Landscape Detective

The great earthwork bank and ditch known as Offa's Dyke, which once divided Wales from England, still remains as a feature in the landscape today. It was constructed during the reign of King Offa of Mercia (A.D. 757 - 796) and is the most extensive linear earthwork in Britain. It is generally accepted that it was intended to define the border between Wales and England but whether it was viewed as a military boundary or an economic one is disputed.

Offa's Dyke consists of an earth bank that in places reached as high as 8 metres. To the west of the bank was a deep ditch. The Dyke occupies imposing positions on the landscape with fine and commanding views into Wales. Nobody really knows what the Dyke would have looked like when it was first built. Archaeological work has suggested that the western side of the bank was lined with turf to create a near vertical face. It is also possible that a wall stood on top of the bank.

It can be seen at its best here on Llanfair Hill, standing up to two metres high and flanked on the west by a wide ditch.