Summary: General Information about Raths
Key dates:
The homes of ordinary people were isolated and scattered around the countryside. The homes of rulers and wealthy farmers were ring forts, surrounded by a rath or high bank of earth or stone, sometimes mounted on a palisade. The houses of the most important were more elaborately defended. This protection was not just from attackers but also from wild animals.
There were also severe penalties for trespass and these included clear rules about the kind and size of fences to be used. The drawings show what these early fences looked like.
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