This is a fulacht fia, a type of ancient cooking or processing site typically identified by a mound of heat-shattered, fire-cracked stone, dark and scorched, that accumulates over years or centuries of use. The basic method involved heating stones in a fire and dropping them into a water-filled trough to bring the water to a boil, a surprisingly efficient technique that left behind the distinctive blackened debris visible here.

What makes this particular location of added interest is that it does not stand alone. A second fulacht fia sits on the opposite, northern bank of the same river. The pairing of two such sites on either side of a watercourse is not unheard of in Irish archaeology, and rivers were clearly integral to the process, providing the water supply that made the whole operation work. The Owenageeragh would have offered a reliable and accessible source, and the clustering of activity along its banks suggests this stretch of ground saw repeated, possibly seasonal, use during the Bronze Age, the period when fulachtaí fia were most commonly in operation.