This is a midden, a prehistoric or early historic rubbish deposit, essentially the accumulated kitchen waste of people who once ate here, the shells, burnt stones, and charcoal left behind from their fires and meals. It is the kind of archaeology that tends not to draw crowds, yet few things bring you as close to the texture of daily life in the past.

When the site was first recorded in 1983, a band of mixed shells, burnt stone, and charcoal roughly 25 metres in length was exposed in the scarp face overlooking the shore, sealed beneath approximately half a metre of sand and turf. By the time of a revisit in May 2014, the dunes had been shifting and collapsing at their base, and the overhanging sod had begun to fall away in sections. The midden itself remained clearly visible as a distinct dark layer, composed mainly of limpet shells. It sits around 150 metres east of a separate midden recorded nearby, suggesting that this corner of Omey was a place people returned to, and ate at, over some considerable stretch of time. The reference to Killanin's 1954 account places knowledge of this site within a longer tradition of local antiquarian interest in the island, which also contains early Christian remains.

Omey Island itself is tidal, reachable on foot across the strand from Claddaghduff when the tide is out, and that crossing alone shapes the experience of visiting. The midden sits within the dune system at the northern end, and the eroding scarp face is the thing to look for. The dark band of shell material visible in cross-section is unassuming in appearance, but the ongoing erosion means the site is likely to change from one visit to the next.