Editing Offa's Dyke (section)

===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>