Most ancient sites are lost to the plough or to development; this one was, in a quiet way, saved by the very road scheme that threatened it.

The monument is a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking or processing site found in enormous numbers across Ireland. The defining feature is a mound of fire-cracked stone, the debris left over from repeatedly heating rocks and plunging them into a water-filled trough to bring it to the boil. Thousands of these sites survive, most dating to the Bronze Age, and they cluster near wetlands and stream edges, which is consistent with the long, narrow hollow in which this example was recorded. The Ballynabarney site came to light in 2002 during the realignment of the N11, the main road corridor running south from Dublin through Wicklow. Rather than excavate or remove it, the decision was taken to cover the burnt mound material with geo-textile, a permeable protective membrane, before the surrounding field was filled in as part of the road construction works. The site now lies effectively preserved in place, undisturbed beneath the altered landscape.