Turret 44B (Mucklebank): A Roman Watchtower on Hadrian’s Wall
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Classical
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Wall
History
Turret 44B, also known as Mucklebank, is a Roman watchtower on Hadrian’s Wall near Brampton in the United Kingdom. Hadrian’s Wall was a Roman frontier installation in northern Britain, and a turret was a small fortified watchtower incorporated into its defensive system.
Turret 44B was one of two turret structures associated with Milecastle 44, a larger enclosed Roman fortification placed at intervals along the wall. Turrets were positioned approximately one-third and two-thirds of a Roman mile west of their milecastle and were probably manned by members of the milecastle garrison.
The turret was excavated in 1892 and left exposed. Its surviving masonry has since been consolidated and reaches a maximum height of 1.9 metres. Excavation recovered a coin of Valens, the Roman emperor who ruled from AD 364 to 378. A centurial stone, a Roman building inscription identifying the military century responsible for construction or repair, was found outside the turret’s southeast corner. The inscription reads “Coh Ic Flau Cve”.
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