© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Bivallate rath is a small Irish ringfort situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of two concentric earthen banks enclosing a central platform, a defensive arrangement characteristic of early Christian period settlement sites across Ireland. Built upon bedrock of the Tyrone Group—a mixed succession of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone deposited during the Visean epoch—the rath exploits the underlying geology typical of this region. The dual ramparts would have contained livestock and served as a residence for a farming family of modest status, likely constructed between the fifth and ninth centuries.
The bivallate form represents a more elaborate fortification than the single-banked univallate type, suggesting a family of moderate means or local importance within the early Christian landscape. The monument's survival to the present day, despite agricultural activity across much of the Fermanagh countryside, testifies to the solidity of its earthwork construction. Now registered with the Historic Environment Division as a scheduled monument under reference 9345, the site remains an important indicator of settlement patterns during the early medieval period in Ulster.
Bivallate rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 9345. View the official record →
Bivallate rath is a small Irish ringfort situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 9345.
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 9345.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bivallate rath (1 km), Possible barrow (2.5 km), Graveyard. possible megalithic tomb (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.