Wedge tombs are the most numerous type of megalithic monument in Ireland, built during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, typically consisting of a roofed gallery that narrows from one end to the other, hence the name. At Ballycotteen, the chamber originally opened to the west, a common orientation for this tomb type, and the two remaining sidestones still trace that narrowing shape: wider at the western end, tighter toward the east.

The specifics of what survives are precise enough to be striking. The southern sidestone, the longer of the two, runs to 3.37 metres and stands nearly 0.88 metres high at its western edge, tapering as it goes. Both stones lean slightly southward, nudged by centuries of ground movement and bog. No capstone, no further structural remains. Seán Ó Nualláin catalogued the site in 1989 under the designation Ballycotteen North, though the map coordinates given in the Record of Monuments and Places in 1996 placed it some distance to the west of where it actually sits. The correct location was identified from aerial photography and confirmed during a ground inspection in 2023. A large boulder lies roughly 40 metres to the north, though whether it has any connection to the tomb is uncertain.

The setting gives the site a particular quality. From the slope, Luogh Lough is visible about 200 metres to the west, with the Atlantic beyond it. The tomb is small and reduced, easy to walk past if you do not already know what you are looking for, two stones leaning against each other in a stretch of open bog, oriented toward water and sky.