The feature belongs to a class of monument known as a fulacht fia, essentially a burnt mound, the physical residue of a system in which stones were heated in a fire and then dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it to the boil. The process left behind characteristic spreads of fire-cracked, heat-shattered stone, dark and distinctive against the surrounding soil. This particular example is the western of two such mounds identified at the site, suggesting a landscape with repeated use of the same general area for this kind of activity.

The discovery came to light during archaeological testing by Annette Quinn of Tobar Archaeological Services in October 2012, carried out under licence number 12E312 in connection with plans to extend the wildlife park at Fota, on Great Island in Cork Harbour. The mounds were only partially exposed during that work, meaning much of what they contain remains in the ground. Fulachta fia are among the most common archaeological monument types in Ireland, found in their thousands across the country, and are generally associated with the Bronze Age, though the date of this particular example was not established in the testing phase.