I happened upon a new example of the digital recreation of Offa’s Dyke recently, drawn to my attention by John Swogger. The image is shared on the website ‘northeastwalestrails.com’ – with focus on ‘Explore North East Wales – Darganfyddwch Gogledd Ddwryrain Cymru’. Specifically, it features the section of Offa’s Dyke on the south-facing (north side) of the Ceiriog Valley running between the ‘Oak at the Gate of the Dead’ and Chirk Castle. This is part of the 11-stop ‘Ceiriog Heritage Trail’: check it out here. The accompanying text reads:

Offa’s Dyke was built in the 8th century at a time when Britain was not a single state but a number of small kingdoms. The Ceiriog Valley was part of Powys which had included much of modern Shropshire and Cheshire but those areas had been taken by the kingdom of Mercia. The kings of Powys fought to regain their lost territory by attacking the Mercian settlements. In response, Offa, king of Mercia, commanded the building of what was to be the longest bank and ditch in Britain to mark the boundary between Powys and other Britonic kingdoms to the south, and Mercia.

3 Offa’s Dyke (northeastwalestrails.com)

Regarding the dyke as a borderline and a defence against Powysian attacks is perhaps a somewhat traditional view – not fully but partly echoing the account of Hill and Worthington (2003). Still, the statement is clear and simply argued, notes the fluidity of this frontier between rival kingdoms, and it does qualify itself suitably by explaining the monument did not face Powys alone (see Ray and Bapty 2016). The lack of a date or credits makes it difficult to evaluate the context of the statement any further (and the same applies to the associated images).

Regarding the images, the first critical and positive point is that the images allow a slide between ‘Offa’s Dyke as it is now’ and an uncredited ‘Reconstruction of Offa’s Dyke’. The vista chosen links to the place you can visit as part of this trail: below Chirk Castle looking south across the Ceiriog Valley towards Bronygarth where the earthwork can be seen curving up to the ridge. The digital reconstruction attempts to show a similar perspective to that of the photograph. We see Offa’s Dyke cutting across the valley and curving in a convex fashion towards the skyline. The Dyke is shown as a consistent design, with a relatively shallow u-shaped ditch and a high timber palisade of sharpened tree trunks running along the top of the bank. No other infrastructure is depicted: no people or animals, no stakes or hedges, no gates or lookout towers, no beacons, bridges, trackways or settlements/forts. In this stripped-down minimalist view of Offa’s Dyke, the artwork serves to emphasise the clearance of the landscape to the front and back of the monument.

My immediate response is to consider the potential of a similar ‘then and now’ for multiple further locations along Offa’s Dyke. Moreover, this might be extended to ‘thens and now’ – showing the Dyke in different topographical situations and displaying contrasting formulations of original construction to match different ideas regarding its possible function and use. We might create digital reconstructions showing Offa’s Dyke with turf and stone walling on top, low fencing, as opposed to the default of a palisade. We might attempt to visualise various different kinds of defences in front and within the ditch too, as well as varying perspectives to show gateways and the other features mentioned above which leave no or little trace, but have been the subject of recent archaeological discussion (Ray and Bapty 2016). Further digital reconstructions might show the construction process, and the monument in various states of decay. In short, this ‘thens and now’ approach has considerable potential for further application to engage visitors and ignite our imaginations about this fascinating monument of which there are still so many unanswered questions regarding its construction and use.

Hill, D. and Worthington, M. 2003. Offa’s Dyke: History and Guide. Stroud: Tempus.

Ray, K. and Bapty, I. 2016. Offa’s Dyke: Landscape and Hegemony in Eighth-Century Britain. Oxford: Windgather Press.