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Conjoined Raths is a early Christian rath situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument comprises two adjoining ringforts, a characteristic settlement form of early medieval Ireland. Raths served as defended homesteads for farming communities, with their concentric earthen banks and ditches providing both practical enclosure and visible assertion of status within the landscape.
The site lies upon Palaeogene extrusive rocks, formed from ancient mafic lava and tuff deposits that underlie much of the Antrim plateau. This volcanic bedrock would have presented specific challenges and opportunities to early Christian inhabitants: the stone-rich geology provided materials for construction, whilst the uneven terrain demanded careful siting of earthworks.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 4499, recognising its importance as evidence of early medieval settlement patterns and social organisation. The conjunction of two raths at this location suggests either a phased development of the settlement or a family grouping typical of Irish ringfort distribution, offering insight into how early Christian communities organised their domestic and agricultural space.
Conjoined raths is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4499. View the official record →
Conjoined Raths is a early Christian rath situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4499.
Conjoined raths 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.
Conjoined raths 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 4499.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tullyrusk fort. raised rath & plantation fort (3.2 km), Bivallate rath with souterrain & rath annexe (3.7 km), Green mound. rath & multivallate motte (5.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Conjoined raths'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.
Conjoined raths stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.