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Farrantemple fort is a bivallate rath situated in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of two concentric earthen banks and ditches, a defensive layout characteristic of early Christian period ringforts in Ulster. The site overlies Palaeogene extrusive rocks—ancient mafic lava and tuff deposits—which would have influenced both its construction and the local landscape available to its builders. These volcanic substrates, part of the wider geology of the north coast, provided a firm foundation for the earthworks.
The fort dates to the early Christian period, when such enclosed homesteads served as both residences and refuges for substantial families and their livestock. The bivallate design suggests considerable investment in defence and status, indicating an important settlement. The double-bank construction would have created a formidable obstacle to stock raiders, a persistent threat in early medieval Ulster society.
Today Farrantemple fort survives as an upstanding earthwork within the Coleraine landscape. The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland under reference 12348, ensuring the preservation of this significant monument for future study and public appreciation.
Farrantemple fort. bivallate rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12348. View the official record →
Farrantemple fort is a bivallate rath situated in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12348.
Farrantemple fort. bivallate 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.
Farrantemple fort. bivallate 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 12348.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dwarf's grave, slaght averty. cairn (0.8 km), Rath (1.8 km), Rath (1.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Farrantemple fort. bivallate 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.
Farrantemple fort. bivallate rath stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.