This roughly rectangular earthwork, positioned immediately southwest of the castle ruins, is defined by a prominent scarp approximately 15 metres long that runs north to south along its western edge. The site represents a fascinating example of defensive architecture that once protected the castle and its inhabitants during more turbulent times in Irish history.

Historical maps provide valuable insights into the site’s original layout and significance. The 1837 Ordnance Survey Fair Plan clearly marks this feature as a ‘Fortified Wall’, showing Kilfaughny Castle as a rectangular ruin standing within its own rectangular earthwork. The map also reveals that the fortified wall formed part of a larger defensive complex, with an additional rectangular earthwork extending to the south; a configuration that suggests this was once a substantial fortification designed to control and defend this strategic position.

Today, visitors to the site can still trace the outline of these defensive structures in the landscape, where centuries of weathering have softened but not erased their presence. The earthworks likely formed part of a bawn, a fortified enclosure typical of plantation period defences in Ireland, which would have provided protection for livestock and people during raids. The compilation of this archaeological record by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien in July 2019 ensures that the significance of these subtle but important landscape features continues to be recognised and understood by future generations.