All over Ireland, there is evidence of human habitation going back almost 5000 years. Scattered across our hills and valleys are monuments of the pre-Christian era. These monuments were built during the Neolithic Age(New Stone Age) about 3,500 years B.C. Initially these people may have been hunter-gatherers but eventually learned the skill of agriculture and established permanent settlements. They worshiped the sun at stone circles and stone alignments. They buried their dead under large slabs of stone - cromlechs, dolmens and standing (Ogham) stones. They used a unique system of writing on stones called Ogham. The evidence of our ancestor’s early existence is preserved for us by the existence of these ancient monuments in our locality.
The nearby Cromlech is in great condition (see added waypoint). The tablestone weighs about twelve tons and the cromlech is made entirely of granite. Underneath the tablestone the chamber measures six feet seven inches by two and a half feet and goes in an east-west direction.
Cromlechs, when perfect, consist of three or more stones unhewn, and generally so placed as to form a small enclosure. Over these a large stone is laid; the whole forming a kind of rude chamber. The position of the table, or covering stone, is generally sloping; but its degree of inclination does not appear to have been regulated by any design.
The ancient Ogham script (pronounced oh-am) is most often found on Ogham stones that date back to the third century. Most examples of the writing is found on Ogham stones of which there are over 350 found mostly in southern Ireland as well as in Scotland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and Wales. The transition to the use of the Roman alphabet took place about the sixth century. Most examples of Ogham writing confer the name of person that they represent, thus the stones are often memorial symbols.
When carved on stones the first letter was at the base and the inscription read from the bottom up. Ogham is occasionally called the Celtic Tree alphabet as many of the letters of Ogham refer to trees. The origin of Ogham is unclear with some scholars suggesting that the language was invented to allow the native Irish communicate in code that the Roman Britons would not understand. Other scholars contend that the language is of Christian origin and exists as a means of religious communication.
It is unknown exactly why the modern day ogham stones were erected in Cromlech Fields or what they say but it is assumed it is to pay tribute to the great many monuments in the locality.
The cache is a micro and is not hidden in or on either monument - please be gentle with it and use stealth as this is very close to a residential area and main road.
Hint:
**Congrats nabulungi for the FTF**