Milefortlet 14 was a

Milefortlet 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 ...

Cumbrian Coast defences. These milefortlets and intervening stone watchtowers extended from the western end of

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 ...

, along the

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

n coast and were linked by a wooden palisade. They were contemporary with defensive structures on

. The site of Milefortlet 14 has never been identified and it may lie beneath the village of

Beckfoot Beckfoot is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St Cuthbert in Cumbria, England. It is located on the B5300 coast road, three miles south of Silloth-on-Solway and two miles north of the village of Mawbray. The county town of Carlisle is twe ...

. A larger fort known as

Bibra Roman Fort Bibra may refer to: Organisations * British Industrial Biological Research Association, now known as BIBRA in the UK Places * Bibra, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, a village in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany * Bibra, Saale-Hol ...

was located 500 metres south-west of Milefortlet 14.

Description

Milefortlet 14 was situated at the north end of the village of

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Holme St Cuthbert Holme St Cuthbert (occasionally Holme St Cuthberts; pronounced and occasionally written Holme Saint Cuthbert) is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria, United Kingdom. The village is located appro ...

. The milefortlet has never been located, but its approximate position has been calculated from the positions of other Roman fortlets. It may be situated at the summit of a low ridge 40 metres east of the B5300 road, but the site is occupied in part by a bungalow and caravan site. Some Roman pottery has been found in the

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s in the area. Milefortlet 14 was located about 500 metres north-east of

which was occupied from the 2nd to the 4th century. It is uncertain how the new Bibra fort related to the rest of the system—whether it was contemporary with it or whether it replaced Milefortlet 14.David Colin Arthur Shotter, (1995), The Roman frontier in Britain: Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall, and Roman policy in the north, page 79. Carnegie Pub.

Associated Towers

Each milefortlet had two associated towers, similar in construction to the turrets built along Hadrian's Wall. These towers 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 Milefortlet, and would probably have been manned by part of the nearest Milefortlet's garrison. The towers associated with Milefortlet 14 are known as Tower 14A () and Tower 14B (). Neither tower has been accurately located and their positions been estimated from adjoining milefortlets and towers. The site of Tower 14A is on a slight ridge. The site of Tower 14B corresponds to the site of the Bibra fort.

References

{{Milecastles Milecastles of Hadrian's Wall Roman sites in Cumbria Holme St Cuthbert