Editing Offa's Dyke (section)

==History==
===Background===
[[File:Mercian Supremacy x 4 alt.png|thumb|The extent of Mercia during the [[Mercian Supremacy]], showing the line of Offa's Dyke (red)]]
[[File:Wat's dyke.png|thumb|right|[[Wat's Dyke]] in brown; Offa's Dyke in red]]
[[File:Offa's Dyke cross-section colour.svg|thumb|Schematic cross-section of Offa's Dyke, showing the design intended to protect Mercia against attacks/raids from Powys.]]

{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2019}}

The generally accepted theory of the earthwork attributes most of its construction to [[Offa of Mercia|Offa]], king of [[Mercia]] from 757 to 796. The structure did not represent a mutually agreed boundary between the Mercians and the [[Kingdom of Powys]]. It had a ditch on the Welsh (western) side, with the displaced soil piled into a bank on the Mercian (eastern) side. This suggests that Mercians constructed it as a defensive earthwork, or to demonstrate the power and intent of their kingdom.

Throughout its entire length, the [[Levee|dyke]] provides an uninterrupted view from Mercia into Wales. Where the earthwork encounters hills or high ground, it passes to the west of them.

Although historians often overlook Offa's reign because of limitations in source material, he ranks as one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon rulers – as evidenced in his ability to raise the workforce and resources required to construct the dyke. Those requirements were immense – when [[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]] approached motorway contractors in the late 1970s regarding potential costs in present terms they "threw up their hands in dismay... impossible, they said."<ref>{{cite web |author1=[[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]] |title=In Search of Offa |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=104&v=S8l_DX9Zjrg&feature=youtu.be |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=13 March 2025 |language=en |date=2 January 1979}}</ref> The construction of the earthwork probably involved a ''[[corvée]]'' system requiring [[vassal]]s to build certain lengths of the earthwork for Offa in addition to performing their normal services to their king. The [[Tribal Hidage]], a primary document, shows the distribution of land within 8th-century Britain; it shows that peoples were located within specified territories for administration.

===Early scholarship===
[[File:Offa's Dyke near Yew Tree Farm - geograph.org.uk - 450420.jpg|thumb|Offa's Dyke near [[Presteigne]], Powys]]
The first historians and archaeologists to examine the dyke compared their conclusions with the late 9th-century writer [[Asser]], who wrote: "there was in Mercia in fairly recent time a certain vigorous king called Offa, who terrified all the neighbouring kings and provinces around him, and who had a great dyke built between Wales and Mercia from sea to sea".<ref>Asser, ''Life of Alfred'', p. 14</ref> In 1955, [[Cyril Fox]] published the first major survey of the dyke.<ref>Fox 1955</ref> He concurred with Asser that the earthwork ran 'from sea to sea', theorising that the dyke ran from the [[River Dee, Wales|River Dee]] estuary in the north to the [[River Wye]] in the south: approximately {{convert|150|mi}}. Although Fox observed that Offa's Dyke was not a continuous linear structure, he concluded that earthworks were raised in only those areas where natural barriers did not already exist.

Historian [[Frank Stenton]] accepts Fox's conclusions. He wrote the introduction to Fox's account of the dyke. Although Fox's work has now been revised to some extent, it still remains a vital record of some stretches of Offa's Dyke that still existed between 1926 and 1928, when his three field surveys took place, but have since been destroyed.

===Later research ===
In 1978, Dr. Frank Noble challenged some of Fox's conclusions, stirring up new academic interest in Offa's Dyke. His thesis entitled "Offa's Dyke Reviewed" (1978) raises several questions concerning the accepted historiography of Offa's Dyke. Noble postulates that the gaps in the Dyke were not the incorporation of natural features as defensive barriers, but instead the gaps were a "ridden boundary", perhaps incorporating [[palisade]]s, that left no archaeological trace. Noble also helped establish the Offa's Dyke Association, which maintains the [[Offa's Dyke Path]]. This [[long-distance footpath]] mostly follows the route of the dyke and is a designated British [[National Trails|National Trail]].

[[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]] writes of Fox's study: "In the planning of it, there was a degree of consultation with the kings of Powys and [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]]. On the [[Long Mountain (Powys)|Long Mountain]] near [[Trelystan]], the dyke veers to the east, leaving the fertile slopes in the hands of the Welsh; near [[Ruabon|Rhiwabon]], it was designed to ensure that [[Cadell ap Brochfael|Cadell ap Brochwel]] retained possession of the Fortress of Penygadden." And for Gwent, Offa had the dyke built "on the eastern crest of the gorge, clearly with the intention of recognizing<!--'recognizing' is the spelling used in John Davies' original text, and should be preserved uncorrected {{sic}}, per [[WP:MOSQUOTE]]. --> that the River Wye and its traffic belonged to the kingdom of Gwent".<ref>{{cite book |last=Davies |first=John |author-link=John Davies (historian) |title=A History of Wales |publisher=Penguin |orig-year=1993 |year=2007 |location=London |pages=65–66}}</ref>

Ongoing research and archaeology on Offa's Dyke has been undertaken for many years by the Extra-Mural Department of the [[University of Manchester]]. Interviews with Dr. David Hill, broadcast in episode 1 of ''[[In Search of the Dark Ages]]'' (aired in 1979), show support for Noble's idea.<ref>{{cite web |author1=[[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]] |title=In Search of Offa |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1814&v=S8l_DX9Zjrg&feature=youtu.be |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=13 March 2025 |language=en |date=2 January 1979}}</ref> Most recently, Hill and Margaret Worthington have undertaken considerable research on the dyke. Their work, though far from finished, has demonstrated that there is little evidence for the dyke stretching from sea to sea. Rather, they claim that it is a shorter structure stretching from [[Rushock Hill]] north of the [[Herefordshire]] Plain to [[Llanfynydd, Flintshire|Llanfynydd]], near [[Mold, Flintshire]], some 64 miles (103&nbsp;km). According to Hill and Worthington, dykes in the far north and south may have different dates, and though they may be connected with Offa's Dyke, there is as yet no compelling evidence behind this.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cpat.org.uk/offa/offrev.htm |title=Ian Bapty review of Hill and Worthington, ''Offa's Dyke: History and Guide'', 2003 |access-date=20 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181015/http://www.cpat.org.uk/offa/offrev.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Contrary evidence===
"Ofer" means "border" or "edge" in Old English, giving rise to the possibility of alternative derivations for some border features associated with Offa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=ofer&oldid=66533079|title=ofer|date=29 April 2022|via=Wiktionary}}</ref> Roman historian [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]] in his book ''Historiae Romanae Breviarium'', written around 369, mentions the [[Wall of Severus]], a structure built by [[Septimius Severus]], who was [[Roman Emperor]] between 193 and 211:<blockquote>
''Novissimum bellum in Britannia habuit, utque receptas provincias omni securitate muniret, vallum per CXXXIII passuum milia a mari ad mare deduxit. Decessit Eboraci admodum senex, imperii anno sexto decimo, mense tertio.'' {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031019083558/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/eutropius/text8.html#19 ''Historiae Romanae Breviarium, viii 19.1'']}}
<br />
<br />
He had his most recent war in Britain, and to fortify the conquered provinces with all security, he built a wall for 133 miles from sea to sea. He died at York, a reasonably old man, in the sixteenth year and third month of his reign.
</blockquote>
This source is conventionally thought to be referring, in error, to either [[Hadrian's Wall]], {{convert|73|mi}}, or the [[Antonine Wall]], {{convert|37|mi}}, which were both shorter and built in the 2nd century.<ref>{{cite book   | last = Smith   | first = William   | title = Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities   | publisher = John Murray   | year = 1875   | location = London   | pages = 762 }}<br />Eutropius uses the figure cxxxii (132) ''milia passuum''. As a Roman mile ≈{{convert|1479|m}}, 132 Roman miles = 195&nbsp;km (or 121 statute miles); Offa's Dyke is around 192&nbsp;km long (a little over 119 statute miles).</ref> Recently, some writers have suggested that Eutropius may have been referring to the earthwork later called Offa's Dyke.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Steve |last1=Blake |first2=Scott |last2=Lloyd |title=The Keys To Avalon |publisher=Element Books |year=2000 |isbn=1-86204-735-9}}</ref> Most archaeologists reject this theory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cpat.org.uk/news/oldnews/offaro.htm|title=CPAT: New book claims that Offa's Dyke is Roman!, article by Ian Bapty|access-date=17 October 2009|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220056/http://www.cpat.org.uk/news/oldnews/offaro.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpat.org.uk/offa/what.htm|title=What is Offa's Dyke?|publisher=The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust|date=16 October 2009|access-date=16 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006110053/http://www.cpat.org.uk/offa/what.htm|archive-date=6 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.badarchaeology.net/confused/wall_of_severus.php|first=Keith|last=Matthews|title=Was Offa's Dyke actually the 'Wall of Severus'}}</ref>

[[Bede]] also mentions the barrier built by Septimus Severus, but Bede says that the rampart was made of earth and timber, a description which would closer match Offa's Dyke than Hadrian's Wall, though it would describe the Antonine Wall:
<blockquote>
After many great and severe battles, (Severus) thought fit to divide that part of the island, which he had recovered, from the other unconquered nations, not with a wall, as some imagine, but with a rampart. For a wall is made of stones, but a rampart, with which camps are fortified to repel the assaults of enemies, is made of sods, cut out of the earth, and raised high above the ground, like a wall, having in front of it the trench whence the sods were taken, with strong stakes of wood fixed above it. Thus Severus drew a great trench and strong rampart, fortified with several towers, from sea to sea. [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38326/38326-0.txt ''Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, Bk 1-5'']
</blockquote>

However, the solution to the problem lies a few chapters later in Bede's account. In Book One Chapter Twelve of Bede's ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People|Ecclesiastical History]]'', he writes that the Romans "built a strong wall of stone directly from sea to sea in a straight line between the towns that had been built as strong-points, where Severus had built his earthwork ... straight from east to west". The strong wall of stone cannot refer to the Antonine Wall or Offa's Dyke, so it clearly refers to Hadrian's Wall, especially as Offa's Dyke runs from north to south. Also, as Severus's earthwork is described as being in the same location as Hadrian's Wall, it cannot be Offa's Dyke either, so the earth rampart with a great trench that Bede refers to must be the [[Vallum (Hadrian's Wall)|Vallum]], the adjoining earthen barrier immediately south of Hadrian's Wall. Bede inadvertently attributes the Vallum to Septimius Severus, saying that it predated the wall. In fact the Vallum was the work of [[Hadrian]] and slightly post-dated the wall.

Evidence has also been found that challenges the accepted date of the construction of Offa's Dyke.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wansdyke21.org.uk/wansdyke/wanart/nurse1.htm#_edn2|title=Latest thinking about OFFA'S and WAT'S DYKES|publisher=New Welsh Review 52|date=16 October 2009}}</ref> In December 1999, [[Shropshire County Council]] archaeologists uncovered the remains of a hearth or fire on the original ground surface beneath [[Wat's Dyke]] near [[Oswestry]]. [[Carbon dating]] analysis of the burnt charcoal and burnt clay ''in situ'' showed it was covered by earth around 446. Archaeologists concluded that this part of Wat's Dyke, so long thought of as Anglo-Saxon and a mid-8th-century contemporary of Offa's Dyke, was built 300 years earlier in the [[Sub-Roman Britain|post-Roman period]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hannaford|first=H.R|title=Archaeological Investigation on Wat's Dyke at Maes-y-Clawdd, Oswestry|publisher=Archaeology Service, Shropshire County Council|year=1999}}<br />"The excavation produced some residual deposits of worn sherds of Roman Samian ware and coarseware pottery. The report suggests that the dyke should be 'regarded as being contemporary with the other great 5th-century linear earthwork, the [[Wansdyke (earthwork)|Wansdyke]] in [[Wiltshire]] ... an achievement of the post-Roman kingdom of the northern Cornovii, rather than a work of 7th–8th century Mercia.' However, Dr David Hill, senior research fellow, Centre for Angio-Saxon Studies, [[University of Manchester]] ('Offa Versus The Welsh' – British Archaeoiogy, December 2000) has argued for a date later than the 6th century for Wat's Dyke – that it was constructed as Gwynedd and North Powys briefly became a unified state. Evidence from both dykes suggests, he says, that people were not settling or spending much time in these 'wild zones'."</ref>

In 2014, excavations by the [[Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust]] focused on nine samples of the dyke near [[Chirk]].<ref>{{citation|last=Grant|first=Ian|title=Offa's Dyke De138, Chirk, Wrexham: Survey, Excavation and recording|issue=CPAT 1224|publisher=Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust}}</ref> Radiocarbon dating of redeposited turf resulted in a series of dates. In one section, these ranged from 430 to 652 and in another section from 887 to 1019: confirming that the bank is clearly post-Roman and that at least some rebuilding work took place after Offa's reign.<ref>{{citation |last=Belford |first=Paul |contribution=Offa's Dyke: a line in the landscape |editor1-last=Jenkins |editor1-first=Tim |editor2-last=Abbis |editor2-first=Rachel | title=Fortress Salopia |publisher=Helion Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-91-151-269-1 |pages=60–81}}</ref> It has been suggested that Offa's Dyke may have been a long-term project by several Mercian kings.<ref name="Offa's Dyke: built by multiple kings?">{{cite journal|journal=Current Archaeology|title=Offa's Dyke: built by multiple kings?|date=June 2014|volume=XXV, No. 3|issue=291|pages=6}}</ref> Further excavations on the dyke at [[Chirk Castle]] found well-preserved remains of the ditch under later parkland; radiocarbon samples were recovered, but the results have not yet been made public.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Belford|first=Paul|title=Hidden Earthworks: Excavation and Protection of Offa's and Wat's Dykes |journal=Offa's Dyke Journal |issue=1 |date=2019 |volume=1|page=80|doi=10.23914/odj.v1i0.251|url=http://revistas.jasarqueologia.es/index.php/odjournal/article/view/251 |language=en|doi-access=free}}</ref>