Earthworks of this kind are among the most common yet least understood features of the Irish countryside. The term covers a broad range of humanmade or human-modified landforms, from the raised platforms of ringforts and enclosures to the ditches and banks that once defined field boundaries, ceremonial spaces, or defensive perimeters. Without further documentation it is difficult to say precisely what purpose this particular feature served, or when it was constructed, though earthworks in Clare span a wide chronological range, from the prehistoric period through to the early medieval.