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Raised rath is an early Christian rath situated in County Down, Northern Ireland. The monument occupies ground underlain by Gala Group wacke bedrock, formed during the Telychian period. It is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 7608.
Raths were the characteristic dwelling sites of the early medieval Irish elite, typically comprising one or more circular enclosures defined by banks and ditches. This raised example shows evidence of artificial heightening or construction on a platform, a feature occasionally encountered in rath design that may have served defensive, drainage or ceremonial purposes. Such elevated sites were particularly common during the early Christian period, when many raths continued in use or were newly established as seats of local lords and ecclesiastical figures.
The geological setting on Telychian wacke would have presented particular drainage and foundation conditions influencing both the monument's original construction and its present preservation. The rath's survival as an upstanding earthwork in the modern landscape reflects both its substantial initial construction and the relative stability of this corner of County Down through subsequent centuries of land use change.
Raised rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7608. View the official record →
Raised rath is an early Christian rath situated in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7608.
Raised 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.
Raised 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 7608.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone (6.9 km), Motte & bailey (8.2 km), Standing stone - possible outlier of ballynoe stone circle complex (8.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Raised 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.
Raised rath stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.