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Bivallate Rath is an early Christian ringfort situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The monument comprises two concentric earthen banks with intervening ditches, a defensive configuration typical of high-status settlements from the early medieval period. The dual rampart system would have enclosed domestic and agricultural activities within its defended perimeter, offering protection to an elite household and their livestock. Such bivallate raths represent a more substantial undertaking than their univallate counterparts, suggesting considerable labour resources and social standing.
The site lies on bedrock formed from the Tyrone Group, a geological sequence of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone interspersed with chert, coal and conglomerate. This varied geology would have provided the builder-occupants with different materials suited to their needs, from stone for structural foundations to softer deposits suitable for rampart construction. The underlying limestone bedrock characterises much of Fermanagh's landscape.
The monument is protected under the Historic Environment Division as a scheduled monument under reference 9234, recognising its archaeological and historical significance. Early Christian ringforts like this occupied a crucial social and economic position in the landscape between the fall of Roman Britain and the arrival of Anglo-Norman settlers, serving as the centres of túatha, the small kingdoms that structured Irish society.
Bivallate rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 9234. View the official record →
Bivallate Rath is an early Christian ringfort situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 9234.
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 9234.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Barrow (3.8 km), Giants grave. wedge tomb (3.9 km), Earthwork (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 Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.