© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR)
Rath — a e.christ. rath is an early Christian earthwork located in the Newry and Mourne district of Northern Ireland. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a Wenlock-age wacke formation that would have provided the underlying geological foundation for settlement in this upland region. The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Division reference 6154.
Early Christian raths, or ringforts, served as fortified domestic enclosures across medieval Ireland and were typically occupied from the fifth to the twelfth centuries. These monuments consisted of one or more circular or oval banks and ditches, often containing evidence of timber or stone structures within. The rath form represented the standard settlement type for the early medieval period, housing families of varying social status.
The survival of this earthwork within its landscape, preserving the characteristic banks and ditches, provides archaeological evidence for early medieval settlement patterns in the northeast of Ireland. The Wenlock wacke bedrock beneath the site would have influenced both the construction techniques and the local availability of building materials, making this particular rath a physical manifestation of how early medieval communities adapted to their specific geological and topographical setting.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 6154. View the official record →
Rath — a e.christ. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 6154.
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 6154.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cofracloghy, colfracloghy. round cairn with cist (0.5 km), Lissacashel. cashel & souterrain (1 km), Rath & souterrain (1.5 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 Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.