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King's fort is a ringfort or rath, a fortified domestic enclosure of the early medieval period located near Limavady in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of a circular or near-circular earthwork defined by one or more banks and ditches, a settlement form that was prevalent throughout Ireland from the fifth century onwards. The fort sits on bedrock comprising Hibernian Greensands and Ulster White Limestone of Late Cretaceous age, chalky and sandy soils that characterise this region of the North West.
Rathes such as King's fort served as the defended homesteads of farming families and minor nobility, their ramparts offering protection for both inhabitants and livestock. The earthwork construction typical of these sites was achieved by heaping spoil from the enclosing ditch into the surrounding bank, creating a modest but effective barrier. The survival of the earthwork at King's fort demonstrates the durability of such monuments across more than fifteen centuries.
The site is protected as a scheduled historic monument by the Historic Environment Division of the Northern Ireland Executive, recognising its archaeological importance and its contribution to understanding early medieval settlement patterns in Ulster. The monument's preservation allows future archaeological investigation to expand knowledge of daily life, economy and social organisation in the early Christian period.
King's fort, rings fort. rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11998. View the official record →
King's fort is a ringfort or rath, a fortified domestic enclosure of the early medieval period located near Limavady in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11998.
King's fort, rings fort. 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.
King's fort, rings fort. 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 11998.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including The rhellick. killeen, possibly cashel & souterrain (0.9 km), Wedge tomb (1.1 km), Bivallate rath (4.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of King's fort, rings fort. 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.
King's fort, rings fort. rath stands on Hibernian Greensands Formation And Ulster White Limestone Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Cretaceous. The rock here is chalk and sandstone.