Wall Mile 44

Hadrian's Wall stretches from the east to west coast of England and was an important frontier of the Roman Empire. Building of the wall began in AD 122 and took six years to complete it’s 84 mile (80 Roman mile) length. Soldiers were garrisoned along the line of the wall in large forts, smaller milecastles, and intervening turrets. The Vallum, a large ditch with mounds on either side, ran along the south side of the wall, protecting the rear of the frontier. Hadrian's Wall  was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Wall Mile 44:

• Milecastle 44 (Allolee) - site
• Turret 44A (Allolee West) - visible as a square turf-covered bank
• Turret 44B (Mucklebank) - significant visible remains

The Pennine Way and Hadrian's Wall Path run along this section of the wall.

Scheduled Monument (#1017535): Hadrian's Wall between the track to Cockmount Hill and Walltown Quarry East in wall miles 43, 44 and 45.

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.

Milecastle 44 is situated near the crest of an east facing slope with wide views to the north and south. Its walls survive as turf covered banks, 3.5m wide and 0.9m high. A few facing stones are visible in the banks. The milecastle measures 20.3m north to south by 17m across. Excavation around the inner face of the milecastle walls is evidenced by the remains of robber trenches but it is not known when or by whom this was done. The road which connected the milecastle to the Military Way survives as a causeway 3.5m wide and 0.2m high.

Turret 44a is situated on the east end of a crag overlooking a nick to the east about 500m west of milecastle 44. It survives as a square turf-covered mound, 0.3m high. It was first located in 1912 by Birley. 

Turret 44b is situated at the east end of a crag overlooking the nick in which `King Arthur's Well' is located. It survives as an exposed stone feature. The inner face of the turret stands to a maximum height of 1.9m. Excavations at the turret were carried out in 1892 by Gibson who found a coin from the reign of Valens. 

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.

Scheduled Monument (#1010978) section of vallum between Cockmount Hill in the east and the west side of Walltown Wood in wall miles 43, 44 and 45.

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. 

Listed Building, Grade I (#1155916): milecastles 43, 44, 45 and 46; turrets 42B, 43A, 43B, 44A, 44B, 45A and 45B.