Turret 69B was one of the small stone watchtowers built at roughly third-of-a-mile intervals along Hadrian's Wall, situated between Milecastle 69 (Sourmilk Bridge) and Milecastle 70 (Braelees) in the western sector of the Wall near Burgh-by-Sands in Cumbria. Like its companions, it would have been constructed in the 120s AD under Hadrian and occupied — with periods of abandonment and reuse — into the later 4th century, functioning as an observation and signalling post manned by a small detachment from one of the nearby auxiliary garrisons, likely from Burgh-by-Sands (Aballava).
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
In this low-lying coastal stretch approaching the Solway Firth, turrets like 69B formed part of an integrated surveillance system controlling movement across the estuarine frontier, where the Wall itself was originally built in turf rather than stone. Its role was primarily observational and communicative rather than defensive in any large-scale sense.
Very little is recorded about Turret 69B specifically; in this far western sector several turret sites have been located only approximately or by projection from the standard spacing, and no significant modern excavation of 69B has been published. Surface remains are not visible, the site lying beneath agricultural land on the Solway Plain.
Turret 69B was one of the small stone watchtowers built at roughly third-of-a-mile intervals along Hadrian's Wall, situated between Milecastle 69 (Sourmilk Bridge) and Milecastle 70 (Braelees) in the western sector of the Wall near Burgh-by-Sands in Cumbria. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 69B 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 70 (Braelees) (0.6 km), Turret 70A (1.1 km), Milecastle 69 (Sourmilk Bridge) (1.2 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 69B