RATH in Ballinderry

RATH in Ballinderry, County Antrim, is a recorded archaeological site from early Christian times. The name itself tells the story: a rath is an ancient fort, a circular defence built by human hands. Imagine it standing complete, its bank high enough to block the wind and its gate narrow enough to force two strangers to pass single-file. Inside may have stood a small hall, a hearth, a loom, a cradle, a shelf of pots and a bed of straw. Outside may have lain a garden, a lane, a field and a road that has since disappeared. The ground still holds the shape of that life even when the wooden walls and clay floors are gone.