These are middens, the ancient rubbish heaps of coastal communities, built up over time from cast-off shells, bones, and the general debris of daily life. What makes this stretch unusual is not any single dramatic find but the sheer scale and density of the remains, and the fact that a second, broadly similar midden complex lies to the south-west, suggesting this part of the coast sustained human activity across an unusually wide area.

Radiocarbon dating of a sample taken in 1988 placed the material within a calibrated range of approximately AD 700 to 900, placing occupation here somewhere in the early medieval period, when communities along the Irish Atlantic seaboard were making intensive use of inshore shellfish beds. The middens themselves are composed mainly of periwinkle, whelk, limpet, and cockle shells, though quantities of animal bone are also present, pointing to a diet that mixed seafood with terrestrial livestock. The site is not simply a rubbish deposit, however. Associated with the middens are the remains of stone huts, enclosures, and walls, as well as burials, suggesting something closer to a settled, if modest, coastal settlement rather than a temporary seasonal camp. A number of stray finds have been recovered from the area over the years, though the full picture of what was once here remains only partly understood.