Offa's Dyke evidence at Chirk suggests earlier build

The border between England and Wales closely follows much of the dyke's route

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence which suggests that Offa's Dyke may have been built up to 200 years earlier than thought.

Samples from Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust excavations on a stretch of the dyke have been radiocarbon dated to the second half of the 6th Century.

Historians have always associated the dyke with King Offa who ruled the kingdom of Mercia in the 8th Century.

But now archaeologists believe it might have been in use before he ruled.

The trust said it was a "tremendously exciting discovery".

The excavations were taken from a section of the protected ancient monument at Chirk near the Shropshire border.

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