The mound at Gurteen measures eighteen metres east to west, eight metres north to south, and rises to around one and a quarter metres, its bulk composed almost entirely of fire-cracked stone and charred material. That distinctive dark, burnt fill is the defining signature of a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking site found in great numbers across the Irish countryside. The standard interpretation is that stones were heated in a fire and then dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it to a boil, after which the cracked and spent stones were swept aside, accumulating over repeated use into exactly this kind of low, elongated mound.

The site was recorded in 1934 by Bowman, who noted it as one of two fulachta fiadh on land belonging to a Mr Leader in the Gurteen area. That pairing is itself worth noting; fulachta fiadh are frequently found in clusters, which has led some researchers to suggest they may have served communal or seasonal purposes rather than being purely domestic cooking sites. The broader debate about their function, whether for cooking meat, brewing, bathing, or some combination of uses, remains open, but the physical evidence they leave behind is consistent and recognisable across the country.