Burnt mounds are among the most common prehistoric monuments in Ireland, yet they remain largely unfamiliar outside archaeological circles. They are, at their simplest, heaps of heat-shattered stone and charcoal-blackened earth, the accumulated debris of a process in which stones were repeatedly heated and plunged into water, presumably for cooking, bathing, or some industrial purpose. They date most commonly to the Bronze Age, roughly 2000 to 500 BC, and tend to cluster near water sources. The example at Priestsnewtown came to light during excavation works associated with the road scheme, carried out under licence in 2004. Rather than being removed or recorded and backfilled, the decision was made to preserve it in situ, leaving it where it was found beneath or beside the new road infrastructure.