The site at Moyne Upper appears on that early edition of the OS 6-inch map as a rectangular embanked or moated enclosure, though you’d need a keen eye to spot its subtle features today. This slightly raised platform measures about 45 metres from north to south and 40 metres from east to west, its boundaries still traceable through a combination of old field banks, scarps, and the remnants of what was once a defensive ditch.

The enclosure’s perimeter tells a story of medieval defensive architecture; a field bank marks the northern edge, whilst scarps define the western and eastern boundaries. Along the southern side, traces of a fosse, or defensive ditch, can still be made out, stretching for about 21 metres with a depth of roughly 0.7 metres. When archaeologists surveyed the site in 1987, they found it under a freshly harvested cereal crop, suggesting the land has been in agricultural use for generations. Just to the south sits another enclosure, catalogued as WX020-018, hinting that this area may have once supported a small medieval settlement or farming community.

First documented by Barry in 1977 and later included in the Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford published in 1996, this moated site represents one of many similar earthworks scattered across the Irish countryside. These rectangular enclosures, often surrounded by water-filled ditches or dry fosses, typically date from the Anglo-Norman period and served as fortified farmsteads for colonising families. Though modest in appearance today, such sites offer valuable glimpses into medieval settlement patterns and the defensive concerns of those who carved out their living from the Wexford landscape centuries ago.