Turret 20A was a small stone watchtower on Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastles 20 (Halton Shields) and 21 (Down Hill) in the central sector of the frontier, east of Corbridge. Like the other turrets on the Wall, it was built in the 120s AD under Hadrian and would have functioned, with intermittent occupation, into the later 2nd or 3rd century before being abandoned as the turret system was rationalised.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As one of two turrets between each pair of milecastles, Carr Hill formed part of the regular surveillance and signalling network along the Wall, providing observation over the approaches from the north and lateral communication along the curtain. It is not individually distinguished in the historical record, its importance lying in its place within the integrated frontier system.
Very little has been published specifically on Turret 20A; its position is established from the regular spacing of the Wall's turrets and from surface and antiquarian observation rather than from a modern excavation of note. No significant finds or structural details are recorded for this turret in the standard literature, and the remains are not visible above ground today.
Turret 20A was a small stone watchtower on Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastles 20 (Halton Shields) and 21 (Down Hill) in the central sector of the frontier, east of Corbridge. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 20A (Carr Hill) 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 20B (Downhill East) (0.4 km), Milecastle 20 (Halton Shields) (0.5 km), Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybrae at Halton Shields and Haltonchesters Roman fort in wall miles 20 and 21 (0.7 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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