Turret 16A (Galloway) was one of the standard recessed stone turrets built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall between Milecastles 16 (Walwick) and 17 (Black Carts), constructed in the 120s AD during the original Hadrianic building programme. Like other turrets in this sector, it would have been a roughly 4.3m square interior chamber projecting south from the Wall, manned by a small detachment likely drawn from auxiliary units based at nearby forts such as Chesters (Cilurnum), and would have functioned as an observation and signalling post controlling the approach to the North Tyne crossing.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Its position is significant in that this stretch of Wall lies on the approach to the Chesters fort and the bridge over the North Tyne, making the turret part of a closely supervised military zone. Turrets in this central sector appear to have had a relatively short operational life, with many abandoned or demolished in the later 2nd or earlier 3rd century as the garrison reduced the density of manned posts on the Wall line.
Turret 16A (Galloway) was one of the standard recessed stone turrets built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall between Milecastles 16 (Walwick) and 17 (Black Carts), constructed in the 120s AD during the original Hadrianic building programme. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 16A 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.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Turret 16B (0.5 km), Milecastle 16 (Harlow Hill) (0.5 km), Turret 15B (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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