Pentre Ifan: Largest Neolithic Dolmen In Wales

The 'floating stone' of Pentre Ifan dolmen has been perfectly balanced on its three supporting uprights for 5,500 years.

It's the largest and best preserved Neolithic dolmen in Wales, and approximately 1,000 years older than the Pyramids of Giza.

Pentre Ifan is in Pembrokeshire, Wales - three miles east of Newport.

As it now stands, the Pentre Ifan Dolmen is a collection of seven principal stones, the largest is the huge capstone, 16ft long, 7.9ft width and 3.0ft thick.

It is estimated to weigh 16 tonnes and rests on the tips of three other stones, some 8.2ft off the ground.

There are six upright stones, three of which support the capstone.

Of the remaining three, two portal stones form an entrance and the third, at an angle, appears to block the doorway.

The Pentre Ifan monument is a scheduled monument and is one of three Welsh monuments to have received legal protection under the Ancient Monuments Protection Act.

The dolmen dates from around 3500 BC, and has traditionally been identified as a communal burial.

Under this theory the existing stones formed the portal and main chamber of the tomb, which would originally have been covered by a large mound of stones about 98 ft long and 17 m wide.

Some of the kerbstones, marking the edge of the mound, have been identified during excavations.

The stone chamber was at the southern end of the long mound, which stretched off to the north. Very little of the material that formed the mound remains.

Some of the stones have been scattered, but at least seven are in their original position.

An elaborate entrance façade surrounding the portal, which may have been a later addition, was built with carefully constructed dry stone walling.

Individual burials are thought to have been made within the stone chamber, which would be re-used many times.

No traces of bones were found in the tomb, raising the possibility that they were subsequently transferred elsewhere.

However, a major study by Cummings and Richards in 2014 produced a different explanation for the monument.

They identify several distinctive attributes shared by the class of monument known as dolmens, all of which are particularly well exemplified at Pentre Ifan.

First, such monuments typically have a large capstone derived from a glacial erratic, far bigger than is required or sensible if the aim is to roof a chamber.

Furthermore, the capstone has a flat underside.

Sometimes, as here, this has been arrived at by splitting the rock; at other sites, such as Garn Turne, some 12 km to the south-west, it has been laboriously 'pecked' off using stone tools.

The capstone is supported on the tapering tips of slender uprights.

As at Pentre Ifan, there are often other stones within the group, but they play no part in holding up the capstone, and the resulting effect of the enormous stone appearing to float above the other stones would seem to be deliberate and desired.

If these are the key elements of the monument then, it is argued, the stones were never designed to be buried within a mound, and they never formed a chamber to contain bones.

What we see today is the monument as it was intended to be seen.

It might therefore represent a more elaborate version of a standing stone.

Its purpose could be simply to demonstrate the status and skill of the builders, or to add significance and gravitas to an already significant place.

The sheer size of the huge capstone that is supported by the larger dolmens makes it overwhelmingly likely that the stone was not brought in from elsewhere, but already stood as an independent glacial erratic on the same spot it now occupies.

Evidence from the 1948 excavation is compatible with the idea of a large pit being dug at Pentre Ifan, to expose and work on the stone, perhaps splitting it to create a flat underside.

It could then be levered vertically upwards a little at a time, using poles, ropes, and large numbers of people, and packed into place using a growing heap of boulders.

Once at the required height, the supporting uprights could be introduced, and the boulders removed to leave only the uprights, and such other surrounding stones as were wanted, or for sacrificial ceremonies.

Pentre Ifan was studied by early travellers and antiquarians, and rapidly became famous as an image of ancient Wales, from engravings of the romantic stones.

Archaeological excavations took place in 1936–37 and 1958–59, both led by William Francis Grimes - this identified rows of ritual pits which lay under the mound, and therefore must predate it.

Kerbstones for the mound were also found, but not in a complete sequence, and aligned more to the pits than to the stone chamber.

Very few items were found in the excavations, other than some flint flakes, and a small amount of Welsh (Western) pottery.

Today, the dolmen is maintained and cared for by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments Agency.

The site is well kept, and entrance is free. It is about 3 miles east of Newport.

It’s easily accessible, one recent person reviewing it on TripAdvisor said: “This burial chamber is a stunning piece of history.

”What is even better is the efforts made to make this accessible for people like myself who now have limited mobility.

”It's a short, fairly level and easy walk from the parking area on the lane. I loved my visit and the opportunity to touch ancient history.

“So many sites are now inaccessible for me and I appreciated the effort made to make this place easy for almost everyone to get to.”

If you’d like to visit, the address is: Nevern, Crymych SA41 3TZ.

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