Cockle, periwinkle, limpet, and the occasional razor shell make up this midden, a word used by archaeologists to describe a domestic refuse heap, typically composed of food waste such as shellfish, animal bone, and ash. What makes such deposits significant is not their drama but their durability; shell survives in the soil where organic matter does not, leaving behind a legible record of diet, settlement, and repeated human use of a place.

The main concentration of shell at Fínis is roughly circular, measuring approximately four metres north to south and three and a half metres east to west, though shells are visible intermittently across a broader area of around twelve metres by ten metres. That spreading pattern suggests the material has been disturbed over time, whether by weather, animals, or the ordinary activity of people living nearby. To the south-south-east of the midden sit a derelict house and outbuilding, a reminder that Fínis, like many small islands along this coastline, once supported a permanent or semi-permanent population who would have relied heavily on inshore fishing and shellfish gathering as part of their daily subsistence.