PE008

Pentre Ifan Chambered Tomb  

 

Designated  

Pembrokeshire  

Nevern  

209940  

237023  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Chambered Tomb  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a chambered tomb, dating to the Neolithic period (c. 4,400 BC - 2,900 BC). Chambered tombs were built and used by local farming communities over long periods of time. There appear to be many regional traditions and variations in shape and construction. Pentre Ifan is celebrated as an impressive example of a megalithic chambered tomb it is rectangular in shape and formed by four orthostats of which three support the large capstone; it has an unusual north-south orientation. The capstone is square at its southern end but tapers towards a point at its northern end; it measures 5m in length, 2.4m wide and has a maximum thickness of 0.9m at its southern end. Three stones stand at the southern end, two of which support the capstone and form an entrance which is blocked by the third upright. The forth upright supports the northern end with an additional upright prostrate on the west side of the chamber. Excavations in 1936-7 and 1958-9 revealed evidence additional side-stones and remnants of a trapezoidal cairn. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual. The monument is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and environmental and structural evidence, including a buried prehistoric land surface. Chambered tombs may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described.