Wall Mile 70

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 70 was originally a 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 70:

• Milecastle 70 (Braelees)
• Turret 70A
• Turret 70B 

Scheduled Monument (#1014696): Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary to the south of the site of St Andrew's Church and Eden Bank at Beaumont in wall miles 69 and 70

Hadrian's Wall survives as a buried feature throughout the whole of this section. The only remains visible on the ground are traces of the wall ditch either side of Monkhill Beck where it survives to a depth of 2m, having been used over time as a farm track. To the east of the beck the line of the Wall probably followed the crest of the river cliff, which is between 10m and 15m high, where a ditch would have been superfluous.

The precise location of milecastle 70 has not yet been confirmed; on the basis of the usual spacing it is expected to be located to the north of Cowen Bank.

The course of the Roman road known as the Military Way which ran along the corridor between the Wall and vallum linking turrets, milecastles and forts, has not yet been confirmed in this section. Its course usually runs parallel to the line of the Wall, set back a few metres to the south, unless the course had to be changed due to topographic constraints.

The medieval Church of St Andrew which partly overlies the line of the Wall, was held by the nuns of Marrick Priory in Yorkshire and is recorded to have been very poor. It is thought to have fallen into disuse at an early date, possibly by 1692 when St Mary's Church at Beaumont was established as the parish church. Remains of the 12th century chancel arch were still standing in the old graveyard until the beginning of the 19th century. The graveyard which extended over the site of the abandoned church remained in use until relatively recently; it had its origins as the graveyard of the medieval church. Antiquarian sources suggest that early grave slabs and coffins, all now lost, were discovered there.

Scheduled Monument (#1013510): Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 70 including turret 70a

The site is strategically situated on a local high point overlooking the River Eden and lies in Beaumont village beneath St Mary's Church and part of the churchyard.

The motte is oval-shaped and measures approximately 45m north-south by 40m east-west and is up to 2m high. Beneath the motte there are the foundations of a turf section of Hadrian's Wall; an excavation in the churchyard's western extension a few metres to the west of the motte in 1928 proved the existence of these remains. It is also known that Hadrian's Wall changed alignment on the elevated ground beneath the motte. The Wall approached this high point on an approximate north west-south east alignment. On reaching the summit it swung 36 degrees to the west to follow an east-west alignment. At this angle turret 70a was constructed and its remains will also exist below the motte.

The motte castle is thought to have been constructed by the le Brun family during the 12th century. In 1306 Sir Richard le Brun was lord of Beaumont but removed his residence to Drumburgh Castle, for which he received a licence to crenellate in 1307. However, it is probable that the motte had been abandoned shortly before this date for it is known that Sir Elias de Thirwall had been appointed rector of St Mary's Church in 1296. The church was restored during the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Scheduled Monument (#1018457): Burgh by Sands Roman fort, Beaumont camp, Burgh Castle and Hadrian's Wall from boundary west of churchyard, Beaumont to Burgh Head in wall miles 70 and 71

The monument includes Hadrian's Wall and its associated features between the field boundary at the west side of the churchyard belonging to St Mary's Church at Beaumont in the east and Burgh Head in Burgh by Sands in the west, as well as Burgh by Sands Roman fort, Beaumont temporary camp south of Hadrian's Wall and the site of a medieval earthwork castle known as Burgh Castle.

Hadrian's Wall survives as a buried feature throughout the whole of this section. Its course in the area of Burgh Castle, south east of Speergarth Holes, has been confirmed by excavation by Hogg in 1950. The wall ditch was also confirmed to survive as a buried feature north of the Wall in the 1950 excavation. In addition a further length of the Wall line was confirmed west of Burgh Castle by geophysical survey in 1991. The results of this survey indicate that there are two lines taken by the Wall, the southern one representing the primary Turf Wall running close to the modern road, while the second line heads north west from Burgh Castle and meets the north east corner of the fort, also identified in the geophysical survey. This more northern line is thought to represent a realignment of the Wall when the fort was built so that the fort lay wholly to the rear of the Wall and did not partly project north of it. This realignment may have been carried out as late as the third century AD.

The precise locations of turrets 70b, 71a and 71b have not yet been confirmed. On the basis of the usual spacing, turret 70b is expected to be located about 540m west of St Mary's Church to the south of Milldikes Lane, turret 71a near to the footbridge over Greathill Beck, and turret 71b is probably under the site of Burgh fort in the area of the modern graveyard

The course of the Roman road known as the Military Way, which ran along the corridor between the Wall and vallum linking turrets, milecastles and forts, has not yet been confirmed in this section. A length of road, 8m wide, is known approximately 60m east of the fort from excavations in 1980 by Jones, but it is uncertain if this was the Military Way or another street within the extra-mural civil settlement.

A Roman temporary camp has been identified 80m to the south of the west end of Milldikes Lane 40m south of the course of Hadrian's Wall on the gently sloping south facing side of a spur overlooking the Powburgh Beck. Although only the eastern segment of the camp was recorded from crop marks visible on aerial photographs, sufficient remains were identified to allow the full extent of the site to be postulated. The only complete side identified is the east side. The site of the camp is overlain by narrow ridge and furrow, the product of medieval or later cultivation on the site.

The Wall fort at Burgh, known to the Romans as Aballava, lies astride the southern of the two lines of Hadrian's Wall. Excavation in 1922 by Collingwood confirmed the position of the east wall and gateway as well as observing the stone footings of barrack blocks. Geophysical survey in 1991 provided further confirmation of the north and east sides of the fort as well as indicating that Hadrian's Wall was realigned to meet the north east corner of the fort. Excavations in 1993 by Flynn confirmed the primary line of the wall ditch at Demesne Farm, 6m wide and 2.2m deep, which was later infilled and buildings associated with the fort constructed on clay and cobble foundations. A Roman altar found at Beaumont in 1934 shows that in the third century the fort was garrisoned by Aurelian Moors. The full extent of the fort is unknown as the west and south sides of its defences have not been confirmed. The remains of an extra-mural settlement, usually known as a vicus, were discovered beyond the east side of the fort during in 1980 and 1982 by Jones in the garden of the former vicarage. The remains included the foundations of buildings fronting onto a road running east-west. The recovery of large quantities of slag and charcoal indicate that metalworking was taking place. Further indications of vicus buildings were revealed by the geophysical survey in 1991 east of the fort, north of the modern road in the area between the primary wall ditch and the realignment of the Wall to meet the north east corner of the fort.  It is likely that the vicus was extensive and extended round both the southern and eastern sides of the fort. 

The course of the vallum in this section is known both from observations in the adjacent sections of Hadrian's Wall to the east and west. A substantial ditch to the south of the former vicarage was discovered in excavations in 1980 by Jones, and, although its full extent was not examined, it is likely to have been the ditch of the vallum. If this is so, the vallum in this section of the monument runs slightly to the north of the line depicted by the Ordnance Survey. There are no indications of the earthwork visible on the ground and it survives entirely as buried remains.