The roughly square earthwork was first spotted on an aerial photograph taken by Leo Swan in the late 20th century, catalogue reference LS_AS_67BWN_00076_03. In Swan’s photograph, the upstanding monument can be seen near an ESB electricity pole, surrounded by the distinctive corrugated pattern of ridge and furrow cultivation; telltale signs of centuries of agricultural activity that followed the site’s original use.

Moated sites like this one were typically constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries, often serving as defended homesteads for Anglo-Norman settlers or prosperous farming families. The square or rectangular platform would have been surrounded by a water-filled ditch, providing both defence and drainage whilst also acting as a status symbol for its inhabitants. The platform itself would have supported timber buildings, though any trace of these structures has long since vanished.

Today, the monument has been completely levelled by modern farming practices, rendering it invisible on current aerial imagery such as Bing Maps. This transformation from visible earthwork to hidden heritage is a common fate for many of Ireland’s medieval sites, particularly those in productive agricultural land. The documentation compiled by Caimin O’Brien in March 2016 ensures that, whilst the physical traces may have disappeared from view, the historical record of this piece of Kildare’s medieval landscape remains preserved for future generations.