Milecastle 45 (Walltown) was a milecastle on

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 ...

().

Description

Milecastle 45 is located on the top of Walltown Crags.MILECASTLE 45
Pastscape, retrieved 3 December 2013 The walls have been comprehensively robbed, and little remains but the robber trenches and turf-covered spoil mounds. The site is clearly visible as

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

on aerial photographs.

Associated turrets

Each milecastle on Hadrian's Wall had two associated

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

structures. These turrets were positioned approximately one-third and two-thirds of a Roman mile to the west of the Milecastle, and would probably have been manned by part of the milecastle's garrison. The turrets associated with Milecastle 45 are known as Turret 45A and Turret 45B.

Turret 45A

Turret 45A (Walltown) () is located east of the normal measured position, and measures by externally. It was excavated in 1883, 1912, and 1959.TURRET 45A
Pastscape, retrieved 3 December 2013 The 1959 excavations uncovered two centurial stones to the west of the turret. The turret walls were consolidated and stand to an average height of 1 metre. The turret was constructed without wing walls, with the curtain wall abutting the structure, rather than being bonded with it. Because of this, it is believed that the turret was originally a freestanding structure, predating the wall, and probably built as part of a system of watchtowers associated with the Stanegate.

Turret 45B

Turret 45B (Walltown West) () was excavated in 1883.TURRET 45B
Pastscape, retrieved 3 December 2013 It measured 3.8 by 4 metres, with walls just under 1 metre thick and just over 1 metre high. The turret was destroyed soon after 1883 by the operations of the Greenland Quarry.

Public access

The remains of the milecastle and Turret 45A are both accessible 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 ...

. Parking is available at Walltown Quarry Car Park, which is on the line of the Hadrian's Wall Path, however a steep climb is required to reach the sites. The car park is signposted from the B6318 (Military Road).

References

External links

{{Milecastles 45