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Counterscarp rath is an early Christian ringfort located in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The monument comprises a circular or near-circular earthwork with a distinctive outer bank, characteristic of the rath form that flourished throughout Ireland during the early medieval period. The site sits upon bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a Visean-age sequence of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone interspersed with chert, coal and conglomerate, which would have influenced both the construction and drainage of the earthwork.
Raths served as defended homesteads for farming communities, with the outer counterscarp bank providing an additional layer of fortification beyond the main enclosing rampart. Such monuments are typically prehistoric or early Christian in date, and in the Fermanagh landscape they represent a significant phase of settlement and land use. The earthwork's survival reflects the protective nature of rural terrain and subsequent land management practices that have allowed the monument to remain visible in the topography.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under the Historic Environment Division reference 10702, ensuring its preservation as an important archaeological and historical resource within the region's rich heritage of early medieval settlement.
Counterscarp rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 10702. View the official record →
Counterscarp rath is an early Christian ringfort located in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 10702.
Counterscarp 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.
Counterscarp 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 10702.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Barrow cemetery & burnt mounds (fulachta fiadh) (1 km), Platform rath (2 km), Lough digh crannog. crannog in lough digh (3.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Counterscarp 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.
Counterscarp 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.