Offa's Dyke: Section extending through Great Ffrydd Wood 1693m S to footpath leading to Woodhouse Lane

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the scheduled ancient monument.

The monument consists of a linear earthwork, a substantial bank and ditch forming a major boundary between two adjacent landholdings. Most date from the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Offa's Dyke, however, is known to date to the later 1st century AD. It runs roughly along the border between modern England and Wales. It is traditionally thought to have been built by the Mercian King Offa in the later 8th century, but recent excavations on a section near Chirk suggest that work may have begun at least two centuries earlier than this. The remains included in this stretch vary in scale, with those in the southern third distinctly larger than those in the northern two thirds. To the north of SO 2803 7081, the Dyke takes the form of a low bank c.0.5-1.0m high, with little trace of a ditch, though the fall of the ground to the west gives the bank the appearance of greater height from this side. Much of this stretch is overlain by later boundaries which may include constructed hedgebanks. To the south of SO 2803 7081, the earthworks are much more substantial, with the bank rising c.3m above the ground surface on the east, and c.4.5m above the base of the pronounced ditch on the west.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of early medieval defensive organisation and settlement. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The remains form part of the record of the line of the earthwork, and their importance is further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.