An aerial photograph taken in 2016 revealed the ghostly outline of what appears to be a medieval moated site, its rectangular form etched into the landscape as a cropmark. The site measures approximately 35 metres by 35 metres, defined by what archaeologists call a fosse; essentially a water-filled ditch that would have surrounded a dwelling or small settlement.

Moated sites like this one were particularly popular in medieval Ireland between the 13th and 14th centuries, often built by Anglo-Norman settlers or wealthy Irish families. They served both practical and symbolic purposes, with the water-filled ditches providing defence against raids whilst also displaying the status and resources of their owners. The moat would have surrounded a central platform where timber or stone buildings stood, creating a defendable homestead in what was often contested territory during the medieval period.

What makes the Marshalstown site particularly intriguing is that there’s absolutely no trace of it at ground level; you could walk across the field today and never know you were standing on centuries of history. It’s only through aerial photography, when differences in crop growth reveal the buried ditches beneath, that these lost settlements reveal themselves. The darker, lusher growth above the old water-filled fosse creates a perfect rectangular shadow in the crops, a brief window into a landscape that hasn’t been seen for perhaps 700 years.