The remains of Milecastle 39 (Castle Nick), near Steel Rigg on Hadrian's Wall.
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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 (50 feet by 65 feet) 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.
On Hadrian's Wall, a milecastle (there are a few exceptions) guarded a gateway through the Wall with a corresponding causeway across the Wall ditch to the north, and had a garrison of perhaps 20–30 auxiliary soldiers housed in two barrack blocks. On either side of the milecastle was a stone tower (turret), located about one-third of a Roman mile (500m or 540 yards) away. It is assumed that the garrison also supplied soldiers to man the turrets. The milecastle's garrison controlled the passage of people, goods and livestock across the frontier, and it is likely that the milecastle acted as a customs post to levy taxation on that traffic.
A system of milecastles (known as milefortlets) and intervening stone watchtowers extended from the western end of Hadrian's Wall, along the Cumbrian coast as far as Tower 25B at Flimby,[1] but they were linked by a wooden palisade and not a wall fronted by a deep ditch, and they had no gateway through the palisade.[2]
^"RISEHOW TOWER 25B". Pastscape. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
^Stephen Johnson (2004) Hadrian's Wall, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, 128 pages, ISBN 0-7134-8840-9
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...
Milecastle 39 (Castle Nick) is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY76066773). Milecastle 39 is located northeast of Once Brewed. The excavated...
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Milecastle 42 (Cawfields) is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY7157466692). Milecastle 42 is on a steep south-facing slope, 10 metres south...
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Milecastle 80 was one of a series of Milecastles or small fortlets built at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along Hadrian's Wall (grid reference...
Milecastle 60 (High Strand) was one of a series of Milecastles or small fortlets built at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along Hadrian's Wall...
Milecastle 33 (Shield on the Wall) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall, one of a series of small fortlets built at intervals of approximately...
Milecastle 52 (Bankshead) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY57946490). Milecastle 52 is west of Birdoswald fort. It lies 1484 metres...
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Milecastle 50 (High House) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY60676601). Milecastle 50 is west of Birdoswald fort. It lies 1391 metres...
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Milecastle 36 (King's Hill) was one of the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY79726931). There is little to see on the ground as most of the...
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Milecastle 22 (Portgate) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. Its remains exist as a low, turf covered platform just east of the Portgate roundabout...
Milecastle 27 (Low Brunton) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. It was located on the line of Hadrian's Wall, approximately midway between the...
Milecastle 3 (Ouseburn) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. No remains exist, but it was thought to have been located at the junction of the...
Milecastle 25 (Codlawhill) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. Its remains exist as a low platform, and are located to the south of the B6318...
Milecastle 30 (Limestone Corner) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. Its remains exist as an outward-facing scarp with a maximum height of 0...
Milecastle 63 (Walby West) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY43155973). Milecastle 63 is about 800 metres southwest of the hamlet of...
Milecastle 7 (Benwell Bank or Benwell Hill) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. The milecastle itself has not been discovered by archaeologists...
Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. It is located near to the modern village of Throckley in Tyne and Wear, northern...
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