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Rath and Souterrain is an early Christian ringfort located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument comprises a rath—a defended homestead enclosed by earthen banks—together with an underground stone-built passage known as a souterrain. These structures represent the domestic and defensive settlements that characterised early Christian society in Ireland, typically dating from the 5th to 10th centuries. The combination of both elements suggests a settlement of some status and resources.
The site is founded upon Palaeogene extrusive rocks, the volcanic mafic lava and tuff that underlies much of this region and was formed during the early Tertiary period. This ancient bedrock would have shaped both the building techniques available to the inhabitants and the natural drainage characteristics of the location. The choice of site exploited the local geology for construction and defence.
The rath and souterrain are protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities, registered under monument reference 4068. The site remains an important archaeological record of early medieval settlement patterns in Ulster and contributes to understanding the domestic architecture and land use of early Christian communities in Northern Ireland.
Rath & souterrain is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4068. View the official record →
Rath and Souterrain is an early Christian ringfort located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4068.
Rath & souterrain dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a rath & souterrain. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Rath & souterrain 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 4068.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tullyrusk fort. raised rath & plantation fort (4.5 km), Bivallate rath with souterrain & rath annexe (5.4 km), Counterscarp rath (5.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Rath & souterrain'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 & souterrain stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.