© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Rath — a e.christ. is an early Christian ring fort located near Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Kilskeery Group, Chesterian sedimentary rocks comprising sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate. This stable geological foundation would have provided suitable terrain for the construction and maintenance of the earthwork's characteristic circular or oval bank and ditch defining the enclosed settlement area.
Raths of this period, typically dating from the early Christian centuries, served as fortified homesteads for farming communities. The site's location in the Omagh area places it within the broader landscape of early medieval settlement and land use in this region of Ulster. The defensive earthwork would have enclosed domestic and agricultural structures, creating a secure precinct for a single family or small extended household.
The monument is protected and recorded by the Historic Environment Division of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency under reference 15423, recognising its significance as evidence of early Christian settlement patterns and domestic fortification. The survival of the earthwork offers archaeological potential for understanding settlement organisation, agricultural practices and social structures of early Christian Ulster.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 15423. View the official record →
Rath — a e.christ. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 15423.
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 15423.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carnnamoghil. multiple cist cairn (4.3 km), Standing stone (4.9 km), Giant's grave. portal tomb (5.4 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 Kilskeery Group, bedrock that formed in the Chesterian. The rock here is sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and conglomerate.