Milecastle 49, known as Harrow's Scar, is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall situated on the steep western bank of the River Irthing, immediately east of the bridge crossing at Willowford and adjacent to the fort at Birdoswald (Banna). Originally constructed in the early 130s AD as part of Hadrian's frontier system, it began as a Turf Wall milecastle with timber buildings and was later rebuilt in stone, with occupation continuing in some form into the late 4th century alongside the broader Wall garrison.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Its position is strategically important: it controlled the eastern approach to the Irthing crossing and lay on the junction between the original Turf Wall sector and the later Stone Wall, making it a key node in monitoring movement across the river gorge. Its proximity to Birdoswald fort (only c. 400 m west) also makes it unusual in the density of military installations clustered at this crossing.
Excavations by F.G. Simpson in 1898 and later work in the 1950s revealed the sequence from the Turf Wall milecastle (with turf ramparts and timber internal buildings) to its stone replacement, including a Type III-style north gateway and traces of internal barrack-style buildings. Pottery and structural evidence indicate continued use through the 2nd–4th centuries, though the interior is less fully published than some neighbou
Milecastle 49, known as Harrow's Scar, is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall situated on the steep western bank of the River Irthing, immediately east of the bridge crossing at Willowford and adjacent to the fort at Birdoswald (Banna). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Milecastle 49 (Harrow's Scar) 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 Banna (0.5 km), Turret 49A (0.5 km), Turret 48B (Willowford West) (0.5 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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