This intriguing square-shaped feature, measuring approximately 31 metres north to south and 30 metres east to west, first caught the attention of archaeologists in 1984 when it appeared as a distinct cropmark in aerial photographs taken for the Bórd Gáis Éireann Curraleigh West to Limerick gas pipeline survey. Though it never made it onto the Ordnance Survey Ireland’s detailed 6-inch maps from the 19th and early 20th centuries, modern technology has revealed what centuries of farming and weather had obscured.

The site’s square outline, defined by what appears to be an ancient fosse or defensive ditch, sits immediately east of a modern car park and becomes particularly visible in certain aerial images. Digital Globe orthoimagery from 2011 to 2013 clearly shows the earthwork’s boundaries, whilst Google Earth images reveal partial cropmarks that hint at the structure beneath the soil. These cropmarks occur when buried archaeological features affect plant growth above them; crops growing over old ditches tend to be taller and greener due to retained moisture, whilst those over buried walls or foundations may be stunted, creating tell-tale patterns visible from above.

Within the southwest corner of the main enclosure, a smaller square earthwork measuring about 10 metres by 10 metres is visible on recent satellite imagery, though this may be the result of more recent development rather than part of the original medieval structure. Moated sites like this one were typically built between the 13th and 14th centuries and served as fortified homesteads for Anglo-Norman settlers or prosperous Irish families, featuring a central platform surrounded by a water-filled ditch that provided both defence and a source of fresh fish for the table.