{"title":"Offa’s Dyke in the Landscape: Comparative Size and Topographical Disposition as Indicators of Function","authors":"D. Humphreys","doi":"10.23914/odj.v3i0.330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23914/odj.v3i0.330","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the large volume of published work on Offa’s Dyke there is no settled conclusion as to its original purpose. Many different and often conflicting theories exist, most of which can be put into three broad categories: defensive, political and economic. It is generally accepted that the monument’s disposition relative to the adjacent topography is significant for interpretations of purpose. In this article, field survey and GIS mapping techniques are applied with respect to the comparative size and topographical disposition of a stretch of central Offa’s Dyke in order to examine its utility as a defensive structure. This allows a re-evaluation of claims by Hill and Worthington (2003), among others, that the route of Offa’s Dyke was designed to optimise outlook by following the west facing brow of hills, or more generally to ‘command’ the western landscape. Evidence reported here shows that central Offa’s Dyke does not consistently prioritise western views. Instead, it was positioned in such a way as to often obscure westerly vistas, despite the opportunity to optimise such an outlook by relatively minor route adjustments. On the basis of the evidence reported, discussed in the context of the wider literature, it is concluded that central Offa’s Dyke should be interpreted as a physical obstacle rather than a defensive fortification. After a brief consideration of alternative theories of purpose it is suggested that Offa’s Dyke was most likely built with economic and political, rather than defensive, functions in mind. It is postulated that control of trade provides a plausible context for its construction.","PeriodicalId":321573,"journal":{"name":"Offa's Dyke Journal","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130226952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Utilising Lidar Survey to Locate and Evaluate Offa’s Dyke","authors":"L. Delaney","doi":"10.23914/ODJ.V3I0.314","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23914/ODJ.V3I0.314","url":null,"abstract":"The enigmatic and gigantic Offa’s Dyke has long been understood as a demonstration of the power of the Mercian state in the long eighth century. Despite this, rarely have previous studies involved anything more than the visual observations of the earthwork. Moreover, ground-level perspectives cannot possibly contextualise its total breadth and character. The shortcomings in the resulting quality of data on the Dyke has led to uncertainties and debate over its route, extent, and placement in the landscape. With the application of lidar and other digital technologies, my ongoing doctoral research is providing a fresh understanding of the nature and original extent of Offa’s Dyke’s route by the creation of an accurate and empirical dataset. This digital dataset for Offa’s Dyke is identifying hitherto unknown sections of the monument. Furthermore, it is providing the foundation for new investigations of the nature of the frontier in the eighth century by creating the basis for new investigations into the placement and landscape context of the monument. This article presents interim results on the investigation of the Herefordshire section of Offa’s Dyke, a stretch that has been among the most problematic and poorly understood from all sections of the earthwork. This study thus provides fresh perspectives utilising digital heritage tools and data sources to examine and re-evaluate evidence of the nature and extent of the monument and the wider Mercian frontier.","PeriodicalId":321573,"journal":{"name":"Offa's Dyke Journal","volume":"98 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121877985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Collaboratory, Coronavirus and the Colonial Countryside","authors":"H. Williams","doi":"10.23914/odj.v2i0.283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23914/odj.v2i0.283","url":null,"abstract":"Introducing the second volume of the Offa’s Dyke Journal (ODJ), this five-part article sets the scene by reviewing: (i) key recent research augmenting last year’s Introduction (Williams and Delaney 2019); (ii) the key activities of the Offa’s Dyke Collaboratory in 2020; (iii) the political mobilisation of Offa’s Dyke in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns; (iv) the ramifications of accelerated efforts to decolonise the British countryside on both archaeological research and heritage interpretation on linear monuments; and (v) a review of the contents of volume 2. Together, this introduction presents the context and significance of ODJ volume 2 for both research on the Welsh Marches and broader investigations of frontiers and borderlands.","PeriodicalId":321573,"journal":{"name":"Offa's Dyke Journal","volume":"73 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132095451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Two Chimeras in the Landscape","authors":"M. Bell","doi":"10.23914/odj.v2i0.282","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23914/odj.v2i0.282","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses the history of investigations into British linear earthworks in the twentieth century. The influence of pre-existing beliefs about the environment of Britain, especially the existence of impassable forest cover, deeply influenced the interpretation of linear monuments and had a lasting effect on the study of these monuments. A brief history of the personalities involved is followed by two case studies of monuments that were believed to be post-Roman in date but are now seen as Iron Age monuments. The implications of the change in the relationship to of the dykes to the landscape is discussed along with potential future research, better informed by an awareness of this confusing tradition of field archaeology.","PeriodicalId":321573,"journal":{"name":"Offa's Dyke Journal","volume":"1679 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127738811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Offa’s and Wat’s Dykes","authors":"D. Hill","doi":"10.23914/odj.v2i0.269","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23914/odj.v2i0.269","url":null,"abstract":"David Hill and Margaret Worthington Hill’s Offa’s Dyke Project made a sustained contribution to the study of both Wat’s Dyke and Offa’s Dyke. To celebrate and reflect on this legacy, we have secured permission to reproduce David Hill’s 1991 book chapter ‘Offa’s and Wat’s Dykes’ in the Offa’s Dyke Journal. The article has been edited for style and includes a new introduction, re-drawn maps, the original section drawings, plus one of the original photographs. Citations have been added to key works available at the time of Hill’s writing. Further citations have been added to help readers link Hill’s arguments to more recent publications. Published electronically for the first time, we hope Hill’s work reaches new audiences and re-energises the enthusiasm and efforts of enthusiasts, students and specialists alike in Britain’s longest early medieval linear earthworks.","PeriodicalId":321573,"journal":{"name":"Offa's Dyke Journal","volume":"200 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123021089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Grim's Ditch, Wansdyke, and the Ancient Highways of England: Linear Monuments and Political Control","authors":"T. Malim","doi":"10.23914/odj.v2i0.256","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23914/odj.v2i0.256","url":null,"abstract":"Published first in 2007, Tim Malim’s review of Grim’s Ditch and Wansdyke provides a valuable synthesis and exploration of key issues of wider application regarding the relationship between linear earthworks, movement, territoriality and politics in the later prehistoric and early historic societies in Britain. The author provides a new introduction, while the article has been revised to the format of the Offa’s Dyke Journal by the editors.","PeriodicalId":321573,"journal":{"name":"Offa's Dyke Journal","volume":"63 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127241923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}