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Rath — a e.christ. rath is an early Christian ringfort located near Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument sits on Sherwood Sandstone Group bedrock, comprising sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposited during the Ladinian period. This geological foundation would have influenced the drainage and stability of the earthwork when constructed during the early Christian period, roughly between the 5th and 7th centuries.
The rath represents a characteristic settlement form of early Christian Ireland, consisting of a circular or oval enclosure defined by a bank and ditch. Such ringforts served as defended homesteads for farming families of modest means, with the earthwork providing both protection and a demarcation of property. The site's location in the Cookstown area places it within a landscape that would have supported mixed agriculture and pastoral farming.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities, registered under reference 13110. Its preservation enables study of early Christian settlement patterns and land use in the northern Irish midlands. The rath remains visible in the modern landscape at grid reference H863 508, contributing to understanding of how early Christian communities organised their domestic and agricultural spaces.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 13110. View the official record →
Rath — a e.christ. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 13110.
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 13110.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Platform rath (1.4 km), Cloghtogle. portal tomb (4.9 km), Honeymug stone. standing stone (5.5 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 Sherwood Sandstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Ladinian. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.