Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of Offa's Dyke 230m
east of Stowfield Farm. Offa's Dyke generally consists of a bank up to
3.5m high with an intermittent ditch to the west and quarry pits to the
east. In places Offa's Dyke was strengthened by additional earthworks, namely
a berm between the bank and ditch, and a counterscarp bank on the western lip
of the ditch.
This 119m long section of the Dyke is visible as a bank running north west
to south east, parallel with the course of the River Wye, with a ditch to
the north west and quarry pits to the south east. The bank is about 12m wide
at its base and stands to 4m high on its northern face and up to 2m on its
southern face. The ditch is up to 7m wide and 1.5m deep, and the band of
quarry pits to the south east are approximately 4m wide and up to 1m deep. To
the west, the line of the Dyke appears to have been destroyed by the
construction of Stowfield Cottages and is therefore not included in the
scheduling.
All concrete and wooden posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the
ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Offa's Dyke is the longest linear earthwork in Britain, approximately 220km,
running from Treuddyn, near Mold, to Sedbury on the Severn estuary. It was
constructed towards the end of the eighth century AD by the Mercian king Offa,
and is believed to have formed a long-lived territorial, and possibly
defensive, boundary between the Saxon kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh
kingdoms.
The Dyke is not continuous and consists of a number of discrete lengths
separated by gaps of up to 23km. It is clear from the nature of certain
sections that differences in the scale and character of adjoining portions
were the result of separate gangs being employed on different lengths. Where
possible, natural topographic features such as slopes or rivers were utilised,
and the form of Offa's Dyke is therefore clearly related to the topography.
Along most of its length it consists of a bank with a ditch to the west.
Excavation has indicated that at least some lengths of the bank had a vertical
outer face of either laid stonework or turf revetment. The ditch generally
seems to have been used to provide most of the bank material, although there
is also evidence in some locations of shallow quarries. In places, a berm
divides the bank and ditch, and a counterscarp bank may be present on the lip
of the ditch.
Offa's Dyke now survives in various states of preservation in the form of
earthworks and, where sections have been levelled and infilled, as buried
features. Although some sections of the frontier system no longer survive
visibly, sufficient evidence does exist for its position to be accurately
identified throughout most of its length. In view of its contribution towards
the study of early medieval territorial patterns, all sections of Offa's Dyke
exhibiting significant archaeological remains are considered worthy of
protection.

The section of Offa's Dyke 230m east of Stowfield Farm survives well. The
bank will have preserved part of the original ground surface, predating the
construction of the monument and, along with the ditch to the north west
and quarries to the south east, will contain environmental evidence in the
form of organic remains which will relate both to the Dyke and the
landscape within which it was constructed. The bank will also contain
evidence relating to the methods of construction of the monument and the
building materials used.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Hoyle, J, Vallender, J, Offa's Dyke in Gloucestershire: Management Survay, (1997)

Source: Historic England