Historical maps offer glimpses of what once was; Francis Plunkett’s 1736 map and D. A. Beaufort’s 1808 survey both show a gate standing at the southern end of Main Street, which survived into the early 19th century before disappearing entirely. Though the walls themselves are gone and their exact route remains a mystery, the town’s defensive past hasn’t been completely erased.

In 2012, archaeologist P. Walsh made a significant discovery whilst monitoring water pipe installation works at the junction of Main Street, Church Street and Goff Street. Just 20 centimetres beneath the modern road surface, Walsh uncovered what appears to be a section of medieval wall. The ancient stonework stretched along the excavation trench for 5.5 metres and extended beyond the trench’s depth of nearly a metre, though its full width couldn’t be determined due to the constraints of the dig. Interestingly, an earlier water pipe had been laid precisely where the town gate once stood, its installers unwittingly following the medieval passage through the defences.

These archaeological findings at Ardnanagh, Ballypheasan, remind us that beneath the everyday streets of modern Irish towns lie centuries of hidden history. Whilst Roscommon’s walls may no longer stand proud above ground, their foundations remain buried beneath the tarmac, silent witnesses to a time when towns needed stone defences to protect their inhabitants from the uncertainties of medieval Ireland.