This circular earthwork, measuring 37 metres in diameter and rising 3 to 3.5 metres high, represents one of the earliest forms of castle construction introduced to Ireland following the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 12th century. The motte is surrounded by a water-filled defensive ditch, known as a fosse, which spans 6 metres wide and reaches depths of up to 1.6 metres. Small boulders line the inner face of this ditch, with some sections still showing three courses of this original stone revetment work.

Unfortunately, quarrying activities have hollowed out the interior of the motte, removing material to a depth of 3.4 metres below the surviving rim, which has significantly altered its original appearance. A possible causeway, approximately 4 metres wide, can be detected at the southwest side, which would have provided the primary access point to the castle’s summit where a wooden tower or palisade likely once stood. The defensive features extend beyond the main ditch; a raised platform or berm, measuring 6 to 7 metres wide and 0.8 metres high, runs along the southern and western sides outside the fosse, though this feature has been removed on the northern side.

An additional earthen bank edges the outer rim of the berm, standing between 1.4 and 2 metres wide, with an internal height of 0.5 metres and an external height of 1.3 metres. These layered defences would have made the castle a formidable stronghold in medieval times, controlling views westward over the Douglas River valley. The site was documented in the Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow published in 1997, with updates incorporated from subsequent research conducted through 2008.