This rectangular earthwork measures 23 metres from north to south and 10 metres from east to west, with the river forming its natural boundary on the eastern side. The remaining three sides are defined by a defensive system typical of medieval Irish settlements: a scarp standing 0.6 metres high, accompanied by a fosse, or defensive ditch, that runs 6.5 metres wide and half a metre deep, with an outer earthen bank beyond it.

The site’s defensive features suggest it once protected a medieval homestead, likely dating from the Anglo-Norman period when such moated sites were common across Ireland. These earthworks typically surrounded timber-framed buildings and served both defensive and drainage purposes in Ireland’s often waterlogged landscape. An aerial photograph from the Irish Archaeological Survey reveals what appears to be a leat, a man-made channel, feeding into the fosse on the southern side, which would have helped maintain water levels in the defensive ditch.

Though now reduced to earthen banks and ditches, this site represents an important piece of Sligo’s medieval heritage. Moated sites like this one were typically home to Anglo-Norman settlers or Gaelicised families of the later medieval period, serving as fortified farmsteads that controlled and worked the surrounding agricultural land. The proximity to the Owenmore River would have provided both a water source and an additional defensive barrier, whilst also offering access to river transport and fishing resources.