The combined site covered a substantial area, with the southern section measuring 75 by 200 metres and the northern portion extending 225 metres from north to south, tapering from 150 metres wide at its southern end to 115 metres at the northern boundary. Seven test trenches were mechanically excavated across both areas to assess whether any archaeological remains lay beneath the surface.

The investigation yielded largely unremarkable results across six of the seven trenches, with no archaeological finds or features coming to light. However, Trench 1, positioned in the southern development area, revealed something rather intriguing at its western end. Here, within a marshy patch of ground, Wallace uncovered part of what appeared to be a fulacht fiadh, one of Ireland’s most enigmatic prehistoric monuments. These burnt mounds, found in their thousands across the Irish landscape, consist of heat-shattered stones and charcoal, typically associated with water-filled troughs used for cooking, bathing, or perhaps ritual purposes during the Bronze Age.

The burnt spread at Drumcarbit measured approximately six metres across at its northern edge, narrowing to two or three metres in width, though only a portion was exposed during the testing phase. The feature appeared to continue southward beyond the excavated area, prompting Wallace to recommend either a redesign of the development plans or a full archaeological excavation to properly record this ancient cooking site. Such discoveries, whilst common across Ireland, provide valuable glimpses into prehistoric life and land use in this corner of Donegal, where our Bronze Age ancestors once gathered around these mysterious hot stone technologies some 3,000 years ago.