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Green Mound is a rath and multivallate motte located in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The monument comprises multiple concentric earth banks and ditches, combining characteristics of both early Christian Irish settlement and medieval Norman fortification. Its construction exploited the underlying Palaeogene extrusive rocks, a bedrock of mafic lava and tuff that provided a stable foundation for the earthwork defences. The mound's form suggests occupation during the transition between early medieval and Anglo-Norman periods, when defensive architectural traditions were merging in Ireland.
The multivallate character of the site—its several defensive rings—indicates considerable investment in fortification, typical of high-status settlements. The interaction between the pre-existing rath, a distinctive Irish ringfort form, and the later motte construction reveals how successive communities adapted the landscape for their defensive needs. The site's location in the Lisburn area, part of the broader Ulster region, places it within important zones of both Gaelic and Norman settlement activity.
Green Mound is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 4548, ensuring the preservation of this significant monument that bridges two distinct periods of Irish settlement and fortification practice.
Green mound. rath & multivallate motte is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4548. View the official record →
Green Mound is a rath and multivallate motte located in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4548.
Green mound. rath & multivallate motte dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a rath & motte. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Green mound. rath & multivallate motte 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 4548.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bivallate rath (1 km), Bivallate rath with souterrain & rath annexe (1.4 km), Giant's grave. megalithic tomb (1.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Green mound. rath & multivallate motte'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.
Green mound. rath & multivallate motte stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.