Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke (Welsh: Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales.
Explore the Map
Offa's Dyke
52.3440° N, -3.0490° E
About
Offa's Dyke (Welsh: Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to have ordered its construction. Although its precise original purpose is debated, it delineated the border between Anglian Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys. The earthwork, which was up to 65 feet (20 m) wide (including its flanking ditch) and 8 feet (2.4 m) high, traversed low ground, hills and rivers. Today it is protected as a scheduled monument. Some of its route is followed by the Offa's Dyke Path, a 177-mile (285 km) long-distance footpath that runs between Liverpool Bay in the north and the Severn Estuary in the south. Although the Dyke has conventionally been dated to the Early Middle Ages of Anglo-Saxon England, research in recent decades – using techniques such as radioactive carbon dating – has challenged the conventional historiography and theories about the earthwork and shows that part was started in the early 5th century, during the sub-Roman period.
Plan Your Visit
Tours, travel arrangements, and practical information
More Sites in United Kingdom
Sussex Greensand Way
Roman road in Sussex, United Kingdom
Swastika Stone
The Swastika Stone is a stone adorned with a design that resembles a swastika, located on the Woodhouse Crag on the northern edge of Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, England.
Bloodgate Hill Iron Age Fort
Iron Age hill fort in Norfolk, England
Uffington Castle
Iron Age hillfort in Oxfordshire, England
Hawk Stone
Neolithic standing stone, Oxfordshire, UK
Adam's Grave
Neolithic long barrow in Wiltshire, United Kingdom