Monument Type(s):

• BOUNDARY BANK (Early Saxon to Mid Saxon - 410 AD to 800 AD)
• DYKE (DEFENCE) (Early Saxon to Mid Saxon - 410 AD to 800 AD)
• FRONTIER DEFENCE (Early Saxon to Mid Saxon - 410 AD to 800 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: A well preserved section of Offa's Dyke, the 8th century Mercian boundary bank.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA6601 - Geophysical survey and excavation of Offa's Dyke, Barker's Fort, Chirbury by D Hill & M Worthington (Ref: Site 110)
• ESA6609 - Excavation of Offa's Dyke, Chirbury, Chirbury south by D Hill & M Worthington (Ref: Site 155)
• ESA6610 - Excavation of Offa's Dyke, Chirbury, Chirbury north by D Hill & M Worthington (Ref: Site 154)
• ESA6611 - Excavation of Offa's Dyke, Chirbury, Chirbury Road by D Hill & M Worthington (Ref: Site 153)
• ESA2573 - 1986 survey of Offa's Dyke and field system at Dudston Fields by the RCHME

Description

In the northern part the ditch is 1.5m deep, the bank 3m above it and 2.4m above the ground level to the E. Further S it is built at the junction of the level ground to the E and the slope down to a stream; there is no ditch visible at this point. Pasture with a few large trees on the bank. There is an old road gap just S of the main road, and the bank is almost levelled at the S end of the first field. A few bare patches, but good condition on the whole. <1>

Series of investigations of this section undertaken by D.Hill and Margaret Worthington:
Site 110 (SO 236 974) Air photographs revealed a large rectilinear enclosure attached to the bank of Offa’s Dyke, 3km to the north of Chirbury, adjacent to Chirbury Road and east of the Dyke. This was investigated by examining early maps and by geophysical survey. These showed that the two postulated sides to the east and south were associated with the medieval ridge and furrow whilst the third side, at the north, appeared on an early map as the original line of the road. Investigation of a possible crossing point across the Dyke [ESA 6610] produced a substantial cobbled surface confirming that this was indeed the pre-turnpike roadway. The ditch of Offa’s Dyke was, however, present below the old road surface and was therefore not an original opening through the earthwork. The fourth side of the apparent rectangular feature was the bank of Offa’s Dyke itself, here standing to a considerable height with a deep ditch to its west. Within the postulated rectilinear enclosure was a horseshoe shaped feature with a small mound at its centre. An excavation across this feature found a shallow ditch that was little deeper than the visible surface evidence. This shallow feature appears to lie over the medieval ridge and furrow and is therefore presumed to post-date it. Samples were taken by Tony Clark of English Heritage and the feature was found to be modern. None of these features would appear to have any connection with the form and purpose of Offa’s Dyke which here continues as a single line of bank and ditch.
Site 153 (SO 235 974) Excavation adjacent to the Montgomery to Chirbury road. It was clear from surface evidence that the earlier line of the road had passed through the gap in the Dyke as it could be traced to the east and west of the gap. The present road represented a straightening of the old road. The excavation encountered a considerable thickness of well-laid cobbles overlying a layer of smaller stone. Below this the western face of the ditch could be seen cut into the natural strong clays with silting within the ditch. The thickness of stone of the old road was greatest across the ditch, as one would expect.
Site 154 (SO 235 972) An excavation investigated a narrow gap in the bank, despite there being slight evidence for an infilled ditch. The area appeared to have been disturbed and it eventually became clear that a full-scale ditch had been excavated at the time the monument was built, but that at some later date the western side was filled, the old ground surface still being visible. It is possible that a counterscarp bank had provided the material for this infilling as surface evidence suggests such a feature on the western lip of the ditch a little to the south. There was no evidence of hard core that would suggest that the gap had been used by wheeled vehicles and it seems that it may have been for ease of access by animals from the fields to either side of the bank and ditch, which elsewhere remain in excellent condition along this length.
Site 155 (SO 236 972) An excavation of a narrow gap, possibly a "gateway" through the Dyke, identified that the full-size ditch had been infilled with material that appealed to derive from the levelling of the bank. No evidence was found of hard core for a road, although there is a gateway at this point at present. <2>

A programme of analytical field survey was carried out of this section of Offa's Dyke, by the RCHME in 1986, following on from a suggestion, from aerial photography, that field system (PRN 02480) might underlie Offa's Dyke. <3>

Section of dyke photographed during aerial survey in 2008. <04>

SO 2352 9745 to SO 2368 9707. Section of Offa's Dyke and adjacent, later cultivation remains. A 400 m long section of Offa's Dyke in Chirbury Parish was surveyed by RCHME in 1986 to investigate whether it overlay and therefore post-dated cultivation remains either side of it, a proposition put forward by Philip Barker of Birmingham University based on examination of air photography of the site. ->

-> Within the surveyed area the dyke is exceptionally well-preserved and falls into three distinct sections. The first and northernmost section is 160 m in length and comprises a 3 m high bank and broad ditch, 2.4 m deep along the W side. The second section is approximately 55 m in length and 1.6 m high; there is no trace of a ditch. The third and southernmost section is 155 m in length, the bank standing to a height of 5 m with possible traces of a ditch at the W. ->

-> The survey demonstrates that the dyke is the earliest earthwork in the survey area and overlies and therefore post-dates adjacent ridge and furrow ploughing of several forms and phases, all characteristic
of Medieval and post Medieval cultivation remains. This conclusion contradicts the suggestion made by Barker. <5>

This section of Offa's Dyke is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and has been mapped by RCHME's Marches Uplands Mapping Project. Oblique aerial photograph reference number: NMR SO 2397/2 11-JUL-1989. <6>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.