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Turret 48a (Willowford East)


Turrets on Hadrian’s Wall were small watchtowers built into the wall, with two turrets per Roman mile, located between larger milecastles. They provided elevated viewpoints for small groups of 4 to 6 soldiers to spot threats and offer basic shelter for patrols. Turrets significantly enhanced continuous surveillance and control of the frontier by housing sentries between main garrisons. Their importance lay in forming an integrated part of the wall’s defensive system, enabling rapid communication and constant vigilance against incursions, turning the wall into a manned frontier rather than a simple barrier. Under a naming system introduced in 1930, turrets are numbered 1 to 80 from east (A) to west (B) and given numbers as pairs, taking the number of the nearest milecastle to their east.

Turret 48a on Wall Mile 48 of Hadrian's Wall is situated by the south banks of the River Irthing, just west of Gilsland and about ½mile east of the site of Willowford Roman Bridge. The turret is on the Hadrian's Wall Path national trail, close to the county border bwteen Cumbria and Northumberland.

There are significant remains of the turret. Some of its wall has 7 courses of stone, reaching a maximum height of 1.85 metres. The doorway was situated in the southwest wall, and there was archeological evidence of several hearths, and indications of bronze and ironworking were found in the interior.

Wall Mile 48
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Turret 48a (Willowford East) (2)
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Turret 48a (Willowford East)
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Willowford East Turret 48a Hadrian's Wall
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Wall Mile 48
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Wall Mile 48
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Wall Mile 48
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from https://historicengland.org.u…
Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associated features between Poltross Burn and the River Irthing in wall mile 48 - List Entry
- ....The monument includes the section of Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associated features between the Poltross Burn in the east and the River Irthing in the west. Hadrian's Wall …
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Geo / Heritage Meta Data

Post code: CA8 7AA
Unitary Auth: Cumberland
County: Cumbria
Grid ref: NY6296266297

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