BRONZE AGE · RATH

Rath

Armagh, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 5342
Period
BRONZE AGE
Site type
RATH
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 5342
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
H7831043700
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)

Overview

History & significance

Rath is a Bronze Age rath situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Raths are circular or oval earthwork enclosures, typically consisting of a raised bank and internal ditch, which served as defended homesteads or settlement centres during the later prehistoric period. This example is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 5342, recognising its archaeological significance.

The monument occupies land underlain by the Tyrone Group, a sequence of sedimentary rocks formed during the Visean period of the Carboniferous. These strata comprise limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone with subordinate deposits of chert, coal and conglomerate, which would have influenced both the character of the local soils and the resources available to Bronze Age inhabitants of the site.

The rath's position in the Armagh landscape reflects the pattern of settlement distribution typical of its period, when such enclosed homesteads became an established form of domestic and defensive architecture across Ireland. The survival of its earthwork structure, despite subsequent agricultural use, permits continued archaeological study of Bronze Age settlement, economy and social organisation in this region of Ulster.

Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 5342. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Rath?

Rath is a Bronze Age rath situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 5342.

What period does Rath date from?

Rath dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a rath. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Rath?

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 5342.

What other scheduled monuments are near Rath?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Doogary lough. possible crannog in doogary lough (5.1 km), Lisglynn. rath & souterrain (5.3 km), The doonan. mound (5.3 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Rath

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:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Rath

Rath stands on Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.