Turret 6B, also known as Benwell Hill Turret, was one of the small stone watch towers built at roughly third-of-a-mile intervals along Hadrian's Wall, situated between Milecastle 6 (Benwell) and Milecastle 7 (Benwell Hill) on the western approach to the fort at Condercum (Benwell). Constructed in the 120s AD as part of the original Hadrianic Wall scheme, it would have been a roughly 4–5 m square stone tower projecting from the rear of the curtain wall, manned by a small detachment from the nearby fort garrison to provide observation over the ground sloping westward from the Tyne ridge.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As part of the integrated signalling and surveillance system of the Wall, Turret 6B's role was routine rather than distinguished, but its position immediately west of Condercum fort meant it overlooked traffic on the Military Way and the approaches to one of the eastern command centres of the Wall. Like other turrets in the urban sector, it was likely abandoned relatively early, possibly in the later 2nd century when many central- and eastern-sector turrets were demolished and their recesses walled up.
The turret site now lies beneath the suburban development of west Newcastle along the West Road (the line of the Wall here being followed by the modern road), and no substantive excavation of this specific turret is recorded in the published literature. Its existence and approximate location are inferred from the regular spacing
Turret 6B, also known as Benwell Hill Turret, was one of the small stone watch towers built at roughly third-of-a-mile intervals along Hadrian's Wall, situated between Milecastle 6 (Benwell) and Milecastle 7 (Benwell Hill) on the western approach to the fort at Condercum (Benwell). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 6B (Benwell Hill) 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 Condercum (0.3 km), Turret 6A (0.5 km), Milecastle 7 (Benwell Bank) (0.5 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 6B (Benwell Hill)