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Danes Cast is a prehistoric linear earthwork located near Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of a substantial bank and ditch running across the landscape, typical of earthwork defences constructed during prehistory. Such linear works served multiple functions, including territorial demarcation, stock control, and defensive purposes. The site sits upon bedrock of the Gala Group, a formation of wacke deposited during the Telychian period of the Silurian, which shapes the underlying geology of this part of Ulster.
The earthwork is positioned at grid reference J0865743882 and represents an important element of the prehistoric landscape around Banbridge. Its survival to the present day, despite agricultural activity and modern development pressures, testifies to its original substantial construction. The wacke bedrock would have presented particular challenges and opportunities to those who built the monument, influencing both the engineering approach and the siting of the work.
Danes Cast is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under reference 7695. This designation recognises its significance as a surviving example of prehistoric earthwork engineering and its value for understanding settlement patterns, land use and social organisation in prehistoric Northern Ireland. The monument remains visible in the landscape today and contributes to our understanding of the region's archaeological heritage.
Danes cast. linear earthwork is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7695. View the official record →
Danes Cast is a prehistoric linear earthwork located near Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7695.
Danes cast. linear earthwork dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a linear earthwork. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Danes cast. linear earthwork 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 7695.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone (5.8 km), Tierny fort. counterscarp rath (6.8 km), Rath (7.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Danes cast. linear earthwork'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.
Danes cast. linear earthwork stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.