creggandevesky, Co Tyrone.

BALLYWEE RATH & SOUTERRAINS

Map Reference: J218899

This site was excavated in 1974 prior to its threatened removal as part of a farm improvement scheme. A series of curved earthen banks bounds an oval area about 90m by 50m. Within this area were found three souterrains and the foundations of at least six buildings. Two of the souterrains had an entrance within a building and the other was isolated. The site has been preserved and it is hoped that it will be open soon to the public.

BONAMARGY FRIARY

Map Reference: D128408

Bonamargy Friary is approached through the ruin of a two-storey gatehouse which has a fireplace in the upper storey. The rectangular church has a north and south range of buildings. The north range has a series of fine vaulted rooms at the lower storey. The upper storey can be reached by a good stone stairway but is ruinous. The site of the cloister can be clearly seen at the angle of the church and the north range but none of the cloister buildings remain. The large east window of the church is ruinous but features fine masks and decorated label stops on the outside. There are some other decorated stones in the east gable. Inside the west wall of the church is a small holed cross which marks the grave of Julia MacQuillan, the Black Nun. She prayed that, after her death, people would walk over her grave. It is a ring-headed cross with stumpy arms. The pointed south doorway is set within a fine round-headed recess. The upper storey of the south range has some fine mullioned windows. The lower storey contains a burial vault. In the south wall of the nave is a tomb-niche of 1630. The other memorials within the church are mainly late 18th century. The churchyard has a mixture of ancient and modern stones.

CARRICKFERGUS CASTLE

Map Reference:J415873

This castle was built by John de Courcy at the end of the 12th century. The inner ward with the keep was begun about 1178 and the rest was added during the first half of the 13th century. It was besieged by King John in 1210 and by Edward Bruce in 1315. It continued in military use until 1928.

CRAIGS DOLMEN

Map Reference: C973172

This small megalithic tomb is similar in some respects to Ballylumford Dolmen. Seven uprights support a large flat capstone. The capstone was shattered in 1976 by lightning. It was repaired in 1985 and excavation at that time showed that the chamber was the remains of a passage tomb. It was probably built before 2000 BC but was re-used for burial in the Bronze Age.

THE BROAD STONE, CRAIGS

Map Reference: C979176

At first glance the Broad Stone has the appearance of a tripod dolmen. Closer inspection shows that it is a three-chambered court-grave. The large capstone is about 2m square and 30cm thick. The back supporting stone is not in the original position since it blocks the gap between the first and second chambers. Some court stones are in position and there is a large amount of cairn material.

DOAGH HOLESTONE

Map Reference: J242907

The Doagh Holestone is a flat pillar tapering to a point and less than 1.5m high. It is pierced by a hole about 8cm diameter and splaying out on both sides to about twice that size. The date and original function of the Holestone is unclear. It may date from pre-Christian times but, unlike two other perforated stones in Co Antrim it has not been 'christianised'. The Holestone was used at one time to chain up crimunals. It has also been used as a betrothal stone, with the happy couple plighting their troth by clasping hands through the stone. Such betrothal ceremonies must have been common in the days of slow travel and shortage of clergy or civic officers. To avoid illegitimacy in children pre-marriage ceremonies were often performed according to local custom; the bond was completed later when a priest or registrar was available. Expressions such as 'jumping the broomstick', 'living over the brush' or 'tying the knot' may come from such ceremonies.

DUNLUCE CASTLE

Map Reference:C904414

This castle is spectacularly situated on a rocky headland. It is separated from the mainland by a deep ditch, now spanned by a modern bridge. The earliest parts date from the 14th century but most of the castle dates from the 16th century. There is a twin-towered gatehouse with Scottish corbelled turrets. There are remains of several round flanking towers. The rock on which the castle stands is penetrated by a large cave.

DUNSEVERICK CASTLE

Map Reference: C988445

This tiny fragment of a castle stands near the S edge of a pear-shaped rock. It is probably part of the gatehouse of a late 16th century castle built by the O'Cahans, who held it under the MacQuillans and later the MacDonnells, Earls of Antrim. The castle was probably destroyed by the Parliamentarians, led by Captain Venables, in the middle of the 17th century. The site is named after Sobhairce, who lived in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Dunseverick was at the northern end of one of the five great roads which radiated from Tara.

LAYD CHURCH

Map Reference: D245289

Layd Church is a rectangular building with a two-storey tower at the west end. The upper storey is fragmentary but there is a very fine vault above the ground floor. There are very good traces of wicker centering. There is a doorway in the south wall of the church and a square-headed doorway leads from the church to the tower. Above this is a rectangular opening. This feature is repeated at the window above the doorway. There is some restoration work in progress. In the south wall of the church is a fragmentary piscina and the east window seem to have been small. The north and south walls project beyond the line of the east gable in the manner of antae. Just outside the tower is a fine 19th century cross. It is a good example of Celtic Revival work and features some good interlacing as well as picture panels. Close to the entrance to the churchyard is a sandstone pillar with a round expanded top. This is perforated. This may be of great antiquity but has been re-used as a more recent memorial. There are some 18th century memorials near the church.

MAGHERABOY MEGALITHIC TOMB

Map Reference: D037438

The remains of this megalithic tomb comprise a circular cairn, with a kerb about 10m diameter. Only the stones of the burial chamber and the kerb remain. From NE-SE, the cairn is truncated by a modern stone wall & no visible trace survives on the E side of the wall. The chamber is orientated NW-SE & consists of 3 stones supporting a massive capstone, 2m long. The SW sidestone fits into a groove in the capstone. The chamber is approximately 1m square.