5. c. 16) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Britain.

In 1908 a royal commission concluded that there were gaps between these two pieces of legislation, and the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1910.

Powers were given for the board, with parliamentary approval, to issue preservation orders and to protect the lands immediately around an ancient monument.

[1] The Ancient Monuments Act 1931 was passed to deal with gaps in this system.

In particular, the new act extended the definition of an ancient monument to include a cave or an underground archaeological artefact; it also extended the powers of the state to manage development in the area around an ancient monument, allowing them to introduce preservation schemes to protect the wider neighbourhood.