The kilns came to light in 2000, during an excavation led by Donald Murphy. Three of the five were clustered in the north-eastern part of the site, and all showed the characteristic signs of sustained, repeated use: dense concentrations of charcoal and oxidised clay, the baked and blackened residue of countless firings. A corn-drying kiln, in simple terms, is a stone-lined or earthen structure used to dry harvested grain before milling or storage, essential in a wet climate where damp grain would spoil quickly. The keyhole shape, with a long flue leading into a circular drying chamber, allowed heat to be drawn efficiently through the grain. Timber recovered from the base of one kiln was radiocarbon dated to AD 563 to 659, placing its construction firmly within the Early Christian period in Ireland. Alongside the kilns, the excavation revealed three ditches, three hearths, and a spread of material, traces of a settlement that was, by any measure, a working, inhabited place rather than a ceremonial one. The site was excavated under licence and its findings were subsequently published in Bennett's 2002 archaeological compendium.