Milecastle 25 is one of the regularly spaced fortlets built along Hadrian's Wall, constructed in the early 130s AD as part of the wall's original Hadrianic scheme and probably occupied, with interruptions, into the late 4th century. Sited between Turret 24b and Turret 25a in the central sector east of the North Tyne crossing at Chesters, it would have housed a small detachment (perhaps 8–32 men) drawn from a nearby auxiliary garrison, controlling a gated passage through the Wall.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As with other milecastles, its function combined frontier policing, controlled movement of people and goods (likely with attendant tolls or customs oversight), and signalling between adjacent turrets and the major fort at Chesters (Cilurnum) a short distance to the west. It is not individually distinguished in the historical record and is typical of the central sector milecastles rather than notable in itself.
Milecastle 25 has seen little modern excavation; its position is established by measurement along the curtain and by limited surface and geophysical observation, and it is not well preserved above ground. No significant inscriptions, building stones, or artefact assemblages are securely attributed to it in the published record, so its plan (long-axis or short-axis, gate type) and garrison history remain essentially unknown for this specific site.
Milecastle 25 is one of the regularly spaced fortlets built along Hadrian's Wall, constructed in the early 130s AD as part of the wall's original Hadrianic scheme and probably occupied, with interruptions, into the late 4th century. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Milecastle 25 (Codlawhill) 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 24B (Tithe Barn) (0.5 km), Turret 25A (Hill Head) (0.5 km), Turret 24A (Green Field) (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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