Roman BritainMilecastle 6 (Benwell Grove)
Roman Fortlet · Military

Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove)

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 967060357
Site type
Fortlet
Category
Military
Latitude
54.9753
Longitude
-1.6523
Overview

History & context

Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall.

The exact location of this milecastle is unknown but the wall in this area runs beneath the A186. The area is built over with roads and terraced houses and no milecastle remains are known.

In 1966 J Collingwood Bruce suggested that the site of Milecastle 6 lay beneath the Benwell Grove road in Newcastle.

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 6 are known as Turret 6A and Turret 6B.

Turret 6A has never been located from its remains. It has been positioned from the average distance to Turret 6B. This places Turret 6A approximately 90 yards (82 m) east of the eastern rampart of Condercum fort. This places it underneath the houses and road of Westholme Gardens in Benwell.

Location: 54.976487°N 1.662437°W / 54.976487; -1.662437 (Turret 6A)

Turret 6B (Benwell Hill) was discovered by Robert Shafto in 1751, during construction of the Military Road, Shafto stated that it was approximately 4 yards (3.7 m) square. It was positioned at a point 308 yards (282 m) west of the western rampart of Condercum. This places it somewhere near to the modern road of Two Ball Lonnen. All surface trace of the turret had been obliterated by modern development by 1968.

Location: 54.978391°N 1.668827°W / 54.978391; -1.668827 (Turret 6B)

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove)?

Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. The exact location of this milecastle is unknown but the wall in this area runs beneath the A186. 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 6 (Benwell Grove)?

Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove) 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 6 (Benwell Grove)?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Turret 5B (0.5 km), Turret 6A (0.6 km), Condercum (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 6 (Benwell Grove)?

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Everything a full report reveals about Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove)

This page covers the Roman site at Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove). 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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