Milecastle 42 (Cawfields) is a milecastle on

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

().

Description

Milecastle 42 is on a steep south-facing slope, 10 metres south of Cawfield Crags, and looks over Hole Gap to the west. It is on a well-preserved section of Hadrian's Wall. It measures 17.8 metres east–west by 14.4 metres north–south internally, with walls 2.8 metres thick and 1.4 metres high.

Excavations

It was excavated in 1847–48 and again in 1936. The 1847–48 excavation uncovered part of a dedication slab indicating that the milecastle had been built by the

Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman Republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...

. The 1936 excavations showed that the milecastle had a short axis, with a Type I gateway.

Associated turrets

Each milecastle on Hadrian's Wall had two associated

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

structures. These turrets were positioned approximately one-third and two-thirds of a

Roman mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

to the west of the Milecastle, and would probably have been manned by part of the milecastle's garrison. The turrets associated with Milecastle 42 are known as Turret 42A and Turret 42B.

Turret 42A

Turret 42A (Burn Head) () has not been located as its remains have been destroyed by quarrying.

Turret 42B

Turret 42B (Great Chesters) () was located by exploratory excavation in 1912. The site is visible as a turf-covered platform 0.5 metres high.

Public access

The milecastle and the site of Turrets 42B are both accessible via the

Hadrian's Wall Path Hadrian's Wall Path is a long-distance footpath in the north of England, which became the 15th National Trail in 2003. It runs for , from Wallsend on the east coast of England to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. For most of its length it ...

. Cawfields Picnic Area car park is on the line of the Hadrian's Wall Path, between the two sites. It is signposted from the B6318 (Military Road).

References

External links

{{Authority control 42 Haltwhistle