Located 200 metres west-northwest of a ring-barrow and 150 metres southeast of the Newtown North townland boundary, this enclosure measures approximately 35 metres northeast to southwest and 40 metres northwest to southeast. What makes this site particularly intriguing is its absence from historical Ordnance Survey Ireland maps, suggesting it may have been overlooked or perhaps deemed unremarkable by earlier surveyors.

The enclosure first came to scholarly attention during the Bruff aerial photographic survey, where it appeared as a clear rectangular feature in the landscape. Since then, various orthoimagery has captured the site with varying degrees of clarity; it shows up distinctly in the 2005-12 OSi orthoimage, appears more faintly in Digital Globe images from 2011-2013, and remains visible in Google Earth imagery from 2018. These aerial views have proven invaluable for studying the site, as the earthwork’s subtle features are often more apparent from above than at ground level.

Archaeologists believe this may be a medieval moated site, a type of fortified homestead that was particularly common in Ireland during the 13th and 14th centuries. These sites typically consisted of a rectangular platform surrounded by a water-filled moat, serving as both defensive structures and status symbols for Anglo-Norman settlers and wealthy Irish families. The Gortaclareen enclosure’s rectangular shape and dimensions certainly fit this profile, though without excavation, its exact purpose and date remain open to interpretation. The site was compiled into archaeological records by Edmond O’Donovan in September 2020, adding another piece to the complex puzzle of medieval settlement patterns in County Limerick.