© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Lismahon is a raised rath subsequently reused as a motte, located in County Down, Northern Ireland. The site exemplifies the continuity of defensive settlement across different periods of Irish history. Originally constructed as an early Christian rath—a circular earthwork comprising a ringfort with raised central platform—the monument was adapted in the medieval period when a motte was superimposed upon it, allowing the earlier structure to serve a new military purpose under Norman influence.
The monument sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a wacke formation dating from the Wenlock period of the Silurian era, which provides a substantial geological foundation. This ancient stone base would have presented both practical advantages and challenges for the successive communities who modified and occupied the site, influencing drainage and the stability of the earthworks themselves.
The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under reference 8530, reflecting its significance as a multilayered record of settlement patterns and cultural transition in medieval Ulster. The reuse of the early Christian rath as a motte demonstrates how landscape features of established value were incorporated into new defensive strategies, a common practice across Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period.
Lismahon. raised rath reused as motte is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8530. View the official record →
Lismahon is a raised rath subsequently reused as a motte, located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 8530.
Lismahon. raised rath reused as 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.
Lismahon. raised rath reused as 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 8530.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Motte (1.3 km), St. patrick's well, parkaneety graveyard, killyglinne. church, graveyard & holy well (1.6 km), Ballykinler. trench system (ww1)- dhp 307 (2.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lismahon. raised rath reused as 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.
Lismahon. raised rath reused as motte stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.