Roman BritainTurret 14B
Roman Watch Tower · Military

Turret 14B

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 967060402
Site type
Watch Tower
Category
Military
Latitude
55.0047
Longitude
-1.8495
Overview

History & context

Turret 14B was one of the regularly spaced stone watchtowers built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastle 14 and Milecastle 15 in the eastern sector of the frontier, in the vicinity of the modern Newcastle area. Like other turrets on the Wall, it was constructed in the 120s AD under Hadrian and would have functioned as an observation and signalling post, manned by a small detachment of auxiliary soldiers drawn from the nearest fort, likely Rudchester or Benwell.

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

Significance

Historical significance

As part of the systematic turret-and-milecastle spacing (roughly one third of a Roman mile apart), 14B contributed to the continuous surveillance and signalling chain along the Wall's eastern stretch, though it has no particular individual distinction in the historical or epigraphic record.

Archaeology

Archaeological record

Very little is recorded about Turret 14B specifically; its location falls within the heavily built-up suburbs east of Newcastle, where the Wall's course has been largely obliterated by post-medieval and modern development, and no substantive excavation results are published for this turret. Its existence is inferred from the standard turret spacing rather than from upstanding or excavated remains.

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Turret 14B?

Turret 14B was one of the regularly spaced stone watchtowers built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastle 14 and Milecastle 15 in the eastern sector of the frontier, in the vicinity of the modern Newcastle area. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Turret 14B?

Turret 14B is classified as a Roman watch tower — 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 Turret 14B?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Turret 14A (Eppies Hill) (0.4 km), Milecastle 15 (Whitchester) (0.5 km), Milecastle 14 (March Burn) (1 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 Turret 14B?

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