Milecastle 6

Coordinates: 54°58′29″N 1°39′11″W / 54.974663°N 1.653079°W

Milecastle 6

Milecastle 6 probably lies under the A186 road
Milecastle 6
 Milecastle 6 shown within Tyne and Wear
OS grid reference NZ22306450
List of places
UK
England
Tyne and Wear

Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall.

Construction

The exact location of this milecastle is unknown but the wall in this area runs beneath the A186. The area is built over with roads and terraced houses and no milecastle remains are known.[1]

Excavations and investigations

In 1966 J Collingwood Bruce suggested that the site of Milecastle 6 lay beneath the Benwell Grove road in Newcastle.[1]

Associated Turrets

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 6 are known as Turret 6A and Turret 6B.

Turret 6A

Turret 6A has never been located from its remains. It has been positioned from the average distance to Turret 6B. This places Turret 6A approximately 90 yards (82 m) east of the eastern rampart of Condercum fort.[2] This places it underneath the houses and road of Westholme Gardens in Benwell.[2]

Location: 54°58′35″N 1°39′45″W / 54.976487°N 1.662437°W

Turret 6B

Turret 6B (Benwell Hill) was discovered by Robert Shafto in 1751, during construction of the Military Road, Shafto stated that it was approximately 4 yards (3.7 m) square.[3] It was positioned at a point 308 yards (282 m) west of the western rampart of Condercum.[2][4] This places it somewhere near to the modern road of Two Ball Lonnen. All surface trace of the turret had been obliterated by modern development by 1968.[4]

Location: 54°58′42″N 1°40′08″W / 54.978391°N 1.668827°W

Monument Records

Monument Monument NumberEnglish Heritage Archive Number
Milecastle 625035NZ 26 SW 6
Turret 6A25038NZ 26 SW 7
Turret 6B25044NZ 26 SW 9

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Milecastle 6". Pastscape. English Heritage. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Turret 6A". Pastscape. English Heritage. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Breeze, David J (1934), Handbook to the Roman Wall (14th Revised edition - Nov 2006), Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, p. 158, ISBN 0-901082-65-1
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Turret 6B". Pastscape. English Heritage. Retrieved 14 May 2010.