The ground rises and falls in a way that feels almost entirely natural, yet the slight swelling of earth that traces a roughly circular path here is anything but accidental. This is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, the type of enclosed farmstead that was built in enormous numbers across Ireland during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. Tens of thousands are known to survive in some form, yet each one represents a household, a family, a decision about where to settle and how to defend it.

The enclosure at Pust North measures approximately 64 metres north to south and 63 metres east to west, making it a fairly typical example of its kind. An earthen bank defines the circuit, and beyond it lie the remains of a fosse, the term for a defensive ditch, which here is u-shaped and runs to about 1.5 metres wide. Beyond that again is a counter-scarp bank, a low secondary bank on the outer edge of the ditch, visible from the east around to the southwest. These are modest earthworks now; the external bank barely registers at 0.1 metres above ground level on its outer face, and the fosse itself is largely silted and softened by centuries of pasture. The survey, compiled by Denis Power and uploaded in June 2013, also notes several possible cultivation ridges running northwest to southeast across the interior of the enclosure, hinting that the space inside was worked as well as inhabited at some point in its long history.

The site sits on a gentle slope with good views in all directions, which would have been as practical a consideration for an early medieval farmer as it is useful to a curious visitor trying to orient themselves today. The interior is otherwise flat and open, so once you locate the slight rise of the enclosing bank it becomes easier to read the overall shape of the monument. Because the earthworks are genuinely low, visiting in late autumn or winter, when grass growth has died back, makes a considerable difference to what can be distinguished on the ground. The cultivation ridges in particular reward a slow, low-angled look across the interior on a day with raking light.