Wall Mile 63

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 63 was originally part of the turf wall, later replaced by stone. From Milecastle 49 to the western end of Hadrian's Wall on the Solway Firth, the wall was originally constructed from turf, possibly due to the absence of limestone. Subsequently, the turf wall was demolished and replaced with a stone wall.

Wall Mile 63:

• Milecastle 63 (Walby West) 
• Turret 63A
• Turret 63B

Scheduled Monument (#1010980): Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky Lane at Walby and the east side of the M6 in wall miles 62 and 63:

Hadrian's Wall survives as a buried feature throughout this section with no remains visible above ground except for a low amorphous turf covered mound at Brunstock Park. However, a geophysical survey in 1981 and trial excavations by the Cumbria and Lancashire Archaeological Unit in 1989 have confirmed the course of the Wall at various points along this section.

The wall ditch survives intermittently as an upstanding earthwork in this section. At Brunstock Park the ditch is 8m-9m wide and 1.2m deep. It is cut in the east by a tractor crossing. Excavations were carried out here by Haverfield in 1894. Approximately 120m west of Walby Hall excavations by Goodburn in advance of the laying of a gas pipeline in 1975 encountered the ditch which measured 10.5m wide and 3.7m deep. Elsewhere the ditch is silted up but can be traced as a very faint depression in the fields, 0.15m deep. A geophysical survey in 1981 has shown that the wall ditch runs fractionally north west of its mapped line in two transects east of the electricity pylon line.

Milecastle 63 probably survives as a buried feature. A geophysical survey in 1981 produced strong indications that it was located at a position WNW of the ninety degree bend in Birky Lane south of the poultry houses. The site has not been excavated so this location has not yet been confirmed to be that of milecastle 63.

The exact locations of turrets 62a, 62b, 63a and 63b have not yet been confirmed. They are expected to be located at the usual spacings between the milecastles, approximately 500m apart.

The position of the Roman road known as the Military Way, which ran along the corridor between the Wall and the vallum linking turrets, milecastles and forts, has not yet been confirmed throughout this section. The only part of it which is known is a short section found during excavation by Haverfield in 1894 approximately 80m west of the minor road between Houghton Hall and the B6264 road, 40m south of the extant wall ditch. The excavation revealed a denuded road, 6.5m wide, flanked by small side ditches. Elsewhere its remains survive as buried features.

The vallum survives as slight earthwork visible on the ground in Brunstock Park. The broad line of the ditch averages 0.4m deep and the ploughed down north and south mounds stand 0.2m high. Excavation of part of the vallum was carried out here by Haverfield in 1894. Elsewhere in this section its remains survive as buried features with no remains visible above ground. However, its course has been confirmed through geophysical survey in 1981 and in 1991. The various transects show that between Walby and the `pinch' where the Wall and vallum are closest, the actual course of the vallum lies slightly to the north of where the course is depicted on Ordnance Survey maps. Excavations by Goodburn in 1975 in advance of the laying of a gas pipeline south west of Walby Hall located the vallum ditch 36m to the north of the line shown on the Ordnance Survey maps.