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Counterscarp rath is a small early Christian ringfort located near Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of a circular or sub-circular earthwork with an external ditch or counterscarp, characteristic of the rath form that dominated rural settlement in early Christian Ireland from around the 5th century onwards. The site sits on Palaeogene mafic lava and tuff bedrock, volcanic in origin and typical of the Antrim plateau geology, which would have presented a firm foundation for the construction of the earthwork defences.
Raths served as the fortified homesteads of the Irish aristocracy and farming communities, their defensive ditches and banks offering protection for both livestock and inhabitants. The 'counterscarp' designation indicates a ditch with an outer bank, a configuration common to many Irish ringforts. Such monuments were often nuclei of early Christian communities, sometimes associated with nearby churches or monastic settlements.
The rath is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under monument reference 2582, ensuring its preservation as an archaeological resource. The site contributes to understanding settlement patterns and land use in early medieval Antrim, forming part of the broader landscape of ringforts that characterise this period of Irish history.
Counterscarp rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 2582. View the official record →
Counterscarp rath is a small early Christian ringfort located near Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 2582.
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 2582.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath (2 km), Standing stone (3.4 km), Megalithic tomb (3.9 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 Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.