The rectangular enclosure was first spotted from above during an aerial survey by the Geological Survey of Ireland in June 1973, appearing clearly in photograph S.508/9. Today, visitors walking through the pasture land won’t see any obvious traces at ground level; the site has been reclaimed by the surrounding landscape over the centuries.

The location places this medieval earthwork about 100 metres southeast of a ringfort (catalogued as TS078-035), suggesting this area held strategic or economic importance during the medieval period. Moated sites like this one typically date from the 13th to 14th centuries and were often associated with Anglo-Norman settlement patterns in Ireland. They consisted of rectangular platforms surrounded by water-filled ditches, which served both defensive and status purposes for their inhabitants.

While the site remains invisible to casual observers on the ground, its discovery through aerial photography demonstrates how modern surveying techniques continue to reveal Ireland’s hidden archaeological landscape. The proximity to both the ringfort and the prominent Slievenamon mountain would have provided the original inhabitants with good visibility across the surrounding valley, whilst the south-facing position offered shelter from prevailing winds and maximum sunlight throughout the day.