Moated site, Kilcurly, Co. Limerick
In a gently sloping field facing south near Kilcurly, County Limerick, the remains of a medieval moated site offer a glimpse into Ireland's defensive past.
Moated site, Kilcurly, Co. Limerick
This earthwork, first spotted during the Limerick Gas Pipeline survey, takes the form of a sub-rectangular enclosure measuring roughly 28 metres north to south and 26 metres east to west. The defining feature is an earth and stone bank, about 2.5 metres wide, which rises half a metre above the surrounding ground on its outer edge whilst standing just 0.25 metres high on the inner side.
Archaeological surveys conducted in 2000 revealed fascinating defensive details that would have made this site formidable in its heyday. The bank remains clearly visible along much of its circuit, from the south-southeast around to the northwest, though time has levelled portions on the northern and eastern sides. Outside the bank, traces of a fosse, or defensive ditch, can still be detected; its base spans about 1.8 metres wide. The northwest and southwest corners show particularly interesting construction, with raised extensions that stand half a metre above the interior ground level, possibly marking the locations of former towers or reinforced defensive points.
Today, the interior of the enclosure sits level and dry, cleared of overgrowth and matching the external ground height on its northern side. A later field boundary, constructed from a combination of drystone walling and earth and stone banking, now runs along the eastern and southern edges of the interior space. The site remains visible on modern satellite imagery, including Google Earth photographs from 2020, allowing armchair archaeologists to trace the outline of this medieval fortification from above. Such moated sites were typically associated with Anglo-Norman settlement in Ireland during the 13th and 14th centuries, serving as defended farmsteads for colonising families.





