Wall Mile 43

Hadrian's Wall survives as a low stony mound throughout much of this section. It is visible as a turf-covered scarp 0.2m high with a modern field wall overlying its course. The farm buildings at Great Chesters east of milecastle 43 partly overlie the Wall in this area. West of Great Chesters fort the course of the narrow wall survives as an amorphous rubble strewn mound 3m to 4.8m wide and 1.1m high. In addition the line of the broad wall here survives as a separate north facing scarp. Excavations here in 1925 revealed that the narrow wall runs south of the broad wall foundation from Great Chesters as far as turret 43a where they converge. Beyond turret 43a they run parallel again as far as Cockmount Hill Wood where their courses again converge. To the west of Burnhead camp a section of unconsolidated exposed Wall, 38m long and 1.8m wide, stands between two to six courses high being up to 1.5m high on the inner face.

The wall ditch survives a visible earthwork throughout most of this section. It averages between 0.8m and 2m in depth with near vertical sides in places. Large boulders protrude from the scarps intermittently along its length. The ditch at Great Chesters is overlain by farm buildings....

Milecastle 43 is situated on a ridge later occupied by the fort of Great Chesters which commands views to Chesters Pike in the north, the Stanegate Roman road to the south and the Caw Burn to the east. The milecastle survives as a buried feature below the turf cover. It was located during excavation at Great Chesters in 1939 by Simpson and Richmond.

Turret 43a is thought to be situated about 150m east of Cockmount Hill farm. There are quantities of wall debris strewn over the grass-covered bank of the Wall at this location which may obscure any slight surface remains of the turret. The site of the turret was first suggested in 1912 by Simpson, but its position has not yet been verified.

The course of the Roman road known as the Military Way, which ran along the corridor between the Wall and the vallum linking the turrets, milecastles and forts, survives intermittently as an upstanding feature throughout this section. Its course from the Caw Burn is known where it survives as a low turf-covered mound, 6m to 8m wide and 0.2m to 0.5m high. Occasional sections of this low turf-covered causeway reappear on the line up to the east gateway of Great Chesters fort.

The vallum survives as an upstanding earthwork in the west half of this section, but in the east half it is only recognisable as an intermittent mound and ditch and by occasional discolourations in the vegetation. In the west half of the section the north mound averages 0.8m high, the ditch 0.5m to 0.9m deep and the south mound 1.2m high. Here crossings of the vallum are still to be seen at approximately 37m intervals. An excavation trench was cut across the vallum in 1939 by Simpson and Richmond at Cockmount Hill, but the precise location of this trench is not known. It was revealed that a causeway across the vallum was revetted with turves, and that the sides of the ditch had already weathered back prior to the building of the causeway, indicating that the causeway was later.

Between Great Chesters fort and turret 43a are the remains of three separate shielings abutting the south side of the narrow wall, which survives here as a turf-covered mound. The shielings are visible as turf-covered dry stone foundations. Their walls measure between 0.6m and 2.1m wide and up to 0.3m high. Shielings are small shepherds' huts usually associated with upland grazing during the summer months. They are characteristic of the medieval period in this area.

Great Chesters Roman fort, known to the Romans as Aesica, is situated on a low ridge overlooking the Caw Burn to the west. It measures 129m by 109m across its ramparts and encloses an area of 1.36ha. It was one of the last forts to be built, being attached to the rear of the Wall, like Carrawburgh, and was completed between AD 128 and AD 138. It is visible as a series of upstanding turf-covered remains. The most obvious features are the turf-covered ramparts and the defence ditches, there being no less than four on the most vulnerable west side. The buildings of Great Chesters farm overlie the north east corner of the fort.

There have been a number of excavations of the fort, all of which have now been backfilled leaving amorphous mounds and depressions on the ground surface. These excavations have recorded the remains of the headquarters building, commanding officer's house, barrack blocks and lean-to structures against the inside of the fort walls. A vaulted chamber was discovered in the headquarters building which is on display in the centre of the fort. The west tower of the south gate has yielded an important hoard of jewellery which includes an enamelled brooch shaped as a hare and a gilded bronze brooch considered to be a masterpiece of Celtic art. A number of stone ballista balls were found beside the north west angle-tower when first excavated in 1894. A number of building inscriptions have also been discovered.

Traces of the civil settlement outside the fort, usually referred to as the vicus, have been identified to the south and east of the fort. Horsley, writing in 1732, mentioned that, `the outbuildings are most considerable to the south side....there are vast ruins of buildings in this field'. There is a series of building platforms terraced into the slope to the south east of the fort either side of a long scarp running from the south east corner of the fort to the bath house. The most prominent platform contains a section of upstanding exposed walling.

The field to the south of the fort has been ploughed for many years and there are no upstanding features visible except for a slight platform close to the field wall south of the fort. However, bearing in mind the examples of the better known vicus sites at Housesteads and Vindolanda it is expected that the vicus remains at Great Chesters will survive as buried features in the field to the south of the fort and possibly more extensively.

The remains of a bath house 110m due south of the south east angle of the fort were visible until the end of 1987 when they were back filled to the surrounding ground level by English Heritage to avoid further deterioration. The bath house was excavated in 1897 by Gibson and again in 1908 by Simpson and Gibson. The excavations showed that it conformed to the usual design of military bath houses with the various hot, cold and intermediate rooms, together with furnaces, flues and a hypocaust system. It survives as a buried feature.

The exact location and extent of the cemeteries directly associated with this fort are not yet confirmed with certainty. There are two cemeteries to the south of the vallum; one at Wall Mill and one at Four Laws, both of which are the subject of separate schedulings. However, a burial mound is located approximately 240m south west of the fort. This round burial mound is similar in form to burial mounds found near Housesteads and Vindolanda. Together with a number of inscribed tombstones found during excavation of the fort interior it seems that there was a cemetery associated with Great Chesters to the south of the vicus and north of the vallum in addition to the known cemeteries at Wall Mill and Four Laws.

See our page: Great Chesters Roman Fort

Hadrian's Wall survives mostly as a low stony rubble and turf covered mound throughout this section averaging 5m wide and 1m high, except for a few stretches of exposed upstanding masonry. At Cockmount Hill buildings overlie the line of the Wall. Between Cockmount Hill and milecastle 44 a modern field wall overlies the north face of the Wall where Hadrian's Wall survives up to a maximum height of 1.7m. Here the south face is hidden below wall debris and is up to 1.3m high.

West of Cockmount Hill a 50m stretch of unconsolidated Wall is exposed, up to 1.1m in height. West of milecastle 44 there are two sections of exposed Wall, 2.25m wide and standing 0.8m high. A short section of unconsolidated exposed Wall in a state of collapse is situated to the west of milecastle 45.

The Wall ditch seems to have been only partly completed west of Cockmount Hill before its full construction was abandoned. It is best preserved west of turret 43b where it has a depth of 2.2m with traces of the upcast mound, usually referred to as the glacis, on its north side. Along Walltown Crags the building of a ditch was unnecessary, except in the `nicks' or gaps which break up the crags. The section north of `King Arthur's Well' survives up to 2m deep with the glacis 0.7m high to the north. Two shallower sections of ditch are visible in the two nicks to the east.

Turret 43b is thought to be situated on an east facing slope to the west of Cockmount Hill. Its exact location is yet to be confirmed.

The course of the Roman road known as the Military Way, which ran along the corridor between the Wall and the vallum linking the turrets, milecastles and forts, is known throughout the length of this section. It survives as a low turf covered causeway 5.5m wide and up to 0.5m high, or as a terrace in the hillside with a minimum width of 3m. It is straight for most of its course except where it deviates around rock outcrops. West of the Cockmount Hill Plantation the foundations of two large regularly laid out rectangular buildings overlie the Military Way, using it as a hard standing. Their form suggests they are post-medieval or later in date.

South east of King Arthur's Well a spur road branched off the Military Way, the remains of which can be seen as a turf covered causeway leading south east towards Lowtown. An uninscribed Roman milestone is located along the line of the Wall west of Cockmount Hill. It forms the west post of the field gate at the west end of Cockmount Hill Wood.

There is a series of five cultivation terraces on the slope to the south of Cockmount Hill Wood. They survive as turf covered earthworks. These cultivation remains run parallel with the contours on a south facing slope like the cultivation terraces at Housesteads which have been confirmed to be Roman. Later narrow ridge and furrow, on average 2.5m apart, overlies some of these earlier terraces.

For most of its length the vallum survives as an upstanding earthwork. However, south of Allolee where its remains are not generally visible above ground, traces have recently been identified by the Royal Commision on the Historical Monuments of England. The presumed course as shown on Ordnance Survey maps is thus now known to be incorrect. The scheduling respects the new known alignment here.

Where it survives as an earthwork the vallum ditch averages 1m deep with a maximum depth of 2.7m in places. The north mound averages 0.8m high and the south mound 0.4m. Good examples of crossing points positioned at 37m intervals are visible throughout this section. Where the ditch was cleaned out during the Roman period a marginal mound, formed of the removed ditch silts, was built up in places. It survives intermittently in this section, averaging 1m high. South of Allolee Farm ploughing has reduced the vallum earthworks to slight undulations.

The ditch here is completely silted up. An excavation trench was cut across the vallum in 1939 by Simpson and Richmond at Cockmount Hill, but the precise location of this trench is not known. This work indicated that a causeway across the vallum was revetted with turves, and that the sides of the ditch had already weathered back prior to the building of the causeway, indicating that the building of the causeway was later. The area of vallum within Walltown Woods is situated on a spring line with drainage channels cut across the banks. Otherwise it survives well in the woodland.