The cairn at Maulcallee measures roughly 3.5 metres north-west to south-east and 3 metres in the other direction, rising only about half a metre above the surrounding peat. It is modest in scale, but its situation within a network of relict field boundaries adds a layer of quiet strangeness: this was once a managed, inhabited landscape, and the cairn sat within it rather than apart from it.

A cairn of this type is essentially a deliberate accumulation of stones, most often associated with burial or ritual in the prehistoric period, though the specific date and purpose of this one are not recorded. What can be seen today is a roughly circular form, partially obscured by gorse and heather, with traces of kerbing still visible along the eastern arc. Kerbing refers to the edging stones placed around the perimeter of a cairn to define and retain its shape, and their survival here suggests some structural intention in the original construction, even if the interior has been disturbed. That disturbance is visible on the top of the mound, and may reflect anything from casual digging to more systematic interference over the centuries. Approximately eight metres to the north-east, a second cairn sits on the same hillside, the two forming a loose pairing in this stretch of rough hill pasture.