In 1978, Current Archaeology arrived on the scene of works begun six years prior by Manchester University, which surveyed Offa’s Dyke and neighbouring Wat’s Dyke.
My column this month is on one of the least-known ‘great sites’ of all: Offa’s Dyke, the linear earthwork that stretches along the Welsh/English border. Most people know Hadrian’s Wall, and a fair few the Antonine Wall, but how many of us can say that we are familiar with Offa’s Dyke, either the standing sections of it that survive or the National Trail of that name that runs from Sedbury in the south to Prestatyn in the north? It is generally accepted that it ran ‘from sea to sea’ (as first described in the 9th century in Asser’s Life of King Alfred), but its course has never been fully described; it is usually agreed to have been constructed to mark the western edge of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, probably in the 8th or 9th centuries, but little of this is proven by the modern-day science of archaeology. It is often called the longest continuous ancient monument in Britain (and large sections of it are scheduled, albeit to limited protective effect, as we will discuss below), but it remains enigmatic in both its archaeological remains and its documentary history, not helped by its habit of criss-crossing modern-day legislative boundaries which bedevils its protection: the long-distance path alone passes through eight different counties and crosses the border between England and Wales more than 20 times.
A NOBLE EFFORT
CA 291 returned to Offa’s Dyke to cover the story of its fi rst scientifi c dating, which called into question the level of involvement in its construction by the Dyke’s eponymous king.
CA 60 (February 1978) saw the first formal visit to Offa’s Dyke, reporting on work begun in 1972 by a team from Manchester University who, given the paucity of information available about it at the time, decided to survey the monument. A previous (and first) such survey had been undertaken by Cyril Fox, about whom you can read more in CA 188 (October 2003), back in the 1920-1930s. Manchester’s fresh fieldwork showed that less than 14 miles of standing monument could be traced on the ground and more than two miles had been destroyed by modern farming and development since Fox’s time, half of this a scheduled monument protected, no less, in response to Fox’s original fieldwork. This was just one part of a worrying trend that continued to this day (see CA 306, September 2015, on damage to a section near Wrexham).
Manchester’s efforts to promote and protect Offa’s Dyke did not go unrecognised: CA 90 (January 1984) was there to celebrate their 100th test-excavation along its route in October 1983. Fieldwork had led by this time to more than 30 miles of the route being securely identified, and the mood was one of optimism for its future, reflected in CA 94 (October 1984) when the associated long-distance footpath – progenitor of today’s National Trail – was explored by the magazine in honour of the man who did more for the Dyke than any other individual: Frank Noble. Frank lobbied for the Dyke’s protection and promotion, receiving in time a BEM (British Empire Medal) in recognition of his efforts. His work led to both the Offa’s Dyke Association and to the Offa’s Dyke Path being established as a National Trail (details of both are given opposite).
CA’s most in-depth coverage of Offa’s Dyke occurred in 2016. Mentioned on the cover, the story looked into further debates over the dating of the Dyke.
However, the trail – in terms of Current Archaeology coverage, at least – then went cold for 20 years. The next visit by the magazine was not until CA 193 (August 2004), but – as is explained there – the fieldwork begun back in 1972 had quietly but steadily continued, cutting more than 200 sections along its route and extending its known length to over 64 miles, leading to a new publication at this time by David Hill and Margaret Worthington, named simply Offa’s Dyke.
DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS
After a second hiatus in reporting that lasted a decade, CA next returned to Offa’s Dyke in issue 291 (June 2014), with a key development: its first scientific dating. One of the problems with our understanding of the Dyke has always been the absence of finds and datable materials, so this work by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) was a game-changer. It made the best of a bad situation: vandalism near Chirk led to the fieldwork underlying these analyses, enabling CPAT to take nine samples from two areas some 20m apart. This yielded a date for an earlier construction phase within one bank of c.AD 541-651, with samples from above/below this dating to c.AD 430-643/c.AD 475-652 respectively, and another sampled section dating to c.AD 887-1019. These new dates questioned Offa’s direct association with the Dyke, suggesting instead a long-term project by several rulers of Mercia rather than a single king (Offa’s reign was between AD 757-796). CA 316 (July 2016) followed up on this with the most in-depth assessment of the Dyke in the magazine’s history, and its first cover mention.
A report on work by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust appeared in CA 358, discussing new information that contributed to a better understanding of the Dyke’s construction.
But the history of the Dyke, like its route, is one of twists and turns: by issue 316 the dating reported above was felt to be in question, since the dates came from samples contemporary with the surface on top of which the Dyke was originally constructed – that is, not from the Dyke itself, but from the pre-Dyke landscape. In fieldwork terms, it was back to square one, with no secure scientific dates from which to draw conclusions about its construction and phasing. Nonetheless, as CA 316 demonstrates, there remains much to be discovered about Offa’s Dyke, as explored in a book – Offa’s Dyke: Landscape and Hegemony in 8th-century Britain – by Keith Ray and Ian Bapty, published at this time. CA 358 (January 2020) delved into these new considerations with a report on renewed fieldwork by CPAT, which examined the cumulative dating evidence and fieldwork since Fox’s first work. This most recent, detailed examination of the Dyke also reported on fieldwork by CPAT at two sections of it that are cared for by the National Trust: at Erddig Hall and Chirk Castle, both near Wrexham. (A note, in passing: in 2024, the new organisation Heneb united Wales’ four regional archaeological trusts – Clwyd Powys, Dyfed, Glamorgan-Gwent, and Gwynedd – into a single organisation dedicated to uncovering and preserving Wales’ archaeological heritage; we hope that they return to Offa’s Dyke and to Current Archaeology with further updates.)
Thankfully, interest in Offa’s Dyke remains strong. CA 371 (February 2021) featured a new periodical dedicated to its study, the Offa’s Dyke Journal, edited by Howard Williams of Chester University, and the Offa’s Dyke Association, founded back in 1969 by Frank Noble, is still going strong, as featured in CA 390’s ‘Odd Socs’ (September 2022). (Another ‘Odd Soc’ of interest to readers of such large-scale sites is the Society for Landscape Studies, founded in 1979, which featured in CA 384 in March 2022.)
The Offa’s Dyke Association, which promotes the conservation, preservation, protection, and understanding of the Dyke and similar sites, starred in CA 390’s ‘Odd Socs’.
FINDS FURTHER AFIELD
For those of you interested in the history of Offa’s Dyke, and in visiting sections of it, I conclude with other Welsh border sites of interest that have featured in the pages of the magazine down the years. There are Erddig Hall and Chirk Castle, mentioned above, both in the care of the National Trust; nearby also lies Tintern Abbey, in the care of Cadw. But these are ‘great sites’ in their own right, and CA, as ever, gives readers the inside track on lesser-known marvels, too: how about the hillforts that featured in CA 404 (November 2023), including the Breiddin near Welshpool; the twin castles of Longtown in the March of Ewyas in CA 375 (June 2021); Clifford Castle near Hay-on-Wye in CA 341 (August 2018); and Hen Domen castle near Montgomery in CA 174 (June 2001)? All these sites are worth seeking out. For those of you looking for bodily sustenance on your travels as well, the nearby towns of Chepstow, Monmouth, and Welshpool have all featured in the magazine down the years: digital subscribers can search for all these and unearth their histories online.
For more information on the Offa’s Dyke Association, the charity that promotes protection and understanding of the Dyke, see https://offasdyke.org.uk. For more information about the National Trail that follows its route, see www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/offas-dyke-path.