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Bivallate rath at Dungannon is a two-ditched ringfort of the early Christian period, situated in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. The monument survives as a substantially defined earthwork comprising two concentric defensive ditches that once enclosed a habitation site typical of aristocratic settlement in early medieval Ulster. The underlying Leitrim Group bedrock—a Namurian formation of sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate—provides the foundation upon which this Iron Age and early Christian landscape was worked. The monument lies at grid reference H6128052150.
This form of fortified residence was a principal settlement type for regional élites between the fifth and twelfth centuries. The twin ditches offered both practical defence and visible assertion of status and territorial authority. The substantial earthwork construction required significant labour and resources, indicating the occupant's rank within early Christian Gaelic society.
The monument is protected under the Historic Environment Division as a scheduled ancient monument (reference 15781), safeguarding its archaeological integrity. The bivallate rath form, distinctive among Irish ringfort types, represents a regional variation reflecting the prosperity and defensive strategies of early Christian Ulster's ruling classes.
Bivallate rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15781. View the official record →
Bivallate rath at Dungannon is a two-ditched ringfort of the early Christian period, situated in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15781.
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 15781.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bivallate rath (1 km), Rath (1.1 km), Rath (2.4 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 Leitrim Group, bedrock that formed in the Namurian. The rock here is sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate.