This moated site appeared as a rectangular enclosure on the first edition Ordnance Survey map from 1840, but by the time cartographers returned in 1903, it had vanished from their records. Today, no trace of the structure remains visible above ground; both the site and the field boundary that once formed its northwestern edge have been completely levelled by agricultural activity.

When archaeologists examined the location in the 1970s, they found themselves scratching their heads at what remained. Terry Barry described it as a heavily eroded site where the original moat had disappeared entirely, leaving only a central area raised about two to three metres above the surrounding countryside. The degradation was so severe that field examination alone couldn’t determine whether this was once a motte, a type of Norman fortification featuring an earthen mound topped with a wooden or stone keep, or a platform rath, an earlier Irish fortified homestead typically dating from the early medieval period.

This ambiguity speaks to the challenges of interpreting Ireland’s layered history, where centuries of occupation, abandonment, and agricultural use have often obscured the original purpose of ancient structures. The site represents one of many such mysteries scattered across the North Tipperary landscape, documented in the Archaeological Inventory but awaiting further investigation to unlock their secrets.