Turret 22A, known as Portgate, was one of the standard Hadrian's Wall turrets, built in the 120s AD as part of the original Wall scheme between Milecastles 22 and 23 in the central sector of the frontier. Its name derives from its proximity to the major gateway where Dere Street, the principal Roman road running north from Corbridge into Scotland, passed through the Wall. Like other turrets, it would have functioned as an observation and signalling post, manned by a small detachment from a nearby fort, probably until the later 2nd or 3rd century when many turrets along the Wall were abandoned and demolished.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The turret's significance lies almost entirely in its position adjacent to the Portgate itself — the controlled crossing point on Dere Street, which was the main artery for military movement, trade, and travel between the province and the lands beyond the frontier. This made the immediate area one of the most strategically and economically important nodes on the entire Wall, where customs, surveillance, and access control would have been concentrated.
The Portgate area has been partially investigated (notably around the gateway monument, identified beneath the modern Errington Arms roundabout on the A68), but Turret 22A itself has seen limited excavation and little detailed structural evidence is published. Its existence and approximate position are inferred largely from the regular spacing system of the Wall rather than from substantial excavated remains.
Turret 22A, known as Portgate, was one of the standard Hadrian's Wall turrets, built in the 120s AD as part of the original Wall scheme between Milecastles 22 and 23 in the central sector of the frontier. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 22A (Portgate) 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 22B (Stanley) (0.5 km), Milecastle 22 (Portgate) (0.5 km), Turret 21B (Fence Burn) (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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