Police and Cadw, the heritage arm of the Welsh Government, are investigating allegations that a group of travellers destroyed part of Offa's Dyke. Above, the section that was dug away
Posted on 08/16/2013 4:48:46 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
For more than 1,200 years, nothing had disturbed it.
But in just a few hours, a stretch of Offa’s Dyke – one of the most important ancient monuments in Britain – was flattened.
Police and Cadw, the heritage arm of the Welsh Government, are investigating allegations that a group of travellers destroyed part of Offa's Dyke. Above, the section that was dug away
It is believed King Offa of Mercia built it between 757 and 796 to mark the division between Mercia and Wales and protect his land from invasion
The 8th century monument, a linear earthwork which consists of a wide ditch and rampart, runs for 82 miles along the border between England and Wales.
It is a criminal offence to disrupt or damage the dyke, which is designated a ‘scheduled ancient monument’ because of its historical significance. Anyone caught doing so can be punished with six months in jail or a £5,000 fine.
At least 50 yards of the dyke was allegedly flattened last Sunday.
Residents reported seeing men with a large digger clearing scrub and weeds along the dyke.
Over several hours, they flattened the embankment and filled in the ditch to level it.
Jim Saunders of the Offa’s Dyke Association said: ‘We had a report that quite a well-preserved part of the dyke had been damaged by the new landowner.
'There has been some suggestion that the new landowners are travellers, but we’ve been unable to contact them.’
The owner of the field, who claims to have bought the site last month, said he had 'no idea' the area was of historic importance.
The man, who gave his name only as ‘Danny’, claimed: ‘I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never heard of Offa’s Dyke.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
She always seemed pretty straight to me. Did occasionally wear birkenstocks, and coached women's softball, so I guess the signs were there and I just missed them.
So, are you implying the British have no private property rights?
Please read my entire post, including the caveat (that’s the part with the word IF in it), and they GFY...
...and have a nice day.
PS - Please feel free to trust UNESCO all the way to a one-world government.
Who is Offa?...You know. The Black broad who wasn’t allowed to buy a crocodile bag in Sweden.
Yep. And look what he did to Gorgeous George. And Bricktop for that matter ...
“Do not...knock’em out!”
Does Oprah know? If she hears about this she will figure out how to make it into a racist attack against herself.
OK, how hard would it be to re-construct that section of this historic earthwork? Another day or so with modern tools? Maybe this is a good thing so at least people now know about the silly dike and its history. Maybe make it a true historic site and put up a museum to honor Good King Offa (one of the better Saxon Kings by the way).
The UNESCO designation is irrelevant. This was a Scheduled Ancient Monument, heavily protected under British law, since 1882, long before UNESCO saw fit to recognise it or even existed.
OK. Yes...I know about Offa! Silly...not in those days.
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