This is a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking site found in considerable numbers across Ireland, and one of the more quietly legible examples in the Ballymartin area. The mound measures roughly ten metres north to south and nearly nine metres east to west, rising about a metre above the surrounding land, with its open end facing south. That horseshoe or crescent shape is characteristic of the type: the mound itself is typically the accumulated debris, charred stone and ash, thrown up around a central trough over repeated use.

Fulachtaí fia, to use the Irish plural, are generally associated with the Bronze Age, though some examples span a wider range of periods. The standard interpretation is that they functioned as outdoor cooking places. Stone would be heated in a fire and then dropped into a water-filled trough, bringing it to a boil efficiently and repeatedly. The shattered, fire-cracked stone piled up with each use, eventually forming the distinctive mound that survives today. What makes this particular example worth noting is its immediate setting: a small turlough lies just to the south. A turlough is a seasonal lake, common in karst limestone landscapes in the west of Ireland, which fills and empties through underground fissures depending on the time of year. The proximity is probably not coincidental. Reliable access to water was a practical necessity for any fulacht fia, and a turlough, however temporary, would have served that purpose well. The detail was recorded as part of an archaeological survey of the Ballinrobe district, covering the Lough Mask and Lough Carra area, compiled by D. Lavelle and published in 1994.