To most eyes it reads as little more than a slight irregularity in a field, but what it represents is one of the most widespread and curious features of prehistoric Ireland. This is a fulacht fia, a type of ancient cooking site found in the thousands across the Irish countryside, typically dating to the Bronze Age. The basic method involved heating stones in a fire, then dropping them into a water-filled trough to bring the water to a boil, a process that left behind the characteristic mounds of cracked, fire-blackened stone that archaeologists now recognise across the landscape.

The site at Gneeves follows the pattern well. The spread of burnt material is grass-covered and largely undisturbed, sitting in open pasture as it has for millennia. About sixteen metres to the south lies a waterlogged area, which is consistent with what is typically found at such sites. Fulachtaí fia almost always occur near a reliable water source, whether a stream, a spring, or a patch of naturally boggy ground, since the whole process depended on a ready supply. The waterlogged ground to the south may reflect the original source that made this particular spot attractive to whoever chose it, possibly three or four thousand years ago.