Summary
The earthworks and buried remains of a 520m long section of Offa's Dyke, 380m west of Pottery Cottages to the north of Trefonen.
Reasons for Designation
The section of Offa’s Dyke 380m west of Pottery Cottages, and east of Pentre-shannel Farm, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
Rarity: this section represents part of a significant frontier work dating back to the early medieval period; Offa’s Dyke is considered to be the largest and most complete purpose-built earthwork of its type in the country;
Survival: it survives well despite some localised reduction of the earthworks and the infilling of the ditch over time, and will retain evidence for the date and method of its construction;
Potential: the Dyke will contain archaeological evidence which will increase our understanding of such defensive or demarcatory systems and will contribute to our knowledge of territorial boundaries both locally and in the wider context.
History
A small number of substantial and defensible boundary features have been identified as frontier works marking territories in the early medieval period. Up to fifty examples are known with a fairly wide distribution across England. They survive in the form of earthworks and as buried features visible as cropmarks or soilmarks on aerial photographs. Evidence from contemporary documentary sources, excavation and survey suggests that they were constructed in the early medieval period between the C5 and C8. Some were relatively ephemeral, perhaps in use for only a few years during periods of local upheaval; others have formed long-lived territorial and/or military boundaries in use for several centuries.
Offa’s Dyke is the longest linear earthwork in Britain approximately 220km, running from Treuddyn, near Mold, to Sedbury on the Severn estuary. It was constructed towards the end of the C8 during the reign of Offa, the King of Mercia. It is believed to have formed a long-lived territorial, and possibly defensive, boundary between the Saxon kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms. The route of the Dyke is discernible within the landscape and survives as an earthwork for much of its length. A break of 23km in Herefordshire may represent an area where the Dyke was not built, perhaps because it was not needed here because of political alliances. It is clear from the nature of certain sections that differences in the scale and character of adjoining portions were the result of separate gangs being employed on different lengths. Where possible, natural topographic features such as slopes or rivers were utilised, and the form of Offa's Dyke is therefore clearly related to the topography. Along most of its length it consists of a bank with a ditch to the west. Excavation has indicated that at least some lengths of the bank had a vertical outer face of either laid stonework or turf revetment. The ditch generally seems to have been used to provide most of the bank material, although there is also evidence in some locations of shallow quarries. In places, a berm divides the bank and ditch, and a counterscarp bank may be present on the lip of the ditch.
Offa's Dyke now survives in various states of preservation in the form of earthworks and, where sections have been levelled and infilled, as buried features. Although some sections of this frontier system no longer survive visibly, sufficient evidence does exist for its position to be accurately identified throughout most of its length.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a 520m long section of Offa's Dyke, 380m west of Pottery Cottages to the north of Trefonen. Offa's Dyke generally consists of a bank, up to 3.5m high, with an intermittent parallel ditch and quarry pits in places. It was strengthened in some areas by additional earthworks, namely a berm between the bank and ditch and a counterscarp bank on the outer lip of the ditch.
DETAILS
The section of Dyke which runs southwards for approximately 520m from a road running west to east passing Pentre-shannel Farm, to the point where the Dyke is crossed by Chapel Lane to the north of Trefonen. At its northern end, for the first 130m, the bank has been reduced slightly by ploughing, particularly on its western side but survives as a low-profiled bank. The ditch, although largely infilled, remains visible as a slight depression. South of this section is an approximately 300m length where the earthworks of the bank, the counterscarp bank and the ditch are well preserved. Beyond this, is a 100m long section of the Dyke where the bank has been lowered by ploughing and cut by a lane but there are traces of a shallow ditch and the counterscarp bank on the west side. To the south of the lane, as far as Chapel Lane, the bank has a lowered profile and the ditch is visible as a shallow depression. At the southern end of this section of the Dyke the earthworks have been removed by the road (Chapel Lane) which runs from Fron to Trefonen.
EXCLUSIONS
All fence posts, stiles and telegraph poles are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is included.
