A fulacht fia is a type of prehistoric cooking site found in considerable numbers across Ireland, typically comprising a horseshoe-shaped mound of fire-cracked stones beside a trough that would have been filled with water and heated by dropping in stones from a fire. They are most commonly dated to the Bronze Age. This particular example came to light in 2000, when Michael Connolly, County Archaeologist for Kerry County Council, was carrying out a systematic assessment of a forty square mile area north of Killarney as part of a road route selection process. The scale of that survey is worth pausing on: forty square miles of landscape scrutinised for archaeological significance, and among the findings was this site, which had left no trace on historical mapping. It was logged as an extant fulacht fia, meaning the physical remains were still visible on the ground at the time of identification, even if no formal access to the site was subsequently recorded.