Though the area held no known archaeological monuments, its position between three ancient enclosures made it worth investigating. The team dug at least two test trenches in each field, revealing mostly unremarkable layers of soil: sod and topsoil over boulder clay on higher ground, whilst the lower areas showed marshy vegetation sitting atop marly clay and peat.

The patient work paid off when the team uncovered something intriguing in the western part of the site, directly across from the Tír Connaill GAA grounds. Here, in a patch of low, marshy ground, they found a spread of heat fractured stones mixed with charcoal rich soil; telltale signs of ancient cooking activity. The location and composition strongly suggested this was a fulacht fiadh, one of Ireland’s most common Bronze Age sites.

These prehistoric cooking places, found in their thousands across Ireland, were essentially outdoor kitchens where our ancestors heated water by dropping hot stones into wooden or stone lined troughs. The Revlin example, sitting in its marshy setting, fits the typical pattern perfectly; Bronze Age communities often built these sites near water sources, using them to cook meat, brew beer, or even for bathing. Though modest in appearance, this chance discovery adds another piece to our understanding of how people lived in Donegal some 3,000 years ago.