The rectangular cropmark, measuring approximately 48 metres from west-northwest to east-southeast and 40 metres from north-northeast to south-southwest, shows up clearly in Google Earth photographs from June 2018. These distinctive marks in the landscape occur when buried archaeological features affect crop growth, creating visible patterns that can only be properly appreciated from above.

This type of enclosure typically dates from the Anglo-Norman period, when moated sites served as defended homesteads for wealthy landowners throughout the Irish midlands. The moat, which would have been filled with water, provided both practical defence and a symbol of status; these weren’t military fortifications but rather prestigious rural residences. The rectangular shape and dimensions suggest this was likely home to a substantial timber or stone building, possibly with associated outbuildings, all protected by the water-filled ditch that would have been crossed by a simple bridge or causeway.

The site at Quinsborough joins hundreds of similar moated enclosures scattered across Leinster, many of which have been levelled by centuries of agricultural activity and are now only visible as cropmarks during certain weather conditions. First identified by Faith Bailey and documented by Caimin O’Brien in October 2019, this particular example demonstrates how modern satellite technology continues to reveal Ireland’s hidden medieval landscape, offering glimpses of a settlement pattern that once dominated the region but has largely vanished from view at ground level.