Milecastles..
A milecastle was a small fort (fortlet), a rectangular
fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They
were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along
several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great
Britain (Britannia in the Roman period), hence the name.
Along Hadrian's Wall, milecastles were initially constructed of
stone in the eastern two thirds, and stacked turf with a wooden
palisade in the western third, though the turf milecastles were
later rebuilt in stone. Size varied, but in general they were
about 15m by 18m (16 by 20 yards) internally, with stone walls
as much as 3m (10 feet) thick and probably 5m to 6m (17 to 20
feet) high, to match the height of the adjacent wall. There were
80 milecastles and 158 turrets.
Milecastles
are numbered from 1 (the easternmost Milecastle) to 80 in the
West. This system was introduced by
J. Collingwood Bruce at the end of the 19th century, and became
a standard around 1930.
80 Milecastles
were built along Hardian's Wall.
Here i shall only show 8 of the Milecastles along Hadrian's Wall
these
eight have visable ruins and can
be visited... |
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Number 33... Shield-on-the-Wall.
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Number 35... Sewing Shields. |
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Number 37... Housesteads...
These remains just west of Hosesteads Roman Fort have been partly
reconstructed
and consolidated; it is now in the care of English
Heritage. The wall has a maximum height of 2.2 metres
internally.
The milecastle has a short axis, with a Type I
gateway. The milecastle contains the remains of a small barrack
block in the east half which survives to 1.0 metres high.
The first excavations of Milecastle 37 were in 1853, 1907 and
1933. A re-used corner of a Hadrianic dedication slab was found
in 1853, and two altars inscribed to Cocidius and Jupiter were
found near the milecastle. Excavations in 1988-9 showed three
periods of the north gate, having been built, blocked, then
partly demolished.
Each milecastle on Hadrian's Wall had two associated turret
structures. These turrets were positioned approximately
one-third and two-thirds of a Roman mile to the west of the
Milecastle, and would probably have
been
manned by part
of the milecastle's garrison. The turrets associated with
Milecastle 37
are known as
Turret 37A
and
Turret 37B.
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North gate of the Milecastle 37 west of Housesteads. |
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Number 39... Castle Nick. |
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Number 42... Cawfields..
Milecastle 42 is situated on a steep south-facing
slope, 10 metres south of Cawfield Crags, and looks over Hole
Gap to the west. It is on a well-preserved section of Hadrian's
Wall. It measures 17.8 metres east–west by 14.4 metres
north–south internally, with walls 2.8 metres thick and 1.4
metres high.
It was excavated in 1847–48 and again in 1936. The
1847–48 excavation uncovered part of a dedication slab
indicating that the milecastle had been built by the Legio II
Augusta.
The milecastle and the site of Turrets 42B are both
accessible via the Hadrian's Wall Path. Cawfields Picnic Area
car park is on the line of the Hadrian's Wall Path, between the
two sites. It is signposted from the B6318 (Military Road).
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View
Number 48... Poltross Burn.
Number 49... Harrows Scar.
Number 53... Banks Burn.
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