DE173

Wat's Dyke: Sections N & S of the Court  

13/02/1958  

Designated  

Wrexham  

Offa  

332800  

349167  

Monument  

Linear Earthwork  

Early Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises a stretch of Wat's Dyke, an early historic boundary marker probably associated with the border of the kingdom of Mercia. Both Offa's Dyke and Wat's Dyke probably represent separate attempts in the 8th century to formalise the boundary between the early historic kingdoms within Wales and Mercia to the east. Wat's Dyke runs south from Holywell to the Morda Valley near Maesbury. For the most part, Wat's dyke consists of an earthen bank, often utilising local topography and fronted, where it survives, by a ditch to the west. The size of the surviving earthworks varies considerably, reflecting differences in preservation and probably also in the original scale of construction. This stretch of dyke forms the boundary between private gardens to the east and Erddig Park to the west, and runs for c500m. The scheduled area is divided into four parts. 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. A dyke may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can be further enhanced by their group value practices. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and the areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.