The feature is a burnt mound, a type of prehistoric site found in considerable numbers across Ireland and Britain, typically consisting of a mound or spread of heat-shattered stone, charcoal, and dark, water-saturated soil. The leading theory is that these sites were used for cooking, possibly by repeatedly heating stones and dropping them into water-filled troughs to bring the liquid to a boil, though some researchers have proposed uses ranging from textile processing to bathing. Whatever their purpose, they are quiet, unassuming things, easily missed and easily destroyed.

This particular spread of burnt stone at Priestsnewtown came to light during construction work for the Greystones Southern Access Route. An excavation carried out under licence in 2004 exposed the material, and rather than being removed, it was preserved in situ, meaning it was left undisturbed in its original position and the development work proceeded around it. The findings were subsequently documented by Wiggins in 2007. The decision to preserve the deposit where it lay, beneath a contemporary road scheme, is a small but telling detail: the site is present, technically, beneath or alongside infrastructure most people use without giving prehistory a second thought.