It is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, and ringforts are among the most common archaeological monuments in Ireland, with tens of thousands recorded across the country. Most date from the early medieval period, roughly the fifth to the twelfth centuries, and were used as enclosed farmsteads, the circular banks and ditches marking out a defended space for a family, their livestock, and their buildings. What makes each individual example worth attention is less the type than the particular way the land has preserved or eroded it over a thousand or more years.

This one measures roughly 27.3 metres across on its northwest to southeast axis and 25 metres on the northeast to southwest, making it a moderately sized example. The defining feature is a steep scarp, essentially a sharp drop in the ground surface, rising to about 1.1 metres, which gives the enclosure its shape and presence on the hillock. Along the northwest and southwest edges, a low bank survives on top of the scarp, reaching a maximum height of around 0.4 metres, a modest remnant of what would once have been a more substantial barrier. To the west, there is a faint trace of a fosse, the external ditch that would have been dug out to create the bank material and to add another layer of definition to the enclosure boundary. The interior rises slightly toward the centre, a feature sometimes associated with the gradual accumulation of occupation material, or simply with the natural contour of the hillock beneath.