This is a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking site found in great numbers across Ireland, typically recognised by the distinctive dark, horseshoe-shaped mound of burnt stone and charcoal left behind after repeated use. The site at Bawnard is a substantial one, measuring some 34 metres north to south and 19 metres east to west, making it considerably larger than many examples of its kind.

Fulachtaí fia, the plural form, are generally thought to date from the Bronze Age, though some may be earlier or later. The most widely accepted interpretation is that they functioned as outdoor cooking sites, where stones were heated in a fire and then dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it to the boil. Over time, the shattered and spent stones were piled up around the trough, gradually forming the low mound that survives today. The proximity to a stream at Bawnard fits the pattern almost exactly, since a reliable water source was essential to the whole process. What makes this particular location quietly notable is that a second fulacht fia lies roughly 150 metres to the north-east, suggesting that this stretch of ground beside the stream was returned to, or used in parallel, across some span of prehistoric activity.