The site is recorded as an enclosure, but the classification is uncertain enough that it has also been catalogued separately as a possible ringwork, the two entries effectively shadowing one another in the archaeological record.

A ringwork is a type of medieval fortification, broadly similar in appearance to a ringfort but generally associated with Norman or Anglo-Norman settlement rather than the earlier Gaelic tradition. Where a ringfort typically served as an enclosed farmstead, a ringwork was more overtly defensive in character, consisting of a roughly circular bank and ditch intended to protect a dwelling or small garrison. The distinction between the two forms is not always easy to draw from surface evidence alone, which is precisely why a site like Brees ends up carrying a qualified label. The earthwork is real; what it represents is less certain.