To anyone walking the field, they might register as nothing more than scorched earth. But they are the remains of a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking site found in great numbers across Ireland, and one of the more quietly thought-provoking categories of monument in the Irish landscape.

Fulachtaí fia, the plural form, are typically Bronze Age in date, though some examples have been found to span other periods. The usual interpretation is that they functioned as outdoor cooking places: a trough, often lined with wood or stone, would be filled with water, and stones heated in a nearby fire would then be dropped in to bring the water to a boil. Over time, the repeatedly heated and shattered stones accumulated into a distinctive horseshoe-shaped mound of dark, burnt, and cracked material. That characteristic spread of scorched debris is precisely what survives at Carrigoon. The presence of two separate concentrations at this site is notable; whether they represent two distinct episodes of use, two contemporary features serving related purposes, or something else entirely, is not recorded. The proximity to a stream fits the pattern well, since a reliable water source was a practical necessity for this kind of activity.