Turret 46B (Wallend) was one of the regularly spaced stone watch towers built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastles 46 and 47 in the central sector west of Great Chesters (Aesica). Like other turrets on this stretch, it was constructed in the 120s AD and would have functioned as an observation and signalling post, manned by small detachments drawn from the garrison of the nearest fort, with use likely continuing into the later 2nd century before abandonment as many central-sector turrets were demolished under the Severan or later reorganisations.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Its position on the high ground west of Great Chesters gave commanding views across the Tipalt valley, contributing to the surveillance and signalling chain that was the principal tactical function of the Wall's turret system. It is not individually distinguished in the historical or epigraphic record, deriving its significance from its place within the integrated Wall scheme.
Little detailed excavation has been published for 46B specifically; surviving remains are modest and the turret is known primarily from the Wall surveys (notably the work of MacLauchlan and later the Wall pilgrimages) rather than from any major modern campaign. No significant finds assemblage is attributed to it in the published record.
Turret 46B (Wallend) was one of the regularly spaced stone watch towers built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastles 46 and 47 in the central sector west of Great Chesters (Aesica). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 46B (Wallend) 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 47 (Chapel House) (0.5 km), Turret 46A (0.5 km), Turret 47A (Foultown) (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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