Mid Ulster comprises 40 of Northern Ireland's 462 electoral wards, covering 5,818 km² of land — roughly 8.7% of the NI ward total. Across these wards, the combined heritage record holds 1,730 recorded historic sites, 209 scheduled monuments, and 1,134 listed buildings, drawn from the NISMR, HED scheduled monuments register, and HED Historic Buildings Record. That places the council at a relatively low recorded density of 0.33 sites per km² (10th of NI's eleven councils — though survey intensity varies geographically and a low figure does not imply genuine absence). With an average of 146 km² per ward, this is a predominantly rural council — ward areas here are larger than the NI median, reflecting lower population density rather than larger administrative units. The 2021 Census records 149,110 residents across the council's wards. The single richest ward in the council by recorded heritage is Augher And Clogher (231 combined records); a complete ranked list of all 40 wards in this council appears below.
Heritage at a glance
Chronological character
Aggregated across the council's wards, the dated archaeological record contains 1,566 sites distributed across 9 archaeological periods. The Early Medieval period is the most common (497 sites, 32%), with the Iron Age period in second place (396 sites, 25%). Sparsely represented periods include Neolithic and Middle Late Bronze Age — each under 2% of the dated record. As elsewhere in NI, thin period coverage typically reflects survey gaps rather than genuine absence of activity.
Most common monument types
The table below lists the council’s most frequently recorded monument types, with the share they form of this council’s record compared to their share of the NI-wide record.
| Monument type | In this council | % of council | NI comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enclosure | 234 | 37.9% | in line with NI average (1.4×) |
| Rath | 211 | 34.1% | in line with NI average (1.4×) |
| Enclosure (o.s. Memoir Site, Unlocated) | 46 | 7.4% | over-represented (3.5× NI average) |
| Standing Stone | 29 | 4.7% | over-represented (1.7× NI average) |
| Cairn | 19 | 3.1% | over-represented (6.2× NI average) |
| Platform Rath | 12 | 1.9% | in line with NI average (1.3×) |
Geographic character
Mean ward elevation across the council is 87m, around the NI median. Land cover averages combine 70% grassland, 15% woodland and 8% urban land, giving a varied mosaic across the council's wards. Peat cover averages 11% across the council's wards, a substantial share. Peat-bound ground preserves organic archaeological material that would not survive on aerated mineral soils.
All wards in Mid Ulster
The complete list of 40 wards in this council. Click any ward to view its full heritage profile.
| Ward | HS | SM | LB | Total | km² | Dominant period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augher And Clogher | 145 | 30 | 56 | 231 | 294.8 | Early Medieval |
| Fivemiletown | 129 | 12 | 47 | 188 | 437.9 | Early Medieval |
| Caledon | 60 | 8 | 90 | 158 | 276.2 | Early Medieval |
| Oaklands | 124 | 21 | 12 | 157 | 336.8 | Mesolithic |
| The Loup | 83 | 9 | 65 | 157 | 203.3 | Iron Age |
| Moy | 34 | 6 | 108 | 148 | 99.8 | Early Medieval |
| Lissan | 82 | 12 | 40 | 134 | 250.2 | Mesolithic |
| Stewartstown | 79 | 6 | 42 | 127 | 196.7 | Early Medieval |
| Swatragh | 97 | 9 | 16 | 122 | 215.4 | Early Medieval |
| Aughnacloy | 76 | 12 | 30 | 118 | 247.2 | Early Medieval |
| Tamlaght O'crilly | 61 | 6 | 34 | 101 | 152.3 | Iron Age |
| Loughry | 50 | 8 | 41 | 99 | 83.9 | Mesolithic |
| Castledawson | 51 | 3 | 42 | 96 | 102.9 | Iron Age |
| Donaghmore | 54 | 8 | 27 | 89 | 186.1 | Early Medieval |
| Ballygawley | 55 | 3 | 25 | 83 | 227.1 | Mesolithic |
| Tobermore | 70 | 5 | 8 | 83 | 195.1 | Iron Age |
| Killymeal | 6 | 1 | 70 | 77 | 29.4 | Post-Medieval |
| Cookstown East | 4 | 0 | 68 | 72 | 14.4 | Iron Age |
| Castlecaulfield | 53 | 2 | 14 | 69 | 123.4 | Early Medieval |
| Coagh | 38 | 4 | 26 | 68 | 124.1 | Early Medieval |
| Lower Glenshane | 50 | 5 | 7 | 62 | 246.2 | Mesolithic |
| Coolshinny | 49 | 6 | 5 | 60 | 189.5 | Iron Age |
| Draperstown | 27 | 3 | 25 | 55 | 177.5 | Mesolithic |
| Pomeroy | 39 | 5 | 10 | 54 | 223.0 | Mesolithic |
| Bellaghy | 29 | 3 | 18 | 50 | 125.3 | Early Medieval |
| Ballymaguigan | 38 | 0 | 10 | 48 | 129.9 | Iron Age |
| Valley | 30 | 4 | 13 | 47 | 161.2 | Early Medieval |
| Ardboe | 18 | 2 | 22 | 42 | 407.4 | Early Medieval |
| Moygashel | 2 | 0 | 37 | 39 | 16.6 | Iron Age |
| Cookstown South | 9 | 1 | 25 | 35 | 6.6 | Early Medieval |
| Washing Bay | 26 | 3 | 4 | 33 | 125.4 | Post-Medieval |
| Glebe | 4 | 1 | 24 | 29 | 7.7 | Post-Medieval |
| Coalisland North | 14 | 2 | 9 | 25 | 38.0 | Early Medieval |
| Killyman | 12 | 2 | 9 | 23 | 95.6 | Post-Medieval |
| Cookstown West | 3 | 0 | 19 | 22 | 7.9 | Post-Medieval |
| Ballysaggart | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 | 11.7 | Early Medieval |
| Maghera | 9 | 0 | 11 | 20 | 12.8 | Early Medieval |
| Coalisland South | 4 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 9.2 | Post-Medieval |
| Mullaghmore | 6 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 25.0 | Early Medieval |
| Town Parks East | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 4.9 | Post-Medieval |
Browse other Northern Ireland councils
Want a deeper view?
Grounding History: 10 Maps of Northern Ireland’s Past
A spatial history report bringing together analysis of all 462 wards into one place through 10 high-quality maps — covering monument density, archaeological periods, placename heritage, terrain, wetland, and the historic landscape at first survey.
About this profile
This council profile aggregates the recorded archaeological, built-heritage, terrain, and population data from each of its 40 wards. All figures describe the recorded evidence held in the public datasets listed at the foot of this page; the profile does not interpret historical processes or make inferences that are not directly supported by the data.
For full methodology — including a description of the ward geography, what counts as a recorded site, how period attributions are made, and what the limits of survey coverage mean for these figures — see the main methodology page.