This raised rectangular platform measures 40 metres north to south and 36 metres east to west, surrounded by substantial earthen banks that rise about half a metre on the inside but an imposing 1.5 metres on the exterior. The defensive nature of the site is further emphasised by the flat-bottomed fosses, or moats, that encircle the platform; these water-filled ditches span roughly 6 metres across at the top and narrow to 3 metres at the base, with faint traces of outer banks still visible beyond them. A causeway crossing the moat on the northern side marks the original entrance to this fortified homestead.

Within the protective embrace of the banks and moat, the foundations of three medieval houses reveal how life was organised in this defended settlement. In the northwest corner stands a solitary house site measuring approximately 14 metres east to west and 5.5 metres north to south, its boundaries still defined by low walls of earth and stone. Just south of the centre, two more houses sit end to end in an east-west alignment, their proximity suggesting they may have been connected or used by related family groups. The western house, slightly larger at 13 metres by 6 metres, features doorways in the centre of both its long walls, whilst its eastern neighbour, measuring 12 metres by 6 metres, curiously shows no obvious entrance, perhaps indicating it was accessed through the adjoining structure or served a different purpose entirely.

Moated sites like Knocklough were typically constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries by Anglo-Norman settlers and prosperous farming families who needed defendable homesteads during uncertain times. The combination of earthen banks, water-filled moats, and a single controlled entrance would have provided both practical defence against raids and a clear statement of the occupants’ status and wealth. Today, this grass-covered earthwork stands as a well-preserved example of medieval rural settlement patterns in Ireland, its raised platform and surrounding ditches still clearly visible in the landscape after more than 700 years.