That interior was once an enclosed domestic space, most likely a farmstead of the early medieval period, and the contrast between what it was and what it has become is oddly striking. The structure is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, the most common monument type in the Irish landscape. Thousands were built, mostly between the sixth and tenth centuries, as enclosed farmsteads for a single family and their livestock, and yet each one carries its own particular details.

This example measures 20.1 metres in diameter and is defined by two concentric banks of earth and stone, separated by a shallow fosse, the ditch dug between them to reinforce the sense of enclosure. The inner bank, varying between 0.2 and 0.8 metres wide, survives for the full circuit, as does the fosse, which runs to 3.1 metres in width. The outer bank, roughly 3 metres wide and 0.5 metres high, has been levelled across its northern and north-north-west arc, though its outline can still be traced from the north-east. What sets this particular site apart from many simpler earthen raths is the quantity and quality of the stonework involved. Both banks were constructed with large amounts of stone, and large facing stones were laid against both the inner and outer faces of each bank, giving the structure a more carefully finished character than a purely earthen enclosure would suggest. At the south-south-west, a blocked-up, stone-lined break 1.8 metres wide in the inner bank almost certainly represents the original entrance, now sealed but still legible if you know what you are looking for.