Offa’s Dyke: A Continuing Journey of Discovery

Abstract

New observations concerning the Mercian/Welsh frontier, principally on Offa’s Dyke (but also on Wat’s Dyke and in the Vale of Clwyd), were  made each winter between 2016/17 and 2019/20 by the lead author with, at one time or another, each of the collaborators in this article. The prime focus here is upon Offa’s Dyke in west Gloucestershire and in Flintshire, in both of which areas fieldwork is adding incrementally to our stock of knowledge about the extent and nature of the monument. However, observations elsewhere on its course, such as in west-central Herefordshire, at Hem (Montgomeryshire), and near Trefonen (Shropshire) are also noted in brief descriptive sections. The identification of ‘new’ lengths of Offa’s Dyke in Tutshill (near Chepstow) and between Lower Redbrook and Lower Lydbrook south-east of Monmouth indicates that the linear earthwork was built as a near-continuous or continuous monument in these southerly areas. Meanwhile, the discovery of lengths of linear earthwork in Flintshire that could have formed part of a continuous course reaching the sea near Gronant east of Prestatyn has also raised important questions about the relationship of Wat’s Dyke to Offa’s Dyke.