Moat, Hortland, Co. Kildare
At the top of a moderately steep, west-facing slope in Hortland, County Kildare, stands an impressive earthen mound that overlooks the River Blackwater some 200 metres below.
Moat, Hortland, Co. Kildare
This oval-shaped monument, covered in grass and beech trees, rises between 4.7 and 8 metres high depending on which side you approach from. The mound measures approximately 36 metres east to west and 31.5 metres north to south, making it a substantial feature in the landscape with excellent views stretching out in every direction. The summit has a distinctive dished, circular surface about 8 metres across, which is partially retained by the remains of a dry-stone wall; two courses of this revetment can still be seen on the western side, standing about 35 centimetres high.
A notable architectural feature of this mound is the broad berm, roughly 2 metres wide, that encircles the monument halfway up its sides from the north, round the east to the south. While a shallow defensive ditch or fosse was documented around the base of the mound in 1986, measuring about 2 metres wide, it has since been obliterated by agricultural machinery working the surrounding tillage fields. The site’s strategic position becomes even more intriguing when you consider that an ecclesiastical site lies just 40 metres to the south, suggesting this area has been significant for many centuries.
Historical records add another layer of mystery to this monument. The Ordnance Survey Letters noted that an old castle once stood beside this moat, though no visible traces of such a structure remain today. Whether this mound served as a Norman motte, an earlier defensive position, or had some other purpose entirely remains a matter of speculation. What is certain is that this prominent earthwork has commanded these slopes above the Blackwater for centuries, silently witnessing the changing fortunes of the surrounding countryside whilst maintaining its imposing presence in the Kildare landscape.