The uncertainty is deliberate, not evasive. The site at Ballybrowney was never fully excavated, and what little was uncovered raises more questions than it answers.

The partial excavation took place in 2003, carried out ahead of construction work on the N8 Rathcormac-Fermoy Bypass. Road schemes have long been among the more productive, if unglamorous, catalysts for archaeological discovery in Ireland, since they force investigation of ground that might otherwise remain untouched for generations. At Ballybrowney, the dig revealed that the possible structure sat within the interior of a Bronze Age enclosure, a roughly circular or oval boundary feature typical of the period, used variously for settlement, ritual, or agricultural purposes. The cobbled surface, post-holes suggesting upright timbers, and a hearth are the classic fingerprints of a roofed structure of some kind, but because the remains extended largely beyond the boundary of the excavated area, archaeologists led by Cotter could not establish the building's full dimensions or its purpose. A companion site nearby, recorded separately, adds to the picture without resolving it. What the Bronze Age community at Ballybrowney was actually doing inside that enclosure remains, for now, an open question.