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White Fort is a platform rath situated near Magherafelt in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The monument comprises an elevated earthen platform characteristic of early Christian raths, which served as enclosed homesteads or defensive settlements during the early medieval period. The site lies upon bedrock of the Tyrone Group, a geological formation dating to the Visean epoch, composed of limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone with subordinate deposits of chert, coal and conglomerate. This underlying geology has shaped the landscape and drainage patterns of the immediate locality.
Platform raths of this type typically enclosed domestic and agricultural buildings within a circular or sub-circular ditch-defined area, raised slightly above surrounding ground level. The fortification provided both status and practical defence for an early Christian community. White Fort's position within the Magherafelt area places it within a region historically significant for early medieval settlement patterns in Ulster.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities under reference 12830, ensuring its preservation for future study. The site remains an important physical record of early Christian settlement practices and domestic organisation in early medieval Northern Ireland.
White fort. platform rath is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 12830. View the official record →
White Fort is a platform rath situated near Magherafelt in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 12830.
White fort. platform 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.
White fort. platform 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 12830.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Kilcronaghan church. church & graveyard (2 km), Fort william. counterscarp rath (2.1 km), Drumbally fort. counterscarp rath (4.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of White fort. platform 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.
White fort. platform rath stands on Tyrone Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, mudstone, sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate chert, coal and conglomerate.