Moated site, Ardanragh, Co. Longford
In the pastoral lands near Ardanragh, County Longford, a curious medieval earthwork rises subtly from the wet, low-lying ground.
Moated site, Ardanragh, Co. Longford
This moated site forms an almost square enclosure measuring approximately 24 metres from northwest to southeast and 23 metres from northeast to southwest, with gently rounded corners that soften its geometric outline. The structure consists of a wide earthen and stone bank, now standing just 35 centimetres high and spanning about 6 metres in width, which would have been considerably more imposing when first constructed during the medieval period.
Surrounding this raised platform, a broad external fosse, or defensive ditch, once provided additional protection; though now largely filled in along three sides, it originally measured 5.5 metres wide and roughly 30 centimetres deep. Time and agricultural activity have taken their toll on the monument: a hedgerow now cuts through the southeastern bank, whilst centuries of sediment have accumulated in the fosse along the southwestern, northwestern, and northeastern boundaries. The original entrance to this enclosure has been lost to these changes, making it impossible to determine how medieval inhabitants would have accessed the site.
Located roughly 700 metres west-northwest of Ardanragh Castle, this moated site likely served as a fortified farmstead or manor for a lesser landholder during the Anglo-Norman period. These earthwork enclosures were typical defensive structures in medieval Ireland, providing both practical protection and a statement of status in the landscape. Though modest compared to the stone fortifications of nearby Ardanragh Castle, this earthwork represents the broader network of medieval settlement that once dotted the Irish countryside, where local lords and prosperous farmers carved out their own defended spaces in the contested borderlands of medieval Longford.