The rath at Caltragh, in County Sligo, does neither. What remains is a raised oval area of pasture sitting at the south-western tip of a low, narrow gravel ridge, defined not by a bank but by a scarp, a sloped edge that drops roughly 1.6 metres to the surrounding ground. That subtle drop is essentially all that marks the boundary of what was once an enclosed farmstead, likely occupied during the early medieval period when raths served as the standard dwelling type across Ireland.

The site measures approximately 34 metres from north-west to south-east and 28.5 metres across the other axis, placing it within a fairly typical size range for a single-family enclosure of its kind. One detail sets it apart from a straightforward reading: the north-western quadrant of the interior sits noticeably higher than the rest of the enclosed area, a variation in ground level that may hint at earlier activity, accumulated occupation debris, or simply the underlying geology of the gravel ridge on which it sits. The probable original entrance faced east, as was common with such enclosures. A modern road running north-east to south-west has since cut through the western arc of the site, removing a portion of the perimeter and part of the interior, so what survives is only a partial picture of the original form.