Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 2, Byker section of Hadrian's Wall and presumed site of milecastle 3 at Shields Road West

Scheduled area

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History & significance

Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 2, Byker section of Hadrian's Wall and presumed site of milecastle 3 at Shields Road West is a scheduled monument of Roman imperial military infrastructure, forming part of one of the most celebrated and archaeologically significant frontier works in the entire Roman world. Situated in the Byker district of Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the Shields Road West corridor, this section falls within what is designated wall mile 2, the stretch of Hadrian's Wall extending eastward from the Tyne crossing at Newcastle towards the North Sea coast at Wallsend. The landscape here is predominantly urban, the wall's course having been absorbed over many centuries into the fabric of a densely developed post-industrial cityscape, yet beneath the modern streets and building foundations the structural and depositional remains of the Roman frontier survive in varying degrees of completeness. The setting, though transformed beyond recognition from its original open, wind-swept character, retains considerable sub-surface integrity, and the monument remains a vital component of the World Heritage Site designation which recognises Hadrian's Wall and its associated structures across northern England and southern Scotland.

The wall itself was constructed under the orders of the Emperor Hadrian, beginning in or around AD 122 following his visit to the province of Britannia, and was built primarily by the three legions then stationed in Britain, the Second Augusta, the Sixth Victrix, and the Twentieth Valeria Victrix. The initiative represented a fundamental shift in Roman frontier policy, moving away from the idea of indefinite northward expansion and instead establishing a fixed, heavily garrisoned barrier across the narrowest part of northern Britain, from the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend on the Tyne in the east, a total distance of approximately 73 Roman miles. In this eastern sector, the wall was originally planned and partly constructed in a narrower gauge than the western stone sections, a phenomenon archaeologists refer to as the Broad Wall foundation with Narrow Wall superstructure, reflecting modifications made during the building programme itself. The milecastle whose presence is presumed at or near the Shields Road West location would have been one of the small fortlets placed at every Roman mile along the wall's entire length, each designed to house a garrison detachment, regulate movement through the barrier via a gated passage, and provide signalling capability between the larger auxiliary forts.

In physical terms, the visible and recoverable remains of this section are inevitably constrained by the intensity of post-Roman and post-medieval urban development. The wall in this area was built in its standard eastern form, with a stone wall of varying width depending upon which phase of construction is represented, a northern ditch cut into the natural geology where the topography permitted, and the broad flat-bottomed earthwork known as the Vallum running to the south, which defined the military zone behind the wall itself. Milecastle 3, if it survives in any coherent form at this location, would originally have measured approximately 15 to 18 metres from north to south and around 20 to 23 metres east to west in its interior dimensions, with walls bonded into the main curtain wall and a pair of gateways, one facing north through the frontier and one giving access southward into the military zone. Sub-surface deposits associated with such a structure might include substantial stone foundations, compacted floor surfaces, hearth debris, and the accumulated refuse of a garrison maintained over more than two and a half centuries of Roman occupation.

The historical role of this section of the wall was, like all of Hadrian's Wall, fundamentally military and administrative. The eastern end of the wall, approaching the Tyne estuary, was strategically critical, protecting the vital river crossing and the supply routes into the interior of the province. The garrison troops who served in the milecastles of this sector were not the heavy legionary infantry who built the wall but rather auxiliary units drawn from across the Roman empire, men whose ethnic and cultural backgrounds were extraordinarily diverse. The wall system as a whole experienced periods of abandonment and recommissioning, most notably when the frontier was briefly shifted northward to the

Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 2, Byker section of Hadrian's Wall and presumed site of milecastle 3 at Shields Road West is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1003508. View the official record →

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