This rectangular earthwork measures 39 metres from northwest to southeast and 28 metres from northeast to southwest, enclosed by a single earthen bank that rises to 1.7 metres in height. A shallow external fosse, or defensive ditch, runs alongside the bank, though centuries of cattle traffic have created numerous breaks in the earthwork. The most significant gap, measuring 4.6 metres wide, appears on the eastern side and likely marks the original entrance to the site.

The interior surface shows considerable wear, with an uneven terrain that includes a large shallow depression on the eastern side. These moated sites were typically constructed by Anglo-Norman settlers during the 13th and 14th centuries as defended homesteads, combining agricultural function with defensive capability. The earthen banks and water-filled ditches offered protection for the timber or stone buildings that once stood within, housing farming families who were establishing themselves in what was then a frontier landscape.

Today, this quiet corner of West Cork preserves one of hundreds of similar sites scattered across Ireland, each marking where medieval colonists once carved out their holdings. While the buildings have long since vanished and cattle now graze where halls once stood, the earthworks remain as tangible links to Cork’s medieval past, when such fortified farmsteads dotted the countryside as outposts of Norman influence in Gaelic Ireland.