Lidar, which uses laser pulses fired from low-flying aircraft to map subtle variations in ground surface, has transformed the study of Irish archaeology over the past two decades, revealing enclosures, field systems, and other features that centuries of farming have all but erased from the visible ground. This particular enclosure belongs to a broad class of roughly circular earthen monuments found across Ireland, often interpreted as early medieval settlement enclosures or ringforts, though without excavation it is impossible to say with any certainty what purpose this example served or when it was built.

The site at Lissanisky came to wider attention through information supplied by Colm Chambers, and its presence on the lidar record is a reminder of how much Irish archaeology remains to be properly catalogued. The placename Lissanisky itself may offer a faint clue; "lios" is the Irish word for an enclosure or fort, suggesting that local tradition may have retained some memory of a monument here long before modern remote-sensing techniques confirmed it. Whether the name and the earthwork refer to the same feature, or whether earlier settlers were simply recognising a general character of the landscape, remains an open question.