Roman BritainMilecastle 41 (Melkridge)
Roman Fortlet · Military

Milecastle 41 (Melkridge)

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 967060392
Site type
Fortlet
Category
Military
Latitude
54.9974
Longitude
-2.4230
Overview

History & context

Milecastle 41 (Melkridge) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY73026705).

Milecastle 41 is located to the east of Caw Gap. The milecastle can be seen as turf-covered banks outlined by robber trenches. A cottage, long removed, occupied the site of, and was built from, the materials of milecastle 41.

The milecastle was examined in 1946. It was found to have a short axis, but had undergone extensive reconstruction.

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 41 are known as Turret 41A and Turret 41B.

Turret 41A (Caw Gap) (grid reference NY72556688) was located by exploratory excavation in 1912. It had a doorway on the east side of the south wall. In the later Roman period, the turret was deliberately demolished, and the Wall rebuilt across its site. The remains of Turret 41A were consolidated in 1972-3 and are 20 centimetres high.

Turret 41B (Thorny Doors) (grid reference NY72056683) was also located by exploratory excavation in 1912. There are no visible remains.

The site of the milecastle, Turret 41A, and the site of Turret 41B are all accessible via the Hadrian's Wall Path.

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Milecastle 41 (Melkridge)?

Milecastle 41 (Melkridge) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY73026705). Milecastle 41 is located to the east of Caw Gap. 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 41 (Melkridge)?

Milecastle 41 (Melkridge) 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 41 (Melkridge)?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Hadrian's Wall (0.3 km), Turret 40B (Melkridge) (0.5 km), Turret 41A (Caw Gap) (0.5 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 41 (Melkridge)?

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Everything a full report reveals about Milecastle 41 (Melkridge)

This page covers the Roman site at Milecastle 41 (Melkridge). 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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