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Bivallate Rath is an early Christian fortified settlement located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of two concentric earthwork banks surrounding a central enclosure, a defensive arrangement typical of Irish raths from the early medieval period. The site exploits the local geology to advantage: the underlying Tyrone Group bedrock of limestone, mudstone and sandstone would have provided material for construction and created natural drainage properties beneficial to settlement. The prominent earthworks remain largely intact within the landscape today.
As a bivallate rath, this monument represents a significant class of elite or high-status settlement in early Christian Ireland, distinguished from simpler univallate examples by its dual defensive perimeter. Such sites frequently served as residences for local lords or ecclesiastical communities, and their robust construction suggests both permanence and considerable social investment. The double rampart system offered enhanced defence against raiders whilst also demarcating territorial authority.
The site is registered with the Historic Environment Division under reference 9700 and benefits from statutory protection. Located at grid reference H1618051540, it remains an important archaeological record of early medieval settlement patterns and social organisation within the Ulster region, preserving evidence of the lifeways and landscape management practices of early Christian communities in Fermanagh.
Bivallate rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 9700. View the official record →
Bivallate Rath is an early Christian fortified settlement located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 9700.
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 9700.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Counterscarp rath (7.5 km), Burnt mound / fulacht fiadh (7.9 km), Rath (8.4 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.