E.CHRIST. · RATH

Rath

Armagh, Northern Ireland
NISMR MonID 5841
Period
E.CHRIST.
Site type
RATH
Nation
Northern Ireland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Rath, situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, is an Iron Age or early medieval ringfort, a defensive residential enclosure characteristic of Irish settlement patterns. The monument comprises a circular or oval earthwork defined by one or more banks and external ditches, typical of the rath form that proliferated across Ireland from the later prehistoric period through the medieval centuries. Such raths served as fortified homesteads for families of status, their defensive character reflecting both the social hierarchy and territorial competition of their age. The Armagh example contributes to the substantial corpus of similar monuments surviving in Ulster, where rathe remain among the most numerous field monuments of archaeological significance.

Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 5841. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Rath?

Rath, situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, is an Iron Age or early medieval ringfort, a defensive residential enclosure characteristic of Irish settlement patterns. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 5841.

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 5841.

What other scheduled monuments are near Rath?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rath & cross-carved stone (0.4 km), Rath (1.3 km), Ballymoyer old church, ballemoire, lisdromaude. post-med. church & graveyard (3.8 km).

Aubrey Research

Generate a full report for this location

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in the UK — drawing on scheduled monument data, Domesday records, Roman heritage, PAS finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.

Research the area around Rath