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Bivallate Rath, Omagh is a early Christian defended homestead of ringfort type, consisting of two concentric earthen banks separated by a ditch. The monument stands on bedrock of the Kilskeery Group, a Chesterian formation of sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate that underlies this part of County Tyrone. The dual defensive circuit, characteristic of more substantial raths of the early Christian period, suggests an enclosed settlement of some social standing, likely occupied between the fifth and twelfth centuries.
Raths of this bivallate form served as fortified residences for families of rank within early Christian Irish society. The two banks would have provided successive defensive obstacles, with the innermost enclosure containing domestic structures of timber or stone. This example's location in the Omagh landscape reflects the dispersed pattern of such settlements across Ulster during the early medieval period.
The site is recorded under Historic Environment Division reference 15421 and benefits from statutory protection. Archaeological examination of similar raths across Ireland has demonstrated their importance to understanding settlement patterns, social hierarchy and land use during the transition from pagan to Christian society in early medieval Ulster.
Bivallate rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15421. View the official record →
Bivallate Rath, Omagh is a early Christian defended homestead of ringfort type, consisting of two concentric earthen banks separated by a ditch. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15421.
Bivallate 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.
Bivallate 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 15421.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Garranbane. standing stone (5.2 km), Carnnamoghil. multiple cist cairn (5.7 km), Standing stone (6.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Bivallate 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.
Bivallate rath stands on Kilskeery Group, bedrock that formed in the Chesterian. The rock here is sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate.