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Rath — a e.christ. rath is an early Christian fortified homestead situated near Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument occupies ground underlain by the Shanmullagh Formation, a geological sequence of sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate laid down during the Famennian period of the Carboniferous era.
Early Christian raths, typically constructed between the fifth and twelfth centuries, were ringforts serving both defensive and domestic purposes for elite families in early medieval Ireland. These earthen enclosures usually comprised one or more concentric banks and ditches surrounding a residential area. The local geology of sandstone and mudstone would have influenced the character of the soil and drainage conditions available for construction and settlement.
The site is recorded and protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under monument reference number 15202. It represents an important element of the early Christian settlement pattern across Ulster and contributes to understanding the distribution and character of early medieval occupation in the Omagh area during a formative period of Irish Christian society.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15202. View the official record →
Rath — a e.christ. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15202.
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 15202.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rectangular counterscarped earthwork (2.5 km), Large hilltop enclosure - hillfort? (2.8 km), Church & graveyard (3.8 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.