E.CHRIST. · RATH

Rath

Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 11241
Period
E.CHRIST.
Site type
RATH
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 11241
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H3869023690
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Rath — a is an early Christian rath situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. This ringfort represents a characteristic settlement form of the early medieval period, when such fortified homesteads served as the residential and administrative centres of Irish communities. The rath's earthwork consists of one or more concentric banks and ditches, a defensive arrangement that would have enclosed domestic structures and provided security for livestock and valued possessions. The monument lies on land developed over the Tyrone Group bedrock, a Visean-age formation of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, which underlies much of this region of Ulster.

The precise dating of such raths remains uncertain without excavation, though their prevalence across the Irish landscape suggests they were built and occupied across a span of centuries during the early Christian centuries and beyond. The surviving earthworks, though reduced by agricultural use and the passage of time, retain sufficient form to demonstrate the constructional method and spatial organisation typical of the period. Raths of this kind often developed in positions offering both practical advantages and symbolic prominence within their local territories.

The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under reference 11241, recognising its significance as evidence of early medieval settlement, social hierarchy and land use in Fermanagh.

Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11241. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Rath?

Rath — a is an early Christian rath situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11241.

What period does Rath date from?

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.

Who is responsible for protecting Rath?

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 11241.

What other scheduled monuments are near Rath?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castle (1.1 km), C6th monastery, multiperiod church site , graveyard, two-cross shafts & bases (1.1 km), Crom castle, crom old castle. castle & garden (2.2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Rath

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:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Rath

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.