Moated site in Cuppanagh

In low-lying wet pasture, on the S side of a road and c. 80m W of Cuppanagh Bridge over the River Boyle. Indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map as a circular enclosure (int. diam. c. 20m) close to the shore of Lough Gara. A densely overgrown slightly raised subrectangular area (c. 30m NNE-SSW; c. 40m ENE-WSW), the N side of which is mostly truncated by the road. The E and S sides are defined by a scarp (H c. 0.6m), degraded and marked only by a loose scattering of stones in places especially on the S side. The W side is defined by a stony bank (Wth 4.6m; int. H 0.4m; ext. H 1.4m) and a wet external flat-bottomed fosse (Wth 4.8m; D 1m), mostly choked by rushes. The N end of the fosse curves around to the E for c. 10m. The outer edge of the fosse is topped by the remnants of a field boundary wall and a line of bushes. Both the bank and fosse show evidence of recent modification. The interior is generally level but a platform in the SE quadrant is possibly the remains of a castle (SL045-007001-). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008