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Rath at J150 047 is an early Christian earthwork located near Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland. It forms one of a pair of raths in the landscape, existing alongside its companion monument. The site is constructed upon bedrock of the Gala Group, a Telychian-age wacke formation that would have presented considerable challenges to the builders who excavated and raised the earthwork's banks and ditches. This geological foundation of hard, fine-grained metamorphic rock is characteristic of the Ordovician strata underlying much of this region.
The rath belongs to the category of fortified domestic enclosures that became widespread across Ireland during the early Christian period, roughly from the fifth century onwards. Such monuments typically comprise one or more circular or oval banks and ditches that enclosed farmsteads, providing security and social status for their inhabitants. The survival of two raths in close proximity suggests a deliberate settlement pattern or family grouping within this locality during the early medieval period.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 7351, recognising its importance to the archaeological record of early Christian settlement in Ulster. It contributes significantly to understanding the organisation of secular and ecclesiastical territories in the region during the first millennium AD.
Rath - one of a rath pair with 027 is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7351. View the official record →
Rath at J150 047 is an early Christian earthwork located near Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7351.
Rath - one of a rath pair with 027 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 - one of a rath pair with 027 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 7351.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rough fort. raised rath (4.9 km), Counterscarp rath (5.8 km), Counterscarp rath (6.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Rath - one of a rath pair with 027'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 - one of a rath pair with 027 stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.