This rath, or ringfort, at Ballysteen sits on a gently south-facing slope and describes a near-perfect circle roughly 28.8 metres in diameter. Ringforts are earthwork enclosures built predominantly during the early medieval period in Ireland, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries, and were typically used as enclosed farmsteads by families of some local standing. What makes this one worth a second look is the layering of its defences: an inner earthen bank, a surrounding fosse, and then a low counterscarp bank beyond that, the whole arrangement suggesting that whoever built it was thinking carefully about how the ground would read from the outside.

The site was recorded and compiled by Denis Power, with notes uploaded in August 2011. According to those records, the inner bank stands to an internal height of around 0.85 metres, while from the outside it reads considerably more imposing at 1.6 metres. The external fosse, a defensive ditch, runs to a depth of 0.85 metres and a width of 2.8 metres, with a low earth-and-stone counterscarp bank continuing around the southern to eastern arc. The northern arc of the inner bank is the best preserved stretch, while to the east and south the bank has eroded into something more like a natural scarp, still rising 1.4 metres at points but losing much of its defined profile. A gap of just over a metre wide in the south-west of the bank likely marks the original entrance. The fosse itself becomes noticeably shallower as it tracks east and south, where centuries of silting and agricultural activity have done their quiet work.

The interior of the enclosure is now densely overgrown with trees, briars, and nettles, which means the earthworks themselves are better appreciated from outside rather than within. The surrounding pasture gives a reasonable vantage point from which to trace the circuit of the bank and appreciate its original scale. The south-facing slope means the northern arc, which is also the most intact, catches reasonable light for most of the day. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear given the rough grazing land, and should be aware that the fosse is easiest to read on the northern and western sides, where it retains more of its original depth and width.