Moated site, Dysart, Co. Westmeath
Standing on elevated ground at 95 metres above sea level, this intriguing earthwork overlooks Lough Ennell from a distance of roughly 480 metres to the east.
Moated site, Dysart, Co. Westmeath
The site occupies a prominent position marked by an Ordnance Survey triangulation point, offering commanding views across the Westmeath countryside. What makes this location particularly fascinating is its evolving interpretation over time; whilst early 19th century maps from 1837 simply showed it as a square field with no indication of historical significance, later surveys revealed something far more interesting.
By the time the Ordnance Survey team returned in 1913, they documented a rectangular earthwork measuring approximately 31 metres from northeast to southwest and 22 metres from northwest to southeast, complete with tree plantings that suggested deliberate landscaping. Today, modern aerial photography reveals the site as a faint cropmark, with a solitary tree still marking its northeastern corner, serving as a botanical witness to centuries of change.
The true nature of this Dysart monument remains tantalizingly uncertain. It may represent a medieval moated site, a type of defensive homestead typically constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries, which was later repurposed as a landscape feature when such fortifications became obsolete. Alternatively, it could be an entirely post-1700 creation, designed from the outset as an ornamental element in a gentleman’s estate. Either interpretation speaks to the layers of history embedded in the Irish landscape, where medieval practicality and Georgian aesthetics often blur into one another.