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Ballymoney Rath is a raised earthwork monument dating to the early Christian period, located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The site comprises a substantial circular bank forming an enclosed domestic settlement, characteristic of the rath type that served as the fortified homestead of a prosperous family or small community. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division.
The raised nature of the earthwork would have provided defensive advantages and improved drainage across what is now grassland. Geological surveys indicate the rath sits upon Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lavas and tuffs—that form the underlying bedrock of the locality. A possible souterrain may have existed within or adjacent to the settlement, a common feature of early Irish raths that served for storage and refuge.
Raths of this period typically date between the fifth and twelfth centuries, representing a significant form of settlement organisation in early Christian Ulster. The Ballymoney example contributes to the archaeological landscape of the wider region, where such earthwork monuments cluster to reveal patterns of land use and settlement hierarchy in medieval Ireland. The site remains an important element of the local heritage resource, preserving evidence of early settlement strategies on the volcanic bedrock of north Antrim.
Raised rath & ?souterrain is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 1227. View the official record →
Ballymoney Rath is a raised earthwork monument dating to the early Christian period, located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 1227.
Raised rath & ?souterrain dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a rathpossible. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Raised rath & ?souterrain 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 1227.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Raised rath? or moated site? (0.1 km), Raised rath (3.1 km), Raised rath & annexe (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Raised rath & ?souterrain'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 & ?souterrain stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.