Turret 38B stood on the precipitous summit of Highshield Crag, immediately west of Crag Lough on the central sector of Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. Built in the 120s AD as one of the regularly spaced (roughly every third of a Roman mile) observation turrets integral to the Wall's original scheme, it occupied one of the most dramatic and naturally defensible positions along the entire frontier. Like other turrets in this sector, it was likely garrisoned by detachments from the nearby forts of Vercovicium (Housesteads) or Vindolanda.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Despite its commanding outlook over the northern approaches and the lough below, the turret's strategic value was probably more symbolic than practical at this height — observation from the crag-top was already excellent without it. It is part of the well-known stretch where the central turrets were abandoned and demolished relatively early, likely in the Antonine period when the central sector turrets were systematically given up while the curtain wall remained in use.
The turret was identified and partially examined in the early 20th century but, like several crag-top turrets in this sector (e.g. 39A, 39B), little structural detail survives owing to erosion, robbing, and the narrow rocky footprint; no significant finds assemblage is published. The site has not been the subject of major modern excavation, and what is visible today consists of slight wall-footings within the line of the curtain.
Turret 38B stood on the precipitous summit of Highshield Crag, immediately west of Crag Lough on the central sector of Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 38B (Highshield 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 39 (Castle Nick) (0.3 km), Turret 38A (Milking Gap) (0.5 km), Turret 39A (Peel Crag) (0.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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