Turret 9A (Wallhouses East) was one of the regularly-spaced stone watch towers built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastles 9 and 10 in the sector east of the North Tyne. Like its paired counterparts, it was constructed in the 120s AD under Hadrian and would have stood roughly one Roman third-of-a-mile west of Milecastle 9, functioning as an observation and signalling post manned by a small detachment, probably from the nearest fort (Rudchester) or auxiliary unit holding this stretch.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As part of the integrated Wall system, the turret contributed to surveillance of approaches from the north and lateral communication along the curtain, rather than holding any independent strategic role. This eastern sector, on the gentler topography descending toward the Tyne, relied especially on closely-spaced turrets since natural sightlines were less commanding than along the crags further west.
Little has been recovered from Turret 9A specifically; the structure lies beneath or close to the line of the Military Road (B6318) where the Wall here was heavily robbed in the 18th century for General Wade's road, and no significant modern excavation of this turret has been published. Its existence and approximate position are inferred from the regular Hadrianic spacing scheme rather than from standing remains.
Turret 9A (Wallhouses East) was one of the regularly-spaced stone watch towers built into the curtain of Hadrian's Wall, positioned between Milecastles 9 and 10 in the sector east of the North Tyne. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a watch tower site from the Roman period in Britain.
Turret 9A 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 Turret 9B (Walbottle) (0.5 km), Milecastle 9 (Chapel House) (0.5 km), Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene) (1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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