Description Cashel Murphy is one of the most impressive monuments in the country. Settlement consists of five beehive huts, a courtyard, a souterrain [underground rooms used to store food and hide from approaching enemies] and a protective tiered wall. The sun enters the souterrain during the equinox early in the Autumn and late in Spring. Important artifacts have been removed from the site and are held in the National Museum of Ireland. These include a cross slab which is carved with the oldest form of writing in Ireland the ogham alphabeth.It is also decorated on both sides, designs include a Greek cross, a Maltese cross, a tunic-clad human figure,and spirals. These prehistoric settlements date as far back as 3200 BC, and were constructed round the same time as the famous Newgrange site in Co Meath.
