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Rath — a is an early Christian earthwork located near Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument consists of a circular or oval enclosure formed by one or more banks and ditches, typical of the raths that served as defended farmsteads and settlement centres during the early medieval period. Dating from the early Christian era, such ringforts functioned as both residential and agricultural bases for local communities, often housing a single extended family or small kinship group.
The rath sits upon bedrock of the Shanmullagh Formation, comprising sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate deposits laid down during the Famennian period of the Devonian. This geology shaped both the construction and durability of the earthwork, with the underlying rock providing a stable foundation whilst the softer sediments allowed relatively straightforward digging of the defensive ditches that characterise the monument.
Today the rath survives as an upstanding earthwork in the Omagh landscape. It has been recorded and protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under monument reference 15153, ensuring its preservation as an important testament to early Christian settlement patterns and land use in Ulster. Such monuments remain among the most numerous archaeological features of their period across Ireland.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15153. View the official record →
Rath — a is an early Christian earthwork located near Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15153.
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 15153.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Large hilltop enclosure - hillfort? (3.3 km), Church & graveyard (3.4 km), Rath (3.7 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 Shanmullagh Formation, bedrock that formed in the Famennian. The rock here is sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate.