Moated site, Ballycomisk, Co. Tipperary South
In the improved pasture lands of Ballycomisk, County Tipperary South, the remnants of a medieval moated site lie at the south-southeastern end of a ridge.
Moated site, Ballycomisk, Co. Tipperary South
This historical earthwork forms part of a double moated complex, joined directly to another moated site on its west-southwestern side. Though centuries of agricultural activity have completely levelled most of the monument over a considerable area, careful observation reveals traces of its original outline along the southeastern edge, where it follows the natural contour of the land. A farm track, measuring 2.5 metres wide, runs immediately to the north-northwest of the site.
Historical Ordnance Survey maps from 1952-54 provide valuable insight into the original layout of these conjoined enclosures before modern farming obscured their features. The western moated site appears as a sub-rectangular area with an internal pond on its western side, whilst this eastern site is depicted as a smaller, D-shaped enclosure measuring approximately 35 metres northwest to southeast and 20 metres from east-northeast to west-southwest. Field archaeologists documented the monument in 1954, creating detailed sketch plans and section drawings that preserve important structural information about these medieval defensive sites.
The location of these moated sites suggests they were part of a broader medieval settlement pattern in the area; a ringfort sits roughly 100 metres to the northwest, indicating this landscape has been inhabited and defended for many centuries. Moated sites like these typically date from the Anglo-Norman period in Ireland, serving as fortified farmsteads for colonising families or as administrative centres for managing agricultural estates. Though the earthworks have been largely erased by modern farming practices, their presence continues to mark this Tipperary field as a place where medieval life once flourished behind protective water-filled ditches.





