Roman BritainMilecastle 36 (King's Hill)
Roman Fortlet · Military

Milecastle 36 (King's Hill)

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 967060232
Site type
Fortlet
Category
Military
Latitude
55.0179
Longitude
-2.3186
Overview

History & context

Milecastle 36 (King's Hill) was one of the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY79726931). There is little to see on the ground as most of the walls have been robbed and quarried away.

The site of Milecastle 36 is located on King's Hill, 800 metres northeast of Housesteads Roman Fort.

The milecastle was robbed of most of its remaining stone in 1831. Part of the east and west walls are indicated by robber-trenches. The remainder of the milecastle has been destroyed by surface quarrying, and the featureless interior is overlain by Wall tumble.

Milecastle 36 was excavated in 1946. It was found to have a long axis and narrow walls. The excavations revealed that in the post-Hadrianic period the south gate was destroyed and the north gate was reconstructed and then blocked.

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 nearest milecastle's garrison. The turrets associated with Milecastle 36 are known as Turret 36A and Turret 36B.

Turret 36A (Kennel Crags) (grid reference NY79316915) is visible only as a slight earthen platform. The turret was located in 1911 and excavated in 1946. It was found to have narrow walls and a door to the east. It appears to have been put out of commission before the end of the Roman period.

Turret 36B (Housesteads) (grid reference NY78966884) lies within Housesteads Roman Fort. It was demolished when the fort was built, and overlain with buildings. The foundations of the turret survive, and the walls have been excavated and consolidated, standing to a maximum height of 0.7 metres.

The milecastle, and site of Turret 36A, are both accessible via the Hadrian's Wall Path. The excavated foundations of Turret 36B are within Housesteads Fort, and are only accessible by visitors to this English Heritage site.

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Milecastle 36 (King's Hill)?

Milecastle 36 (King's Hill) was one of the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY79726931). 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 36 (King's Hill)?

Milecastle 36 (King's Hill) 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 36 (King's Hill)?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Turret 36A (0.4 km), Turret 35B (Busy Gap) (0.5 km), The vallum and early Roman road between the field boundary east of turret 34a and the field boundary west of milecastle 36 in wall miles 34, 35 and 36 (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 36 (King's Hill)?

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Everything a full report reveals about Milecastle 36 (King's Hill)

This page covers the Roman site at Milecastle 36 (King's Hill). 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
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
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
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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