Moated site, Liskennett West, Co. Limerick

Co. Limerick |

Castle Features

Moated site, Liskennett West, Co. Limerick

Hidden within a self-seeded woodland in County Limerick lies a rectangular earthwork that has remained largely mysterious to archaeologists.

This modest monument, measuring roughly 21 metres northwest to southeast and 20 metres northeast to southwest, sits on a north-facing slope just 20 metres east of the townland boundary with Kilmacanearla South. Though it's located merely 75 metres from a known ringfort, this particular site has proven rather elusive; when the Archaeological Survey of Ireland attempted to document it properly in 1996, they couldn't gain access to examine it closely.

The earthwork's story becomes more intriguing when viewed through the lens of modern technology. Whilst it never appeared on any of the Ordnance Survey's historic maps, aerial photography from the Geological Survey of Ireland first revealed its rectangular shape. Google Earth imagery from 2015 and 2016 shows the structure clearly as a raised earthwork, but by September 2018, the advancing woodland had completely obscured it from aerial view, leaving only a forest road running west-northwest to east-southeast visible to the north of where the monument stands.

This site represents one of many lesser-known archaeological features scattered across the Irish landscape, gradually being reclaimed by nature. Its proximity to the ringfort suggests this area held significance for past communities, though without proper excavation or detailed survey work, its exact purpose and age remain unknown. The fact that it has evaded both historic cartographers and modern archaeologists alike adds to its enigmatic character, making it a perfect example of Ireland's hidden archaeological heritage waiting beneath the forest canopy.

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