The earthwork has levelled to the point where it leaves no trace at ground level, yet it survives clearly enough as a concept, a name on an old map, and a record in the archaeological inventory. That gap between presence and absence is, in its own quiet way, the most interesting thing about it.

The site's earliest surviving documentation comes from a map made between 1773 and 1774 by B. Scalé, part of a series now held in the National Library of Ireland. On that map it appears as a circular enclosure labelled 'Danish Fort', a name that reflects the popular belief of the period that such earthworks were Viking or Danish in origin. In fact, raths, the circular banked enclosures found across Ireland in their thousands, are generally associated with early medieval Irish settlement, typically dating from roughly the sixth to the twelfth century, and were used as farmstead enclosures rather than military fortifications. The 'Danish' label was a common misattribution, applied so widely that it became almost a genre of place-name in itself. Within 120 metres to the west-northwest, the same Scalé map shows a second rath, this one still visible, with a possible souterrain attached. A souterrain is an underground passage or chamber, usually stone-lined, found in association with early medieval settlements and thought to have served for storage or refuge. The proximity of the two sites suggests a small cluster of early activity on this plateau, even if one of the pair has since disappeared into the grass.