Milecastle 26 was a small fortlet on Hadrian's Wall, located near Planetrees east of Chesters fort, constructed in the AD 120s as part of Hadrian's frontier system and likely garrisoned until the later 4th century with interruptions. Like other milecastles it would have housed a small detachment (probably 8–32 men) and controlled a gateway through the Wall.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Although the milecastle itself is poorly preserved, the immediately adjacent stretch of curtain wall at Planetrees is one of the most important on the frontier: it preserves the visible transition between the original "Broad Wall" foundation and the narrower gauge actually built on top, demonstrating the mid-construction change in policy that affected the entire eastern sector of the Wall.
The milecastle itself has not been extensively excavated and its plan, internal buildings, and gateway type are not well established; it is presumed on analogy with neighbouring milecastles (e.g. MC 27 Low Brunton, MC 25 Codlawhill) to be of standard short-axis or long-axis form. The famous surviving Wall segment at Planetrees, conserved after being saved from quarrying in 1801 through the intervention of William Hutton, lies just east of the milecastle and is the site's principal visible monument.
Milecastle 26 was a small fortlet on Hadrian's Wall, located near Planetrees east of Chesters fort, constructed in the AD 120s as part of Hadrian's frontier system and likely garrisoned until the later 4th century with interruptions. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Milecastle 26 (Planetrees) 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 26A (High Brunton) (0.5 km), Turret 25B (St Oswald's) (0.5 km), Turret 25A (Hill Head) (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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