| Milecastle 39 | |
|---|---|
 The remains of Milecastle 39, near Steel Rigg | |
  Location within Northumberland | |
| Type | Milecastle |
| Place in the Roman world | |
| Province | Britannia |
| Structure | |
| — Stone structure — | |
| Size and area | 19 m × 15.5 m (0.03 ha) |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 55°00′13″N2°22′33″W / 55.003602°N 2.375725°W |
| County | Northumberland |
| Country | England |
| Reference | |
| UK-OSNG reference | NY76066773 |
Milecastle 39 (Castle Nick) is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY76066773 ).
Milecastle 39 is located northeast of Once Brewed. The excavated stonework has been consolidated, and the walls are up to 1.75 metres high. [1] It measures 19 metres by 15.5 metres.
The site was cleared in 1854, and was excavated in 1908–11. It was re-excavated between 1982 and 1987. It was found to have a long axis, with a Type II gateway. [1] In the south-east corner was a stone oven and the south-west corner a rectangular building with a sunken floor associated with Roman finds. [1] The milecastle appears to have been occupied until the late 4th century. [1] In the 18th century a possible milking house was built in the west corner. [1]
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 39 are known as Turret 39A and Turret 39B.
Turret 39A (Peel Crag) (grid reference NY75626763 ) was located in 1909 and excavated in 1911. [2] It was found to have been abandoned, dismantled and its recess built up at the end of the 2nd century. [2] In the north-west corner was a burial of a man and a woman. [2] The turret is visible as a slight rectangular hollow about 20 centimetres deep. [2]
Turret 39B (Steelrigg) (grid reference NY75056758 ) was excavated in 1909 and in 1911. [3] It was found to have been abandoned, dismantled and its recess built up at the end of the 2nd century. [3] There are no visible remains. [3]
In summer 1987 excavations along Hadrian's Wall (made jointly by the National Trust and English Heritage) discovered the foundations of a Roman tower between turrets 39A and 39B. The tower is located 345 metres (377 yd) west of Turret 39A (grid reference NY75336748 ) in the lowest part of Peel Gap. It appears to have been constructed shortly after the wall had been completed, as evidenced by the lower build quality, and that it was built abutting the wall (rather than recessed into it like other turrets). The foundations are rectangular, measuring 4 metres (13 ft) (east/west) by 3.59 metres (11.8 ft) (north/south), with walls 0.91 metres (3.0 ft) thick. The doorway (located at the east end of the south wall) was found to have been blocked up. The foundations of a platform were found along the outside of the west wall.
It appears to have filled the gap between Turrets 39A and 39B which is the longest known gap between two turrets along the entire length of the wall. [4]
The milecastle, the sites of both turrets, and the remains of Peel Gap Tower are all accessible via the Hadrian's Wall Path. The Sycamore Gap Tree stood nearby until it was felled in 2023.
Milecastle 48 (Poltross Burn), is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY6340666195). Its remains lie near the village of Gilsland in Cumbria where it was historically known as "The King's Stables", owing to the well-preserved interior walls. Unusually a substantial section of stone stairs has survived within the milecastle. The two turrets associated with this milecastle have also survived as above-ground masonry.
Milecastle 50 (High House) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY60676601).
Milecastle 51 (Wall Bowers) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY59306549).
Milecastle 52 (Bankshead) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY57946490).
Milecastle 53 (Banks Burn) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY56486460).
Milecastle 38 (Hotbank) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall in the vicinity of Hotbank Farm, (grid reference NY77276813). It is notable for the joint inscription bearing the names of the emperor Hadrian and Aulus Platorius Nepos, the governor of Britannia at the time the Wall was built.
Milecastle 19 (Matfen Piers) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. Sited just to the east of the hamlet of Matfen Piers, the milecastle is today covered by the B6318 Military Road. The milecastle is notable for the discovery of an altar by Eric Birley in the 1930s. An inscription on the altar is one of the few dedications to a mother goddess found in Roman Britain, and was made by members of the First Cohort of Varduli from northern Spain. The presence of the Vardulians at this milecastle has led to debate amongst archaeologists over the origins of troops used to garrison the wall. A smaller altar was found at one of the two associated turrets.
Milecastle 20 (Halton Shields) was one of the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NZ01886868). It is situated in the hamlet of Halton Shields, and was excavated in 1935. There is no visible trace of the milecastle above ground.
Milecastle 47 (Chapel House) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY64906607).
Pike Hill Signal Tower was one of a number of signal stations that were built on high ground overlooking the line of the Roman Stanegate road in northern Britannia during the early 2nd century. It later became incorporated into Hadrian's Wall. Its remains, a 2-metre long fragment of the south-east wall, lie south of a modern road cutting and field wall, located in the parish of Waterhead in Cumberland, United Kingdom. The tower is located between Turret 51B and Turret 52A with the fort of Banna located to the east.
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 0.8 metres (2.6 ft). Masonry from the east wall (both faces) remains in situ. The remaining stretch is 3.1 metres (10 ft) in length by 2.25 metres (7.4 ft) thick, and survives to a height of 0.6 metres (2.0 ft). It is located at the western part of Limestone Corner, just off the B6318 Military Road.
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 one Roman mile along the length of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern England.
Milecastle 34 (Grindon) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. There are no visible remains, but the site is within a small, tree-filled, walled enclosure located around 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) east of Sewingshields farm.
Milecastle 44 (Allolee) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY68886694).
Milecastle 37 is one of the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall. It is immediately west of the Housesteads Roman Fort.
Milecastle 35 (Sewingshields) is one of the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY80497018). The remains still exist as exposed masonry.
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 walls have been robbed and quarried away.
Milecastle 41 (Melkridge) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY73026705).
Milecastle 45 (Walltown) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY67716657).
Milecastle 50TW (High House) was a milecastle on the Turf Wall section of Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY60716583). The milecastle is located close to the Birdoswald Roman Fort and is unique in that it was not replaced by a stone milecastle when the turf wall was upgraded to stone, the replacement wall instead running some 200m to the north. The milecastle was partially demolished by the Romans after it was abandoned. The milecastle was excavated in 1934 and several Roman rubbish pits discovered. The remains of the two turrets associated with this milecastle (which were demolished when the turf wall was abandoned) have also been located. As the turf wall lies some distance from the stone wall, the sites are not accessible from the Hadrian's Wall Path.
Media related to Milecastle 39 at Wikimedia Commons Forts and structures of Hadrian's Wall | ||
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| Wall Forts (East to West) |   | |
| Outpost Forts | ||
| Stanegate Forts |
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| Supply Forts | ||
| Cumbrian Coast Forts (North to South) |
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| Milecastles | ||
| Milefortlets | ||
| Other structures on Hadrian's Wall | ||
| Regular and linear features | ||