Scheduled Monuments›Northern Ireland›Newry And Mourne›Rath
E.CHRIST. · RATH

Rath

Newry And Mourne, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 5837
Period
E.CHRIST.
Site type
RATH
Nation
Northern Ireland
The designation
Reference
NISMR MonID 5837
Authority
DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Grid reference
J0207034630
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Rath is an early Christian rath located in Newry and Mourne, Northern Ireland. The monument stands on ground underlain by Gala Group bedrock of Telychian age, a wacke formation typical of the upland terrain in this region. The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 5837.

Raths were circular or oval earthwork enclosures that served as the homesteads of Irish farmers and minor chieftains from the Iron Age through the medieval period. This example belongs to the early Christian phase of rath construction and use, when such settlements continued to function as domestic and sometimes ecclesiastical centres. The enclosure would originally have comprised one or more banks and ditches defining a defended farmstead.

The Newry and Mourne landscape contains numerous such monuments, reflecting the sustained settlement pattern of this fertile region. The underlying wacke bedrock would have presented challenges for construction but also provided stone for building and repair. Today, the earthworks remain a visible record of early medieval settlement and land use in this part of Ulster.

Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 5837. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Rath?

Rath is an early Christian rath located in Newry and Mourne, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 5837.

What period does Rath date from?

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.

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 5837.

What other scheduled monuments are near Rath?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Megalithic tomb - court tomb? (6 km), Black pig's glen. linear earthwork (6.1 km), Standing stone (6.4 km).

Unlimited access

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.

Start your Rath report
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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Megalithic tomb - court tomb?
PREHISTORIC · MEGALITHIC TOMB6 km
Black pig's glen. linear earthwork
UNCERTAIN · EARTHWORK6.1 km
Standing stone
PREHISTORIC · STANDING STONE6.4 km
Souterrain
E.CHRIST. · SOUTERRAIN6.4 km
Cross-carved stone
UNCERTAIN · STONE6.6 km
Lissaraw fort. bivallate rath & possible souterrain
E.CHRIST. · RATH & SOUTERRAIN6.7 km
Ballymoyer old church, ballemoire, lisdromaude. post-med. church & graveyard
POST-MED · ECCLESIASTICAL SITE6.8 km
Rath
E.CHRIST. · RATH6.8 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Rath

Rath stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.

All Scheduled Monuments