Moated site, Dangan More, Co. Cork
On a west-facing slope overlooking a stream in Dangan More, County Cork, lies the remains of a medieval moated site.
Moated site, Dangan More, Co. Cork
This rectangular earthwork measures approximately 55.7 metres from north to south and 39.6 metres from east to west, enclosed by substantial earthen banks that still rise to about 1.4 metres in height on the eastern and southern sides. The western edge drops away sharply to the stream below, creating a natural defensive boundary, whilst traces of an outer fosse, or defensive ditch, roughly 0.8 metres deep, can still be seen beyond the earthen banks.
The interior of the site slopes uphill from west to east, following the natural contours of the land. Two breaks in the defensive perimeter suggest original access points; one approximately 2 metres wide in the north bank towards the northwest, and another in the southeast corner. These openings likely served as entrances to the enclosed area, which would have contained buildings and domestic structures during its period of use.
Moated sites like this one at Dangan More were typically constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries, often by Anglo-Norman settlers or wealthy Anglo-Irish families. They served as fortified farmsteads, offering protection for both the inhabitants and their livestock whilst demonstrating the status and wealth of their owners. The combination of natural defences provided by the stream and scarp, along with the constructed banks and fosse, would have created a formidable defensive position in medieval Cork.