The surviving earthwork consists of a low, curving bank made from earth and stone, measuring between 1.45 and 4 metres in width and standing 0.25 to 0.4 metres high. This modest embankment traces a partial circuit around the northern extent of the main fortification, positioned between 0.4 and 5.9 metres from its western and northern sides.

Bawns were essential defensive features of the Irish landscape from the 15th to 17th centuries, serving as walled enclosures that protected livestock, stored goods, and provided refuge during raids. These structures typically surrounded tower houses or castles, creating a fortified compound where daily life could continue with some degree of security during Ireland’s turbulent medieval period. The earthwork at Castletown, whilst now reduced to a low bank, would have originally supported a more substantial wall, likely constructed of stone or a combination of stone and timber.

The site, catalogued as SL011-019, offers visitors a glimpse into the defensive strategies employed by landowners in County Sligo centuries ago. Though time and weather have reduced the bawn to its current modest state, the curving line of the embankment still clearly marks where this protective barrier once stood, allowing modern observers to trace the footprint of this once-formidable defensive structure. The fortification and its associated bawn represent the layered history of Irish settlement patterns, where security concerns shaped the very architecture of rural life.