Pentre Ifan: Wales’ first Scheduled Ancient Monument

On June 20th 1884 – two years after parliament passed John Lubbock’s Ancient Monuments Act, and a mere 12 days after General Augustus Pitt Rivers visited the site to assess its suitability – the great exposed neolithic burial chamber at Pentre Ifan, Pembrokeshire, became Wales’s first scheduled ancient monument. On June 20th two centuries later, a party of archaeologists gathered under the capstone to celebrate the general’s decision and the present system of protection that evolved from Lubbock’s act……

British Archaeology September/October 2009

Arriving rather late for the party at Pentre Ifan, but it is rather interesting to note that this very elegant monument had a birthday this year. It became the first scheduled Welsh monument in 1884, to be protected by law. Obviously saved for its dramatic beauty in the Welsh countryside it seems a pity that other such sites around the country cannot always have the same protection.