That ambiguity is part of what makes it worth a moment's consideration. Circular depressions in Irish fields have a way of attracting speculation, and this one is no exception, having warranted an official inspection before anyone could say with confidence what it was.

When the site was examined in 1984, the hollow turned out to be a disused quarry, not a ringfort, not a collapsed souterrain, not a feature of any great antiquity. Because it dates to after 1700, it falls outside the scope of archaeological protection in Ireland, which tends to focus on sites predating that threshold. Small-scale quarrying of this kind was common across rural Ireland in the post-medieval period, typically used to extract stone or limestone for local building, road repair, or the production of agricultural lime. The circular form is a natural consequence of quarrying outward and downward from a central point, gradually leaving a bowl-shaped depression once the work stopped and the land was left to grass over.