That small engineering decision, made perhaps a thousand or more years ago, is easy to overlook, but it speaks to the care taken in constructing what was almost certainly a defended farmstead of the early medieval period.

The site is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, a form of enclosed settlement that was once extraordinarily common across Ireland, with tens of thousands built between roughly the sixth and twelfth centuries. Most consisted of a circular area enclosed by one or more earthen banks with an accompanying fosse, the external ditch from which the bank material was dug. This example measures approximately 28 metres north to south and 27 metres east to west, enclosed by a bank standing 2.1 metres high. A fosse survives on the northern to eastern arc, though at 0.4 metres deep it has been considerably reduced, likely by centuries of agricultural activity. More unusual is the detail that the bank on the northeast side is stone-faced on its outer edge, suggesting either local building preference or an attempt to reinforce that particular stretch against erosion or livestock pressure. Inside, the raised northeastern portion of the interior floor represents a practical response to the hillslope, ensuring a roughly level living surface within the enclosure.