The monument first appeared on the 1840 Ordnance Survey map as a rectangular enclosure measuring approximately 110 metres from southwest to northeast and 60 metres from northwest to southeast. While quarrying activities have significantly altered the original landscape, careful observation reveals remnants of the site’s former defensive features.

Today, visitors to the quarry can still spot evidence of the historical monument along its eastern edge. A section of earthen bank, measuring nearly 9 metres in length and three quarters of a metre in width, runs in an east to west direction; this surviving feature likely formed part of the original enclosure’s defensive perimeter. Archaeological surveys conducted by Barry in 1981 confirmed the site’s classification as a moated settlement, a type of fortified homestead that was particularly common in medieval Ireland.

Moated sites like Drombanny were typically constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries, often by Anglo-Norman settlers or prosperous Irish families. These defensive enclosures, surrounded by water-filled ditches, protected farmsteads and manor houses from raids whilst also serving as symbols of status and authority in the medieval landscape. Though limestone extraction has obscured much of Drombanny’s original form, the site remains an intriguing example of how industrial activity and ancient monuments intersect in the Irish countryside, with fragments of the medieval past persisting despite centuries of change.