The field fence that runs along the top of it is not random, it follows the old line almost exactly to the south and west, as if whoever built that wall understood, or simply respected, what was already there beneath the turf.

The site at Bealad sits atop a rock outcropping on a south-west-facing slope, positioned at a natural break in the gradient in the manner typical of early medieval raths. A rath is an earthen ringfort, the most common monument type in the Irish countryside, generally associated with farmsteads of the early medieval period, roughly 500 to 1000 AD. What distinguishes this one beyond its setting is the presence of a souterrain in its interior. Souterrains are deliberately constructed underground passages or chambers, built from stone and usually roofed with lintels, that were commonly dug within ringfort enclosures. Their precise function is still debated, but they are thought to have served for storage, refuge, or both. The combination of an elevated rocky site, a surviving earthwork scarp, and an interior souterrain suggests a settlement of some complexity, even if the visible remains today are quietly understated.