Moated site, Roxborough, Co. Roscommon
On a gentle west-facing slope in Roxborough, County Roscommon, lies the remains of a medieval moated site that offers a glimpse into Ireland's defensive rural past.
Moated site, Roxborough, Co. Roscommon
The site consists of a rectangular grassy platform measuring approximately 42 metres from east to west and 41.5 metres from north to south. This raised area is enclosed by earthen banks and water-filled ditches, known as moats or fosses, which would have provided both defence and drainage for whatever structure once stood here.
The northern boundary is particularly well-preserved, featuring an overgrown earthen bank that stands about 3.6 metres wide. From the inside, this bank rises only 40 centimetres, but from the exterior it presents a more formidable height of 1.2 metres. The surrounding moats, though now overgrown, remain clearly visible with their distinctive flat bottoms spanning roughly 3 metres in width and reaching depths between 40 centimetres and one metre. A causeway at the southeast corner, measuring 3.4 metres wide, would have served as the original entrance to the site, allowing access across the defensive ditches.
Time and agriculture have left their mark on this medieval earthwork. The western and southern edges of the moats have been truncated by later field boundaries; hedges and banks that speak to centuries of farming activity around this ancient site. Despite these modifications, the moated platform remains a substantial and intriguing feature of the Roscommon landscape, representing a type of medieval settlement that was once common across Ireland, where minor lords and wealthy farmers created these defended homesteads during uncertain times.