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Lisnacannon is a multivallate rath situated near Ballymoney in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of multiple concentric earthen banks, a defensive design characteristic of early Christian-period Irish ringforts built between the 5th and 10th centuries. Such raths typically enclosed domestic and agricultural activity within their ramparts, serving as farmsteads or minor fortified settlements for families of modest to middling status in early medieval Irish society.
The site sits upon bedrock composed of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, primarily mafic lava and tuff formed during the early Tertiary volcanic activity that shaped much of the northern Irish landscape. This rocky substratum would have influenced both the construction and drainage of the earthworks, with builders adapting their technique to the underlying geology.
Lisnacannon is protected as a scheduled historic monument under the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland (reference 1814), ensuring its preservation as an archaeological resource. The multivallate form suggests either successive phases of construction or expansion in response to changing security requirements during the early medieval period, though the specific chronology and history of occupation at this individual site remain to be fully established through archaeological investigation.
Lisnacannon. multivallate rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 1814. View the official record →
Lisnacannon is a multivallate rath situated near Ballymoney in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 1814.
Lisnacannon. multivallate 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.
Lisnacannon. multivallate 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 1814.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone (1.4 km), Mound (2.2 km), Lough tarmin, loughtamand, lough tammin, loughtammin, loughtamin, loughtarmin, lough toman, lough tamin, lough tamand. crannog in former lough tamin (3.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lisnacannon. multivallate 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.
Lisnacannon. multivallate rath stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.