© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Rath — a e.christ. rath is a fortified enclosure located in Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument stands on bedrock of the Argyll Group, a Neoproterozoic formation comprising psammite, semipelite and pelite—metamorphic rocks that were laid down over 600 million years ago and subsequently altered by heat and pressure. This ancient geology forms the foundation of the Low-lands landscape characteristic of this region.
The rath itself dates to the early Christian period, when such ringforts served as the defended homesteads of Irish families of rank and substance. The monument is defined by one or more circular banks and ditches, a typical defensive arrangement for settlements of this era. Such sites frequently incorporated timber-built domestic structures within their enclosed space, though archaeological evidence at this location has not revealed specific details of internal arrangement.
The rath is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under monument reference 14159, ensuring its preservation as an important record of early Christian settlement patterns in the region. Located at grid reference H5741091650, the monument remains a visible landscape feature testament to the continuity of occupation in the Strabane area across more than fifteen centuries.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 14159. View the official record →
Rath — a e.christ. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 14159.
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 14159.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dermot & grainne's bed, dermot & grania's bed. megalithic tomb, possibly wedge tomb (2.6 km), Dermot & grainnes' bed, dermot & granias' bed. portal tomb (2.6 km), Counterscarp rath (4.2 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 Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.