Centres having to rethink over Offa
Visitor centres in Shropshire and Mid Wales will probably have to revise the information they give out about Offa's Dyke in the light of research that suggests King Offa did not build the famous earthwork, tourist bosses said today.
Historical sources have always associated the dyke with King Offa, who ruled the kingdom of Mercia, centred on what is today the Midlands, from 757 to 796 AD.
The dyke roughly follows the Welsh/English boundary, although why it was built – as a boundary or for defence – is not known.
But archaeologists from the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust have uncovered evidence which suggests that the structure may have been built up to 200 years before the reign of King Offa.
Samples from the trust's excavations on a stretch of the dyke near Chirk have been radiocarbon dated to the second half of the sixth century. The dated material came from an ancient layer of redeposited turf underneath the bank
The archaeologists' work is the first time that accurate scientific dates have been obtained from Offa's Dyke.
Groups involved in giving out information about the dyke said they would have to look again at that information to make sure it is accurate. Among them is the Offa's Dyke Centre in Knighton, which opened in 1999.
Jim Saunders, from the Offa's Dyke Centre, said the new research was "groundbreaking" and said although the centre would have to look again at the material it has on the earthwork, the centre was not planning to change its name.
He said: "It is a hugely important piece of research and can really be described as groundbreaking. It is very interesting as it is the first time ever there has been a definite date for a piece of the dyke.
"We will have to look at our research and materials again to see if we need to update them. We may have to think again.
"We think the dyke can still be called Offa's Dyke and we can keep our name because it would seem Offa did not build the first bit but was the first person to link up all the pieces of the dyke together to create what there is now. It all depends on how the evidence is interpreted."
Tourist information centres up and down the border may also have to think again about their information on the dyke, including the tourist information centre based at the Visitor and Exhibition Centre, run by Oswestry Town Council.
