The large scale earthwork known as Offa's Dyke runs from the estuary of the River Dee in N Wales to that of the River Wye in the south, a distance of somewhwere between 140 - 180 miles, depending on how you measure it. The height of the bank varies but is up to 8m. It is believed to have been constructed during the reign of Offa in the English kingdom of Mercia (757 - 796). What is not known for sure is why it was built, whether by agreement with the neighbouring Welsh kings as a line of demarcation, or more likely as a defensive structure as the ditch always lies on the Welsh side of the bank and the course of the dyke over the hilltops always commands good views into Wales. It lasted as the border for England and Wales until the Act of Union in the 16th century, although raids and invasions of teritory were very commonplace. In the Hindwell Valley there are English settlements on the Welsh side of the dyke and another short dyke called Ditch Bank appears to have been constructed to protect these.

There are well preserved sections of the dyke in the area covered by this website. These can be found for most of its length around here but particularly spectacular remains can be seen at Hawthorn Hill above Norton, and on the other side of the Lugg valley rising from W of Discoed from where these photos were taken.