It measures roughly eighteen metres east to west and ten metres north to south, and what fills it is not ordinary earth but heat-shattered stones and soil dark with charcoal. This is a burnt mound, a type of prehistoric site found widely across Ireland and Britain, and one whose purpose has puzzled and fascinated archaeologists for generations. The leading interpretation is that these accumulations represent the debris of ancient cooking, where stones were repeatedly heated in fire and then plunged into water-filled troughs to bring the liquid to a boil, shattering in the process. The cracked, fire-marked stones were then discarded into a heap, and over centuries that heap became a mound.

What makes the Skahanagh example quietly interesting is its setting and its company. The mound sits immediately east of a waterlogged area, which fits the pattern well; access to standing water was essential to the whole process. A stream runs roughly fifty metres to the north. And the site does not stand alone. Two further possible burnt mounds lie within twenty metres of it to the northwest and north respectively, raising the possibility that this small patch of Cork farmland was used repeatedly, or by successive groups, over a long stretch of prehistoric time. Clusters of burnt mounds are known elsewhere in Ireland, and their concentration in particular spots may reflect reliable water sources, seasonal activity, or both.