Offa's Dyke

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Location of Offa's Dyke (red line) and Wat's Dyke (brown line)

Offa's Dyke is an early medieval border wall in Great Britain . The rampart was built to delimit the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercien from the Celtic principalities in present-day Wales and is considered to be one of the largest and best-preserved early medieval buildings in Western Europe.

location

The north-south running ramparts begin at Prestatyn in Flintshire and lead through Wrexham , Shropshire , Powys and Herefordshire to Sedbury in Gloucestershire . It consists of several sections that are together 129 km long. Overall, the wall extends over a length of 210 km and roughly follows the current border between England and Wales, some sections still form the border line between the two countries. The largest interruption is in southern Herefordshire; it is believed that there was never a wall here.

history

Offa's Dyke near Newcastle, Shropshire

The exact origin and purpose of the ramparts are still controversial. It was probably built from 780 by order of the Anglo-Saxon king Offa of Mercien to serve as a boundary between the Anglo-Saxon kingdom and the Welsh principalities. Through the Anglo-Saxon conquest, the border with Wales, which had remained Celtic, had become not only a political but also a cultural border. The construction of the ramparts was a logistical, political and geographical challenge for the Anglo-Saxon Mercien and is considered to be proof of the efficient administration of the empire. The side facing Wales was very steep and probably had a wooden parapet at least in places, but in contrast to other border walls such as Hadrian's Wall , the rampart was never primarily used for border defense, but rather as a land defense . It was also intended to prevent Welsh raids on Anglo-Saxon territory, but it was probably not intended to ward off a direct attack. The existence of watchtowers along the wall is controversial, and the wall had no accompanying roads and other fortifications or facilities for a garrison. In terms of its layout, it is comparable to the Anglo-Saxon border walls Wat's Dyke , Wansdyke and Devil's Dyke in Great Britain, which, however, were all much smaller, as well as the Danewerk in Denmark.

Although the ramparts were probably never actively defended, from then on they were considered to be the visible borderline between the Welsh and their opponents, the Anglo-Saxons and English, and in the following centuries it helped to preserve the Welsh identity . The British travel writer George Borrow wrote in his book Wild Wales , published in 1862 , that "it was a custom for the English to cut off the ears of every Welshman east of the wall, while the Welsh hung every Englishman west of the wall". To this day, the ramparts shape the landscape. Because of its unique importance, Great Britain tried to apply for UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010 , but the application was withdrawn in 2011 in favor of other monuments.

investment

Schematic cross-section of the rampart.

The early medieval ramparts are still well preserved. It essentially consists of a massive earth wall with a moat to the west. From the bottom of the trench, the wall is up to 6 m high. The ramparts adapt to the partly hilly terrain of the Welsh Marches area . From the wall there is partly a wide view of Welsh territory, while on the other hand it hinders the view from Welsh territory to England. Even if the ramparts were destroyed in places by erosion, buildings or by removal and leveling, the course is still clearly visible almost everywhere. Especially where the ramparts are still provided with hedges or rows of trees, they still shape the landscape today. The counter-scarp , the outer embankment of the ditch, is still partially preserved; particularly well-preserved sections are mainly in the rural regions of Wrexham and in the highlands of Powys and Shropshire.

Archaeological investigations have confirmed that the ramparts were erected in one construction phase and then almost never supplemented or significantly changed. Only small sections were later changed and repurposed, such as a section along the Severn that was used as flood protection. Another part of the wall was included in the Knighton town fortifications , while other sections were used for the construction of paths or roads.

All open sections of Offa's Dyke, with the exception of those sections overbuilt by houses or roads, are protected as Scheduled Monuments in England and Wales . Because of its stock of trees and plants, including the old forests in the lower valley of the Wye , sections are protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest or as a National Nature Reserve . The 10 km section in the lower Wye Valley is part of the Wye Valley Area of ​​Outstanding Natural Beauty , and a 20 km section in the Clun Hills is part of the Shropshire Hills Area of ​​Outstanding Natural Beauty . Most of the ramparts are on private land, but they are generally accessible through public right of way . The Offa's Dyke Path, opened in 1971, runs between Sedbury Cliffs in Gloucestershire and Chirk Castle near Wrexham on or near the ramparts.

In Knighton, Powys, the Offa's Dyke Association maintains the Offa's Dyke Center as a tourist information center on history, nature and the trails along the ramparts.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Offa's Dyke  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Offa's Dyke Conservation Statement, p. 5. (PDF) Accessed December 3, 2014 .
  2. ↑ George Borrow: Wild Wales; its people, language, and scenery . Murray, London 1862. p. 88
  3. ↑ UK Tentative List of Potential Sites for World Heritage Nomination: Application form. (PDF; 329 kB) Accessed December 3, 2014 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 20  '38.4 " N , 3 ° 2' 56.4"  W.