Four such spreads were uncovered in 2002 during archaeological monitoring ahead of construction work on the N22 Ballincollig Bypass, and they appear to have been connected to one another, forming what may have been a single complex of activity rather than a series of independent sites.

A fulacht fia, to explain the term briefly, is a type of prehistoric burnt mound, typically the remains of a site where stones were heated in a fire and then dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it to the boil, most likely for cooking. The Curraheen example fits the pattern well: heat-shattered stones and charcoal-enriched soil characterise each of the four spreads, and beneath the largest, which measured 5.6 metres by 2.1 metres at its widest, excavators found a single oval pit roughly 1.2 metres long and 0.7 metres wide. That pit, filled with the same scorched material, is thought to be the trough itself. What is particularly striking about the Curraheen site is its density. Rather than an isolated feature, it forms part of a cluster of six fulachtaí fia and burnt mounds excavated in the same area, with two of the nearest lying only around 20 metres away to the south and south-east. The concentration suggests repeated or prolonged use of this particular spot over time, though the excavation, led by Russell and reported in 2004, does not specify the precise period of activity.