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Rath is an early Christian rath situated near Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This ringfort is built upon bedrock of the Gala Group wacke formation, which dates to the Telychian period of the Silurian. The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 7487.
Raths are characteristic earthwork enclosures of early medieval Ireland, typically comprising one or more circular banks and ditches that served as defended homesteads for farming communities. Their construction and occupation span from the late Iron Age through the medieval period, with particular prominence during the early Christian centuries from the 5th to 12th centuries.
This example at Lisburn represents an important archaeological record of early Christian settlement patterns in the north-east of Ireland. The underlying wacke geology of the Gala Group would have provided a stable foundation for the construction and maintenance of the earthwork defences. The site contributes to understanding the distribution of such monuments across Ulster during the early medieval period and their relationship to the Christian ecclesiastical landscape that was emerging in this region.
Rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7487. View the official record →
Rath is an early Christian rath situated near Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7487.
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 7487.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dunbeg hill fort. fortification (4.4 km), Counterscarp rath (5.1 km), Gransha fort. large hilltop enclosure (6.2 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 Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.