Turret 37B was one of the standard interval watch towers built along Hadrian's Wall, situated on the dramatic Whin Sill escarpment near Hotbank Crags between Milecastle 37 (Housesteads) and Milecastle 38 (Hotbank). Like other turrets in this central sector, it would have been constructed in the 120s AD as part of the original Wall scheme under Hadrian and was likely manned intermittently into the later 2nd or 3rd century before going out of use, as did many turrets in this stretch.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As part of the regularly spaced surveillance system (two turrets between each milecastle), it provided observation over the steep northern crags and the broken ground toward Broomlee and Crag Loughs, contributing to the early-warning and signalling network rather than serving as a checkpoint for cross-frontier movement.
Very little is published specifically on Turret 37B; the central crags sector turrets have generally received less excavation than those in the Birdoswald or Wallsend stretches, and the structure is not prominently consolidated for visitors. Where comparable turrets in this sector (e.g. 36B, 39A, 39B) have been examined, they conform to the standard recessed plan of c. 4 m square internally, built of dressed stone bonded into the curtain, often with evidence of a hearth and limited 2nd-century occupation debris.
Turret 37B was one of the standard interval watch towers built along Hadrian's Wall, situated on the dramatic Whin Sill escarpment near Hotbank Crags between Milecastle 37 (Housesteads) and Milecastle 38 (Hotbank). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 37B (Hotbank Crag) 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 Milecastle 38 (Hotbank) (0.5 km), Turret 37A (Rapishaw Gap) (0.5 km), Turret 38A (Milking Gap) (0.9 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Turret 37B (Hotbank Crag)