This site at Stangs measures approximately 34 metres northeast to southwest and 37 metres northwest to southeast, surrounded by what was once a substantial fosse, or defensive ditch, about 4 metres wide.

The enclosure was first spotted from above by Gillian Barrett whilst examining aerial photographs in August 1994, appearing as distinctive cropmarks where the buried archaeological features affect plant growth. More recently, Simon Dowling identified the same features on Google Earth imagery from July 2018 and 2019, which also revealed intriguing linear cropmarks extending from the main enclosure; one stretching about 30 metres northwest from the northern corner, another running 80 metres southeast from the southern side. These linear features likely represent the remnants of an associated medieval field system, suggesting this wasn’t just an isolated defensive structure but part of a larger agricultural landscape.

Moated sites like this one at Stangs were typically built between the 13th and 14th centuries, often serving as fortified farmsteads for Anglo-Norman settlers or prosperous Irish families. The wide, water-filled ditch would have provided both defence and drainage, whilst the raised platform inside housed timber or stone buildings. Today, these sites survive only as subtle variations in crop growth, their secrets hidden until the right conditions and keen archaeological eyes bring them briefly back into view.