Souterrains, from the French for "underground passage", are found in their hundreds across Ireland, typically associated with Early Christian period settlement sites dating roughly from the sixth to the twelfth centuries. They were constructed from dry-stone walling and capstones, dug into the earth and covered over, and are thought to have served as cool storage chambers, places of refuge, or both.

The Pleberstown example is recorded as a monument, placing it within a broader county Kilkenny landscape that contains a notable concentration of early medieval remains. Beyond its classification and location, the specific details of this particular souterrain, its dimensions, its condition, the circumstances of its discovery, and any associated settlement evidence, are not yet in the public record in a readily accessible form. That absence is itself telling in a way; many such structures spent centuries unrecognised, glimpsed only when a field was ploughed too deep or a farmer noticed an unexpected hollow in the ground.