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Rath — a is an early Christian defensive enclosure located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 10103. The site sits upon bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a complex geological formation comprising limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone interspersed with subordinate bands of chert, coal and conglomerate, laid down during the Visean period of the Carboniferous era.
Raths are characteristic fortified homesteads of early Christian Ireland, typically consisting of one or more circular banks and ditches enclosing an area of occupation. They represent the domestic and defensive infrastructure of local elites during the period from approximately the fifth to twelfth centuries. The underlying geology of this particular site, with its variable stone bands and exposed chert deposits, would have presented both challenges and opportunities for the construction of substantial earthen ramparts.
The monument's survival at grid reference H1969046690 provides evidence of early medieval settlement patterns and social organisation within Fermanagh. The locally available stone resources from the Tyrone Group bedrock would have been exploited for building and domestic purposes by the rath's inhabitants, whose activities left material traces of daily life characteristic of this significant period in Irish Christian history.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 10103. View the official record →
Rath — a is an early Christian defensive enclosure located in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 10103.
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.
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 10103.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Large oval earthwork possibly rath (3.6 km), Church, graveyard & enclosure (5.1 km), Rectangular enclosure (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of 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.
Rath stands on Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.