Moated site, Colman, Co. Tipperary South
On a south-facing slope in County Tipperary South lies the faint remnants of what was once a substantial rectangular enclosure near Colman.
Moated site, Colman, Co. Tipperary South
Today, it exists as little more than subtle undulations in the pasture; a ghost of its former self that requires a keen eye to spot. The site measures approximately 38 metres north to south and 26 metres east to west, with its boundaries marked by barely perceptible scarps that rise and fall with the natural contours of the land. The southern edge preserves the clearest definition, whilst a small section of earthen bank survives at the northwestern corner, standing just half a metre high on its interior face.
This monument appears to have met its demise around 1970 when, according to local historian Cahill’s 1982 account, it was levelled and incorporated into the surrounding farmland. The Ordnance Survey maps from earlier editions show it as a slightly larger rectangular feature, measuring 45 by 28 metres, which once abutted the northern field boundary. Today, a small pond sits adjacent to the northwestern corner, perhaps marking where the earth was disturbed during the levelling process.
The site doesn’t exist in isolation but forms part of a broader medieval landscape. Immediately to the southeast, the remains of a moated site can still be traced, whilst another enclosure lies just 80 metres to the north-northeast. These neighbouring monuments suggest this area was once home to a cluster of medieval settlements, possibly dating from the Anglo-Norman period when such defensive earthworks were common throughout Ireland. Though the physical evidence has been largely erased by modern farming practices, these slight traces in the landscape serve as reminders of the medieval communities that once shaped this corner of Tipperary.





