It measures sixteen metres long, fourteen metres wide, and just over a metre high, with a three-metre opening facing south-west. What looks at first glance like an unremarkable rise in the ground is in fact a fulacht fia, one of the most common yet persistently mysterious monument types in the Irish archaeological record.

Fulachtaí fia, found in their thousands across Ireland, are the remains of ancient cooking sites, most dating to the Bronze Age. The distinctive horseshoe or crescent shape comes from the gradual accumulation of fire-cracked stone and charcoal, discarded after repeated use. The typical arrangement involved a trough, often timber-lined, filled with water that was then heated by dropping in stones from a nearby fire. The mound itself is essentially a heap of the spent, shattered stones, built up over many episodes of use. The proximity of this example to a well fits the pattern well; a reliable water source was essential to the whole process, and fulachtaí are frequently found close to streams, springs, or other wet ground. Whether the site was used purely for cooking, or possibly for bathing, textile processing, or other activities, remains a matter of ongoing debate among archaeologists.