Sitting in low-lying ground at Ballincarroona, the eastern of the two conjoined enclosures rises barely half a metre above the surrounding field, an easy thing to miss if you are not looking for it. Its more prominent neighbour, by contrast, stands a full 1.2 metres proud of the ground and was duly noted on the map. The two monuments sit side by side, a pairing that is quietly unusual in the Irish archaeological record.

The more complete account of the pair comes from a survey conducted in 1942 and 1943 by O'Kelly, whose description was published in 1942-3. The western enclosure, the one the original surveyors did record, is a circular earthen platform with a flat, level surface and an overall diameter of approximately 47 metres. Around it runs a fosse, the term for the ditch that typically accompanies such raised enclosures, often interpreted as a drainage or boundary feature rather than a purely defensive one. The eastern structure is described as exactly similar in form, sharing the same circular, platform-and-fosse arrangement, but standing at a maximum height of only around 0.46 metres above the field. Both monuments occupy low ground, which makes their preservation, and in the case of the eastern one its near-invisibility, all the more understandable given the generally damp, agricultural character of the surrounding landscape.

For anyone wishing to locate the site, aerial photography remains the clearest way to appreciate what is actually there. Digital Globe aerial imagery shows the outline of the upstanding monument quite legibly from above, the circular form resolving into something coherent in a way that ground-level inspection alone may not afford, particularly for the lower eastern enclosure. On the ground, the western structure is the one to search out first, using its greater height as a guide. The low-lying setting means the ground can be soft underfoot, especially in wetter months, so the drier end of summer or early autumn offers more comfortable conditions for a visit. The eastern enclosure rewards patient looking; once you know its form, the slight swell of the platform against the field becomes legible.