Worked timber, possible wooden uprights, shaped oak, and even a fragment of charred wood came to light in the freshly cut bank face, hinting at a structure that may have once stood, or been built into, the bog itself.

The find was made by Eoin and Barbara Sullivan, who were working in an area of active peat cutting where new drainage channels were being prepared. The widening and deepening of an existing bog drain revealed not only the worked wood but also a pronounced layer of marl, a calcium-rich sediment sometimes associated with former lake or wetland margins, at the base of the drain. The exposed material includes what appears to be a spread of tree roots and branches stretching roughly 45 metres in length, along with two possible vertical timber uprights visible in the bank face and probable shaped timbers at the base. Excavated material dumped on the western side of the drain yielded a small piece of split oak and a possible piece of charred oak; a separate oak plank, about a metre long and clearly split rather than simply fallen, was found on the surface of the spoil heap. The overall spread suggests a circular site that likely continues beneath the adjacent, as yet uncut, sections of bog. Separately, and unconnected to the drain cutting, Barbara Sullivan had earlier retrieved a leather shoe from the surface of the bog at a nearby location; the shoe was identified by John Nicholl as dating to the 10th or 11th century and passed to the National Museum of Ireland in May 2023. The shoe and the timber structure are not directly associated, but their proximity in the same worked bogland is a reminder of how much organic material Irish bogs have quietly preserved.

Bogs are exceptional environments for organic preservation precisely because their waterlogged, acidic conditions slow decay almost to a standstill. Timber structures found within them can range from trackways and platforms to the remains of more substantial buildings, and distinguishing between these requires careful excavation. At Killellery, the presence of shaped and split timbers, rather than simply fallen trees, is what makes the site archaeologically interesting, though its full character and date remain to be established.