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Attyhole fort is a rath situated near Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. A rath represents a small ringfort, a characteristic Early Christian fortified farmstead common throughout Ireland, typically consisting of a circular or oval enclosure surrounded by one or more defensive banks and ditches. The monument stands upon bedrock belonging to the Argyll Group, metamorphic deposits of marble and meta-limestone formed during the Neoproterozoic era, which underlies much of this region and would have influenced the construction and survival of the earthwork.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 14260. Such ringforts functioned as the defended residences of minor landholders and their families during the Early Christian period, roughly from the 5th to 12th centuries, and often contained livestock enclosures and domestic structures within their ramparts. The geological setting at Attyhole, with its substantial bedrock foundation, would have provided a stable base for the substantial earthworks characteristic of raths, helping preserve the monument's form across more than a thousand years.
Attyhole fort. rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14260. View the official record →
Attyhole fort is a rath situated near Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14260.
Attyhole fort. rath dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a rath. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Attyhole fort. rath 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 14260.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pigeon hill. castle site (mound & foundation) (3.1 km), Ring barrow (3.5 km), Wedge tomb (4.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Attyhole fort. rath'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.
Attyhole fort. rath stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is marble, meta-limestone.