Dating from around 350AD, the rath at Lisnagade near Banbridge would have housed the main 'fort' in a group of housing fortifications scattered round the surrounding area.

These were circular settlements surrounded by steep banks of about 6 metres in height and a ditch.

The diameter of the inner circle is around 60 metres, while the total diameter of the rath is about 110 metres.

The earthen and stone banks and walls would have kept out livestock thieves, wolves and other would-be intruders, but would not have withstood a determined attack.

Basically, they were dwelling camps for large, connected families and the enclosure served as a farmyard for chickens, pigs and dairy-making activities.

Although bronze artefacts have been recovered from the site, little else is known about its occupants beyond the fact that they were fairly powerful members of medieval society.

As Emily Murray states in the clip, only a lord could have had the manpower to build this.

A 'souterrain' was an underground passage leading to a chamber which had been carefully drained, lined with stone flags, provided with ventilation shafts and roofed with stone lintels covered over with grass sods.

It now seems certain that these were temporary hiding places for use if the homestead was attacked, and that valuables such as seed corn and food, which needed to be kept cool in summer, were stored here.