The site belongs to a category of monument known as a fulacht fia, the most common prehistoric archaeological feature found across Ireland. The term refers to an outdoor cooking place, typically consisting of a water-filled trough into which fire-heated stones were dropped to boil the water, with a characteristic mound of burnt and shattered stone building up around it over repeated use. What makes the Jordanstown example quietly interesting is the detail preserved in the excavation record, detail that transforms what could easily be dismissed as a few muddy pits into a legible fragment of daily life.

The site was excavated in 2008 ahead of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road improvement scheme. Three subcircular troughs were uncovered, along with associated post-holes. To the south, a scatter of smaller post-holes and stake-holes suggests a fence or windbreak once stood nearby, perhaps to shelter the working area from prevailing winds. To the east of the troughs, a small slot-trench and further post-holes may indicate a temporary roofed structure of some kind, a lean-to or work shelter connected with the activity at the troughs. A sample of ash charcoal taken from the fill of one trough was radiocarbon dated to between 2033 and 1914 cal BC, placing the primary use of the site firmly in the Early Bronze Age. A separate but related phase of activity was also identified: a cereal-drying kiln located approximately thirty metres to the north-west, accompanied by a number of pits and hearths, indicating that people returned to or continued using this low rise for agricultural processing after the original cooking troughs had fallen out of use.