Roman BritainMilecastle 28 (Walwick)
Roman Fortlet · Military

Milecastle 28 (Walwick)

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 967060292
Site type
Fortlet
Category
Military
Latitude
55.0292
Longitude
-2.1530
Overview

History & context

Milecastle 28 (Walwick) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall in England. No remains are currently visible. Its location is immediately to the south of the B6318 Military Road in Walwick.

Milecastle 28 was probably a long-axis milecastle, though the gateway type cannot be identified. Such milecastles were thought to have been constructed by the legio VI Victrix who were based in Eboracum (York), or by the legio XX Valeria Victrix who were based in Deva Victrix (Chester).

1957 – The Handbook to the Roman Wall 11th edition is published, noting the presence of a platform located just before reaching Walwick Hall from Chesters, where the road swings to the left, off the line of the Wall, just west of the farm track leaving the road to the south. The platform suggests a long-axis milecastle.

1967 – English Heritage Field Investigation. It was noted that the milecastle could not be positively identified, but a slight scarp at NY 9035 7050may have represented its South side. It was surveyed at 1:2500.

1989 – English Heritage Field Investigation. It was noted that there was no evidence for the milecastle at the Ordnance Survey siting symbol; the scarp at NY 9035 7049 seen by the English Heritage Field Investigator in 1969 looked early modern and also too far south of the Wall. It was concluded that the milecastle could not be located precisely, but from measurements must have been situated in the general area of NY 903 705.

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 28 are known as Turret 28A and Turret 28B.

There are currently no visible remains of Turret 28A. It was first described in 1727 by Alexander Gordon in Iter Septentrionale, stating that it was a little exploratory turret of hewn free-stone, a little more than 12 ft. in length, something less in breadth, and about five courses of stone in height. It was relocated in 1920 about 300 yards (270 m) west of Walwick Hall.

Location on Ordnance Survey 1:25 000 map: 55.031035°N 2.160512°W / 55.031035; -2.160512 (Turret 28A)

Turret 28B is located the normal distance between Turret 28A and Milecastle 29. The site (identified by English heritage Field Investigation in 1965) is marked by slight traces of protruding stonework. The stones were barely discernible, but appeared to outline a structure measuring approximately 4.0 metres (13.1 ft) North-South, and 5.0 metres (16.4 ft) East-West.

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Milecastle 28 (Walwick)?

Milecastle 28 (Walwick) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall in England. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Milecastle 28 (Walwick)?

Milecastle 28 (Walwick) 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.

What other Roman sites are near Milecastle 28 (Walwick)?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Turret 27B (0.5 km), Turret 28A (0.5 km), The Roman fort, vicus, bridge abutments and associated remains of Hadrian's Wall at Chesters in wall mile 27 (0.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Milecastle 28 (Walwick)?

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This page covers the Roman site at Milecastle 28 (Walwick). A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this site alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
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Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
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