On rising ground in Corbally, County Westmeath, what was once a ringfort, a type of enclosed circular settlement used widely in early medieval Ireland, has been reduced to little more than a slight swelling in a grassland field. The earthen bank that once defined its boundary survives in a very poor state, tracing a roughly sub-circular shape approximately 21 metres across at its widest point. A field fence cuts clean through the south-western quadrant, the practical demands of modern farming indifferent to whatever boundary-making came before.

Ringforts, also known as raths, were typically built between the sixth and tenth centuries and served as enclosed farmsteads for single family units, their circular banks offering both a degree of security and a mark of social standing. This particular example sits on ground that commands decent views to the west, north, and east, which would have been as useful a consideration for an early medieval farmer as for anyone assessing land today. The higher ground to the south closes off the horizon in that direction, and a second ringfort lies roughly 195 metres to the south, suggesting this part of Corbally once supported a small cluster of such enclosed settlements. Visible across the interior are traces of cultivation ridges running north-west to south-west, the faint corrugations left behind by later agricultural use, which may partly explain why the bank itself has been so thoroughly worn down over time.