The
cunicularia of the monasteries may have more closely resembled
hutches or pens, than the open enclosures with specialized structures which the domestic warren eventually became. Such an enclosure or
close was called a
cony-garth, or sometimes
conegar,
coneygree or "bury" (from "burrow").
Moat and pale To keep the rabbits from escaping, domestic warrens were usually provided with a fairly substantive
moat, or ditch filled with water. Rabbits generally do not swim and avoid water. A
pale, or fence, was provided to exclude predators.
Pillow mounds , England The most characteristic structure of the "cony-garth" ("rabbit-yard") is the
pillow mound. These were "pillow-like", oblong mounds with flat tops, frequently described as being "cigar-shaped", and sometimes arranged like the letter ⟨E⟩ or into more extensive, interconnected rows. Often these were provided with pre-built, stone-lined tunnels. The preferred orientation was on a gentle slope, with the arms extending downhill, to facilitate drainage. The soil needed to be soft, to accommodate further burrowing. This type of architecture and animal husbandry has become obsolete, but numerous pillow mounds are still to be found in
Britain, some of them maintained by
English Heritage, with the greatest density being found on
Dartmoor. ==Further evolution of the term==