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 19 was a long-axis milecastle with Type III gateways. Such milecastles were thought to have been constructed by the legio VI Victrix who were based in Eboracum (York). The milecastle lies 150 metres (160 yd) east of the hamlet of Matfen Piers on a section of the narrow wall and, though part of it lies beneath the modern Military Road, is visible as a substantial rise in the hedgerow and as a 0.15m high platform in a cereal field to the south of the road. The milecastle measures 16.25 metres (17.77 yd) east to west and 17.2 metres (18.8 yd) north to south. It is known to be situated on an outcrop of degraded sandstone, either naturally occurring or placed for this purpose.
1858 – The low platform marking the milecastle is noted by Henry MacLauchlan in his survey of the wall.
1867 – John Collingwood Bruce also notes the presence of a platform in his book The Roman Wall.
1931–32 – Excavated by Eric Birley and the North of England Excavation Committee during work on the Carlisle to Newcastle road. The north gate was found to have vanished, though its foundations remained, and a hearth discovered at the western side of the southern end of the passage suggested that this gate was partially blocked during the Roman era. The only side wall to remain was part of the western passage wall, though footings indicated that this milecastle had type III gates, and a 2.38 metres (2.60 yd) south wall suggested a narrow wall construction. A Roman altar was discovered immediately outside the south gate of the milecastle.
1980s – The wall of an internal building within the milecastle was exposed by ploughing.
14 July 1997 – The milecastle was scheduled as an ancient monument.
1999 – An excavation is undertaken by English Heritage consisting of two trenches, one through the eastern wall and interior and one through the southern wall. The eastern wall was noticeably robbed but found to be of stone, bonded by clay, with a rubble core. The excavation discovered that the floor was made of sandy clay or else this formed the basis for a later earthen floor, and that it was cobbled in the western portion of the interior. Finds recovered included some ironwork, modern glass, an animal bone, one Roman Sestertius of Emperor Hadrian dating from AD 125–138 and pottery (some pre-Roman, but mostly 2nd/3rd century AD). The archaeologists were able to confirm that the milecastle was of narrow wall construction. The milecastle was noted to have been damaged by ploughing.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Milecastle 19 (Matfen Piers) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Milecastle 19 (Matfen Piers) is classified as a Roman fortlet — a military site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Turret 19A (East Clarewood) (0.5 km), Turret 18B (Wallhouses West) (0.5 km), Turret 19B (West Clarewood) (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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