Spotted on an aerial photograph from the Cambridge University Collection, this embanked enclosure measures roughly 50 metres in length and 40 metres in width. What makes it particularly intriguing is the way the ground inside appears to rise towards each of its four corners, creating an unusual topographical feature that hints at deliberate medieval engineering.

This type of structure is known as a moated site, a defensive earthwork that was once common across Ireland during the medieval period. These sites typically belonged to Anglo-Norman settlers or wealthy Irish families who built them between the 13th and 15th centuries. The raised corners visible in the aerial photography might represent the remains of corner towers or platforms, which would have provided defensive vantage points or supported wooden structures. The embankments themselves would have originally been higher and steeper, possibly topped with a wooden palisade, whilst a water-filled moat ran around the perimeter.

Today, the site forms part of the archaeological landscape recorded under reference KD024-019001 in Ireland’s national monuments database. Though the earthworks have been softened by centuries of weathering and agricultural activity, they remain a tangible link to medieval settlement patterns in County Kildare. The field system surrounding the moated site suggests this was once part of a larger agricultural estate, where daily life revolved around farming, defence, and the social hierarchies of medieval Ireland.