It is a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking site found in enormous numbers across Ireland, typically Bronze Age in date, and this one follows the form almost exactly: a horseshoe-shaped mound of fire-cracked material, its open end facing south, with a stream running along its eastern edge.

The mound measures roughly 8.5 metres east to west and 4 metres north to south, rising only about 35 centimetres above the surrounding ground. The southern opening spans nearly 5 metres across. That gap would originally have faced the working area, where a trough, usually timber-lined or stone-lined, was sunk into the ground and filled with water. Stones heated in a fire were then dropped into the trough to bring the water to a boil. The shattered, blackened stones that accumulated from repeated use over time are precisely what forms the mound visible today. The proximity of the stream to the east is no coincidence; reliable water was essential, and fulachta fiadh are almost invariably found beside rivers, streams, or boggy ground where water pooled naturally. What exactly these sites were used for remains debated, with cooking the long-standing explanation, though some researchers have argued for brewing, hide-working, or bathing.