Sitting incongruously near more modern houses in Kells, like a memory of Ireland’s distant past, this narrow grey-stone house is all that’s left of a long-lost monastic settlement that once stood where the town now sprawls. Most of the nearly windowless building dates to the 10th century, although some sections predate that by another hundred years. Some experts believe it was once a scriptorium, where monks wrote and illuminated books—and quite possibly where the Book of Kells was produced. The first-floor room still contains traces of an ancient fireplace and entryway; a narrow staircase ascends to a dark vault just under the roof.