Moated site, Brusk, Co. Galway
In the marshy pastures of Brusk, County Galway, lies a rectangular moated site that offers a glimpse into medieval Irish life.
Moated site, Brusk, Co. Galway
Measuring approximately 36 metres from northwest to southeast and 34.5 metres from northeast to southwest, this earthwork consists of two overgrown banks with a water-filled ditch, or fosse, running between them. A small stream flows through the northeastern section of the fosse, keeping the defensive ditch naturally supplied with water year-round.
The interior of the site remains largely level, though archaeologists have noted an intriguing raised platform at the northern end. This elevated area, roughly 21 by 11 metres, is marked out by remnants of two low earthen banks, suggesting it may have held particular significance; perhaps supporting the main dwelling or serving as a foundation for important structures. Such moated sites typically date from the 13th to 14th centuries, when Anglo-Norman settlers and wealthy Gaelic families constructed these defended homesteads across the Irish countryside.
Adding to the site’s archaeological interest, two possible fulachta fia, or ancient cooking sites, have been identified nearby; one about 40 metres to the northeast and another roughly 95 metres to the southeast. These Bronze Age cooking places, characterised by their horseshoe-shaped mounds of heat-shattered stones, predate the moated site by thousands of years, indicating that this patch of Galway countryside has attracted human settlement for millennia. First documented by Cody in 1989 and later catalogued by the Galway Archaeological Survey at University College Galway, the site remains in fair condition despite centuries of weathering and agricultural activity.