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Counterscarp rath is an early Christian rath situated near Cookstown in County Tyrone. The monument consists of a circular earthwork with a distinctive outer counterscarp, a feature that distinguishes it from simpler ring-fort forms. Raths of this type served as defended homesteads for the Gaelic aristocracy during the early medieval period, typically housing a single family and their immediate retinue within their palisaded or stone-faced banks.
The site overlies bedrock of the Moine Supergroup, ancient metamorphic psammite formed during the Neoproterozoic era, which would have provided a stable foundation for the earthwork's construction. The underlying geology and the gentle topography of this area of the Sperrins foothills would have made it suitable for settlement and pasture, supporting the pastoral economy that sustained such communities.
The rath is protected by the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland under the reference 14795, recognising its archaeological significance as evidence of early Christian settlement patterns in Ulster. Such monuments remain important for understanding the distribution of early medieval society and the organisation of rural settlement in the region during the centuries following the arrival of Christianity.
Counterscarp rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14795. View the official record →
Counterscarp rath is an early Christian rath situated near Cookstown in County Tyrone. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14795.
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 14795.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Birch hill. rath (0.7 km), Wedge tomb (1.7 km), Trackway (2.3 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 Moine Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite.