Milecastle 74 (Burgh Marsh) was a small fortlet on the western extension of Hadrian's Wall, positioned on the low-lying ground south of the Solway Firth near Burgh-by-Sands. Like other milecastles, it would have been built in the AD 120s under Hadrian and occupied, with interruptions, into the later 4th century, housing a small garrison detachment (typically 8–32 auxiliary soldiers) to control movement through a gateway in the Wall.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Its location on the Solway marshes is significant because in this western sector the Wall was built of turf rather than stone, and the milecastles guarded a stretch of frontier vulnerable to crossings of the firth at low tide from southwest Scotland. It formed part of the integrated system of milecastles, turrets, and the larger fort at Burgh-by-Sands (Aballava) controlling this exposed coastal flank.
The precise site of Milecastle 74 has not been securely located on the ground, and it has not been excavated; its position is inferred from the standard Roman spacing of milecastles along the Wall line across Burgh Marsh. The shifting estuarine environment and alluvium of the marsh have obscured remains, and unlike some neighbouring milecastles it has produced no significant published finds.
Milecastle 74 (Burgh Marsh) was a small fortlet on the western extension of Hadrian's Wall, positioned on the low-lying ground south of the Solway Firth near Burgh-by-Sands. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Milecastle 74 (Burgh Marsh) 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 Turret 73B (0.5 km), Turret 74A (0.5 km), Turret 74B (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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