This subrectangular fortification, measuring approximately 300 by 250 feet, was first properly documented by Hartnett in 1939, who noted that the southern section survived as a raised platform standing about five feet above the original ground level. The defensive fosse, or ditch, that once encircled the entire structure can still be traced today, even where it crosses a small country lane to the north and a minor road to the northeast.

The site’s most prominent surviving feature is the south-western section, which appears as a distinct scarp about one metre high; a detail carefully recorded on Ordnance Survey maps from both 1903 and 1943. Whilst the eastern half of the interior has been repurposed for modern farm buildings and a house, these later additions haven’t completely obscured the medieval layout. The careful placement of these structures within the original earthwork boundaries offers an interesting example of how ancient sites continue to shape the Irish landscape, even when adapted for contemporary use.

Moated sites like this one at Raheen were typically constructed during the Anglo-Norman period, serving as fortified farmsteads for colonists who needed both agricultural land and defensive capabilities. The raised platform would have originally supported timber buildings, whilst the surrounding water-filled ditch provided both protection and a statement of status in the medieval landscape. Today, this unassuming field monument represents one of many such sites scattered across Cork’s rolling countryside, each one a tangible link to the complex history of medieval settlement in Ireland.