Moated site, Donaskeagh, Co. Tipperary South
In the wet, level pastures of Donaskeagh, County Tipperary South, a rectangular earthwork enclosure marks the landscape with its distinctive pattern of banks and ditches.
Moated site, Donaskeagh, Co. Tipperary South
First spotted from above in an aerial photograph taken in April 1974, this monument measures approximately 16 metres from north-northwest to south-southeast and 26 metres from east-northeast to west-southwest. The earthwork consists of multiple defensive features: an inner scarp standing about 15 centimetres high, surrounded by a fosse (defensive ditch) that’s roughly 3 metres wide and up to 25 centimetres deep. Beyond this lies an outer bank, reaching heights of 50 to 60 centimetres on its exterior side, followed by another outer fosse measuring about 6.5 metres wide.
The preservation of these features varies around the enclosure’s perimeter. The inner scarp is most prominent along the southeastern to northwestern sections, whilst it’s barely visible, just 5 centimetres high, from the northwest to southeast. The outer bank, with its rounded corners, extends for different lengths on each side; 34 metres to the north, 23 metres to the east, 28 metres to the south, and 19 metres to the west. A causeway crosses the defences at the southwest angle, whilst what appears to be an entrance, 3.5 metres wide, breaks the northern side near its eastern end. The southern side has been modified where a modern land drain has been incorporated into the ancient earthwork.
The grass-covered interior, dotted with occasional rushes, has an uneven surface that hints at past activity. Within the southwest quadrant, archaeologists have identified what may be the remains of a house site. This moated site doesn’t stand alone in the landscape; a standing stone rises from the pasture about 90 metres to the northwest, and another enclosure lies approximately 100 metres to the north-northwest, suggesting this area held significance for communities over multiple periods of history.





