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Counterscarp Rath is an early Christian rath situated in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The monument takes its name from the counterscarp bank that characterises its defensive earthwork construction, a feature typical of raths built during the early Christian period in Ireland. This settlement would have served as a fortified farmstead and dwelling place for a family of some status within their local community.
The rath is constructed upon bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a Visean formation comprising limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone interspersed with subordinate deposits of chert, coal and conglomerate. This solid geological foundation would have provided stable ground for the substantial earthwork banks required for the monument's construction and long-term survival on the landscape.
Today the site remains protected under the Historic Environment Division reference 9249, ensuring its preservation as an important record of early Christian settlement patterns and social organisation in this region of Ulster. Raths of this period typically enclosed domestic structures and sometimes small agricultural enclosures, reflecting the mixed farming economy upon which early medieval Irish communities depended.
Counterscarp rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 9249. View the official record →
Counterscarp Rath is an early Christian rath situated in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 9249.
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 9249.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Earthwork (2.7 km), Giants grave. wedge tomb (3 km), Counterscarp rath (3.2 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.