Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of Offa's Dyke in New
Weir Grove, 470m west of Wyegate Barn. Offa's Dyke generally consists of
a bank up to 3.5m high with an intermittent ditch to the west and quarry
ditches 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.
In this 485m long section, the Dyke is visible as a bank, with a ditch,
counterscarp bank and a short stretch of berm to the west and quarry pits to
the east. The bank is between 8m and 10m wide at its base and stands to a
height of 3.2m on its outer face and 0.6m on its inner face. The ditch to the
west is approximately 4m wide and up to 1m deep, while the counterscarp bank
is 6m wide and stands to about 1m high. At the southern end of the
section, the ditch and counterscarp bank are not present, and a berm
measuring between 1m and 2m wide abuts the western face of the bank. To the
east of the bank is a line of contiguous quarry pits between 4m and 8m wide
and up to 1.5m deep, from which material was excavated during the
construction of the Dyke. At the southern end of the scheduling, the Dyke
has been badly damaged by later quarrying, is no longer considered to be
of national importance and therefore not included in the scheduling.
All fence posts, sign posts and stiles 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 470m west of Wyegate Barn survives well. The bank
will have preserved part of the original ground surface, predating the
construction of the monument and, along with the ditch and counterscarp
bank to the west and the quarries to the east, will contain environmental
evidence in the form of organic remains which will relate both to the Dyke
and to the landscape within which it was constructed. The bank will also
contain evidence relating to the methods of construction 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