This moated site sits on relatively flat, marshy ground where several small streams converge, creating a naturally waterlogged landscape that the monument’s builders cleverly incorporated into their design. The rectangular enclosure, measuring 54 metres by 45 metres internally and oriented east to west, represents a type of medieval settlement that once dotted the Irish countryside.

The site’s most striking feature is its elaborate defensive system of double banks and a water-filled ditch, or fosse. The inner bank rises to about 0.8 metres on the interior side and 1.5 metres on the exterior, with a width of approximately 2 metres. Between this and an outer bank lies the waterlogged fosse, also 2 metres wide, which is continuously fed by two channelled streams. The outer bank stands 1.3 metres high on its inner face and 0.8 metres on the outer, spanning about 3 metres in width. Interestingly, archaeologists have found no visible entrance to the enclosure, suggesting either a concealed or since-destroyed gateway, or perhaps access via a wooden bridge that has long since rotted away.

The interior space reveals further intriguing details; the northern half sits slightly elevated above the southern portion, with a small wet gully running between them. This internal division might indicate separate functional areas within the enclosure, perhaps distinguishing living quarters from agricultural or storage spaces. Moated sites like this one typically date from the 13th to 14th centuries and were often associated with Anglo-Norman settlement, though some may have been adopted by Gaelic Irish families. The substantial earthworks and strategic use of water defences suggest this was home to someone of considerable local importance, perhaps a minor lord or prosperous merchant who needed both security and a visible symbol of their status in medieval Kilkenny.