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Offa's Dyke: Section extending 477m from Coed Talon Banks is an early medieval linear earthwork forming part of the great frontier barrier constructed between England and Wales. Built during the late eighth century, this substantial ditch-and-bank monument stretches across the rolling landscape of North Wales, its course shaped by the underlying geology of Pennine and South Wales Lower Coal Measures. The bedrock of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone has influenced both the construction technique and preservation of the earthwork across this section.
This 477-metre stretch from Coed Talon Banks demonstrates the engineering ambition of the project, which extended for approximately 240 kilometres along the Anglo-Welsh border. The monument's survival through subsequent centuries reflects the durability of the banks and ditches cut into the stable Coal Measures bedrock. The landscape through which it passes, with its exposed coal-bearing strata, would have been the same challenging terrain faced by the original builders.
The section is protected by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments authority, under reference FL021, ensuring the preservation of this significant early medieval fortification for future study and appreciation.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 477m from Coed Talon Banks is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference FL021. View the official record →
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 477m from Coed Talon Banks is an early medieval linear earthwork forming part of the great frontier barrier constructed between England and Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference FL021.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 477m from Coed Talon Banks dates from the early medieval period, and is classified as a linear earthwork. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 477m from Coed Talon Banks is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is FL021.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: Cadwgan Hall Section, extending from River Clywedog to the Railway (9.4 km), Cefn y Cist Cairn (9.5 km), Offa's Dyke: Section extending 120m from Railway to Bronwylfa Road, Legacy (9.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Offa's Dyke: Section extending 477m from Coed Talon Banks's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Offa's Dyke: Section extending 477m from Coed Talon Banks stands on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.