Milecastle 24 (Wall Fell) was a

milecastle A milecastle was a small fort (fortlet), a rectangular fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great Bri ...

of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

. Its remains exist as a low platform, and are located to the south of the

B6318 Military Road The Military Road is a name given locally to part of the B6318 road in Northumberland, England, which runs from Heddon-on-the-Wall in the east to Greenhead in the west. It should not be confused with the Roman-built Military Way adjoining ...

around west of its junction with the A68.

Construction

Because of the similarity in its construction to that of Milecastle 23, Milecastle 24 is assumed to be a long-axis milecastle. The gateway type is unknown, though long-axis milecastles were thought to have been constructed by the

Legio VI Victrix Legio VI Victrix ("Victorious Sixth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 41 BC by the general Octavian (who, as Augustus, later became Rome's first emperor). It was the twin legion of VI ''Ferrata'' and perhaps held vete ...

who were based in

Eboracum Eboracum () was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimate ...

(

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

). The milecastle measured across, and had

broad Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly nav ...

east and west walls (the curtain wall at this point was also broad gauge). A change in the vegetation in the ditch adjacent to the south gateway may suggest the prior existence of a causeway that was subsequently removed.

Excavations and investigations

*1879 – The milecastle was visited and depicted by James Irwin Coates. *1930 – The location and construction details of the milecastle were established. *1966 –

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

Field Investigation. The position of the milecastle was confirmed. It was noted that the perimeter wall of the milecastle was extant as a high turf covered bank, obscured by quarry spoil on the north east. *1989 – English Heritage Field Investigation. Remains of robber/excavation trenches (up to deep), and a large spoil heap (up to high), were noted, but no real platform could be identified. The milecastle position and probable axis type were also confirmed.

Associated turrets

Each milecastle on Hadrian's Wall had two associated turret structures. These turrets were positioned approximately one-third and two-thirds of a

Roman mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

to the west of the Milecastle, and would probably have been manned by part of the milecastle's garrison. The turrets associated with Milecastle 24 are known as Turret 24A and Turret 24B.

Turret 24A

Turret 24A (Green Field) is now located beneath the

, though it was excavated in February 1930. Remains of its masonry were three courses high on the north west corner, gradually reducing to one at the other corner. Location on

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1:25 000 map:

Turret 24B

Turret 24B (Tithe Barn) is now located beneath the B6318 Military Road, though it was excavated in February 1930. Remains of its masonry, like those of Turret 23A, were three courses high on the north west corner, gradually reducing to one at the other corner. Location on

1:25 000 map:

Monument records

Public access

Access to the mound marking the Milecastle is via the

Hadrian's Wall Path Hadrian's Wall Path is a long-distance footpath in the north of England, which became the 15th National Trail in 2003. It runs for , from Wallsend on the east coast of England to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. For most of its length it ...