In 1935, excavators discovered a stone cist, covered by a flagstone measuring two by three feet, within a cairn that had already suffered significant damage from coastal erosion. Inside, they found cremated human remains with an intriguing detail; green staining on some bone fragments indicated contact with bronze or copper objects, suggesting the deceased may have been buried with metal grave goods that have since disappeared.

The site's dating remains contentious. Initially classified as Bronze Age based on the burial style, this assumption has recently been challenged. The discovery of a ringed pin, possibly of Viking or Irish design, on the same beach has prompted archaeologists like Richard Warner from the Ulster Museum to reconsider the cairn's origins. Warner now suggests this could be the location of a Viking cemetery, which would significantly alter our understanding of Norse settlement patterns along Ireland's northwest coast. The original excavator, McCallien, believed more archaeological treasures lay hidden beneath the sand dunes behind the strand, though these remain unexplored.

Today, little remains of the original cairn save for scattered large stones strewn across the sand, and even these remnants face threat from ongoing sand quarrying operations. The site exemplifies the fragility of coastal archaeology in Ireland, where centuries of Atlantic storms, human activity, and shifting sands can erase entire chapters of history. Whether Bronze Age or Viking, the Kinnegar burial site represents a tantalising glimpse into ancient funerary practices along Donegal's wild coastline, its secrets largely reclaimed by the very beach that once preserved them.