This particular find was the second of three such kilns uncovered during the works, and its form alone tells a small story about the ingenuity of early Irish farming.

The kiln was identified during excavations led by archaeologist Goorik Dehaene, carried out as part of the N11 road improvement scheme and recorded under excavation licence E3254. In plan, it took the shape of a figure-of-eight, a configuration well recognised in Irish archaeology as characteristic of corn-drying kilns. The design typically consisted of two connected oval or circular pits cut into the ground, one functioning as the flue or firebox and the other as the drying chamber where grain was spread on a wooden or stone surface above a controlled heat source. Drying grain before milling or storage was essential in Ireland's damp climate, reducing moisture content and preventing spoilage. The Coolbeg example was recorded with several distinct fills, the layered deposits of ash, charcoal, and sediment that accumulate inside a kiln over its period of use and eventual abandonment, and which give archaeologists their best evidence for how and when such structures were in operation. The findings were published in Dehaene's 2009 report.