This is a fulacht fia, a type of Bronze Age cooking site found in enormous numbers across Ireland, typically positioned close to a reliable water source. The name, loosely meaning "deer roast" in Irish, reflects a later folk association with hunting, though the structures predate any written record of how they were actually used. What makes them recognisable is their combination of a burnt mound, the crescent-shaped heap of fire-cracked stone and charcoal that accumulates from repeated use, and a trough dug nearby into which heated stones were dropped to bring the water to a boil.

The Ballynagee example sits on the east bank of the Bishop's Water at the point where the river, which runs broadly south to north through the valley, begins to bend north-eastward. Archaeological testing carried out under licence 07E1098, and reported by McLoughlin in 2008 and 2010, partially uncovered the site. Excavators found a spread of burnt mound material lying over a subrectangular trough, a roughly rectangular pit that would have held the water being heated. Stake-holes at the corners of the trough suggest it was originally lined with timber or hide to help retain water, a common feature of such sites across the country. The recovery was partial, meaning the full extent of the trough and mound remains unknown.