Milefortlet 5 (Cardurnock) 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 remains of Milefortlet 5 was excavated in 1943-4 prior to its destruction in 1944.

Description

Milefortlet 5 was situated in a field just south of the hamlet of

Cardurnock Cardurnock is a small settlement in Cumbria, England. It is by the coast, west of Carlisle, Cumbria, Carlisle. The western extension of the Hadrian's Wall frontier defences once passed through the Cardurnock peninsula, though not the Wall itsel ...

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 ...

of Bowness. The site lies within a disused wartime airfield, now under pasture. There is nothing to see on the ground, but

aerial photographs Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...

taken in 2006 show the cropmarks of the northern end of the milefortlet. The coastline to the south is interrupted by Moricambe Bay, and the next known fort is Milefortlet 9. Milefortlets 6, 7 and 8 were once thought to have been eroded by Moricambe, but there is in fact no evidence that the sites ever existed,David Colin Arthur Shotter, (1995), ''The Roman frontier in Britain: Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall, and Roman policy in the north''. page 73. Carnegie Pub. and the system is believed to begin again with Milefortlet 9.John Collingwood Bruce, Charles Daniels (1978), ''Handbook to the Roman Wall, with the Cumbrian coast and outpost forts'', page 34. H. Hill

Excavations

The milefortlet was excavated in 1943-4 prior to the construction of an airfield. Three phases of construction could be traced. Phase 1 dated to the

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

ic period. Phase 2 dated to the Antonine era, when the size of the milefortlet was reduced. Phase 3 seems to date from the 4th century. In Phase 3 the ramparts were retained but they were refaced on the south, west and north sides, and it seems a stone building in the fortlet was built during this period. A

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

has been traced to the southwest of Milefortlet 5, and it was excavated in 1992–3.

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. However the coastline at this point is interrupted by Moricambe Bay, and any additional towers are purely conjectural.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milefortlet 05 Milecastles of Hadrian's Wall Roman sites in Cumbria