The site measures 48 metres across and is defined by a broad, shallow fosse, essentially a ditch cut into the slope of the ground, roughly 20 metres wide and about a metre deep, with a gently domed rise at its centre. That combination, an encircling fosse around a raised central mound, is what identifies this as a ring barrow, a burial monument type associated with the Bronze Age in Ireland, though some examples were constructed into the early medieval period.

Ring barrows are among the less dramatic of Ireland's prehistoric monument types, lacking the imposing bulk of a passage tomb or the obvious profile of a standing stone, which may be partly why they tend to attract less attention than their age warrants. The scarped fosse here, meaning the ditch has been cut with a deliberate, shaped edge rather than simply scooped out, suggests a degree of care in the original construction. The domed central rise is where a burial, or multiple burials over time, would typically have been placed, sometimes accompanied by cremated remains or grave goods, though without excavation the specific history of any given barrow remains largely sealed. At 48 metres in diameter, this is a reasonably substantial example, large enough to have served as a significant marker in the prehistoric landscape around Knockeen.