Moated site

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on grassland with poorly drained floodplains of Lough Iron immediately to SW and W. Originally Lough Iron was 220m to the W but since the Inny River drainage scheme of the late 1960s the shoreline is now 560m to W. Farrow Castle (WM011-055----) 400m to NE. A rectangular shaped raised area (approx. dims. 28m NW-SE; 35m NE-SW) enclosed by two earthen banks and an intervening fosse with causewayed entrance at ENE. The entrance is represented by a gap (Wth 2.5m) in the inner bank, a causeway (Wth 6m; H 0.5m) across the fosse and a gap (3.7m) in the outer bank. The inner bank is highest at the SW corner, and is best preserved along the NE side. It has several disturbance gaps at ESE and along the NW side, and is almost completely levelled elsewhere. The outer bank is very poorly preserved along the NE side, and is fragmentary elsewhere. There is an entrance at ENE represented by a gap (Wth 2.5m) in the inner bank, a causeway (Wth 6m; H 0.5m) across the fosse and a gap (3.7m) in the outer bank. At ENE the inner bank swells to form a sub-rectangular shaped mound (diam. 10.8m NNW-SSE; 8.8m WSW-ENE; H 1.6m) which flanks the entrance feature. The interior slopes gently from NE-SW. A depression (Wth 6m; D 0.2m) is visible extending NNW-SSE across the NE quadrant of the interior. Externally there is a small D-shaped annexe of uncertain date on the NE side of the monument. A post-1700 drainage ditch aligned NW-SE runs past the W side of the moated site.

Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 23 August 2017