Milecastle 4 (Westgate Road) was a small fortlet on Hadrian's Wall, built in the AD 120s as part of the systematic provision of milecastles at every Roman mile along the Wall's length. It lay in what is now the western part of central Newcastle upon Tyne, between the Wall's eastern terminus at Pons Aelius (Newcastle) and the river crossing infrastructure, and would have housed a small garrison detachment (typically 8–32 men) controlling movement through a gated passage in the curtain wall.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As one of the easternmost milecastles, it formed part of the close-spaced sequence guarding the approaches to the bridgehead fort at Newcastle, regulating civilian and military traffic in a relatively densely occupied stretch of the frontier. Its position in what became a major medieval and modern urban centre means it is significant chiefly for what its discovery contributes to reconstructing the Wall's course through Newcastle.
Milecastle 4 was located in 1985 during excavations on Westgate Road, which revealed sections of the Wall and traces of the milecastle's south wall and interior, confirming its predicted position. Little structural detail survives due to centuries of urban development, and no substantial internal buildings or finds assemblage from this milecastle have been published in detail.
Milecastle 4 (Westgate Road) was a small fortlet on Hadrian's Wall, built in the AD 120s as part of the systematic provision of milecastles at every Roman mile along the Wall's length. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Milecastle 4 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 Pons Aeli (0.2 km), Turret 3B (0.4 km), Milecastle 4 (Westgate Road) (0.6 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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