Publications

Horseshoe Falls, Llangollen. Feeder Weir for the Llangollen Canal. 2005. (Image: DI2005_0876 / NPRN: 403685) Laugharne Castle, near Carmarthen. 2004. (Image: DI2005_1167 / NPRN: 95634)

Pembrokeshire Inventory 1925

The Pembrokeshire Inventory was the last of the old-style county inventories produced by The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions in Wales and Monmouthshire. The production of county inventories was part of the Royal Commission's mandate when it was established by Royal Warrant in 1908. They were to be a record of 'Monuments and Constructions connected with or illustrative of the contemporary culture, civilisation and conditions of life of the people in Wales and Monmouthshire from the earliest times'. Published in 1925, this inventory is a detailed record of archaeological sites and monuments in Pembrokeshire. Arranged in alphabetical order of parish and then class of monument, it describes a wide range of places of archaeological interest, including megaliths, Iron Age hill-forts, Roman forts, camps and roads, castles, churches and holy wells, domestic structures, and some relics. It also contains drawings, plans and photographs, including some of the first archaeological aerial photographs published in Wales, of selected items or places. When this inventory was put together, interpretative techniques were different from those employed today. Greater emphasis was placed on early archaeological monuments and the study of more recent structures, such as houses, was limited. This volume must therefore be treated as a historical document rather than a reflection of the current approach to archaeology. In the twenty-first century the Royal Commission is involved in pioneering archaeological research into all periods, from prehistoric to modern times, and new methods of surveying archaeological sites and recording data are being developed. The fruits of the Royal Commission's research can be found on the public online database Coflein and in the National Monuments Record of Wales.

Documents