The Vallum east of Milecastle 42 - geograph

The Military Way is the modern name given to a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

constructed immediately to the south of

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 ...

Establishment

Evidence has shown that the road was constructed before the abandonment of the

turrets 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 * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * ...

in the second century (linking roads between the Military Way and some turrets have been identified). The existence of the

Stanegate The Stanegate (meaning "stone road" in Northumbrian dialect) was an important Roman road and early frontier built in what is now northern England. It linked many forts including two that guarded important river crossings: Corstopitum (Corbr ...

suggests that it was not included in the original plan, and therefore it is likely to have been constructed soon after the reoccupation of Hadrian's Wall following the abandonment of the Antonine Wall in 162 AD.

Characteristics

As with most Roman roads, the Military Way was constructed from large stones, and surfaced with gravel. It was usually around wide with a

camber Camber may refer to a variety of curvatures and angles: * Camber angle, the angle made by the wheels of a vehicle * Camber beam, an upward curvature of a joist to compensate for load deflection due in buildings * Camber thrust in bike technology * ...

of up to .

John Collingwood Bruce The Reverend John Collingwood Bruce, FSA (1805 – 5 April 1892) was an English nonconformist minister and schoolmaster, known as a historian of Tyneside and author. He co-operated with John Stokoe in compiling the major song collection '' No ...

suggested that it was not intended for use by wheeled vehicles, and this is backed up by a survey of wall miles 40/41, where severe gradients up to 25% (33% in short stretches) were recorded. Spurs have been identified linking the Military Way to some

milecastles A milecastle was a small fort (fortlet), a rectangular fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great Br ...

, for example

Milecastle 9 Milecastle 9 (Chapel House) was a milecastle of the Roman Empire, Roman Hadrian's Wall. Its remains exist partially as a low platform, and are located in West Denton (to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne), from Chapel House Farm. However, the no ...

. Some

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

s have been found along the road (taking columnar form). These indicate that, in the third century, distances were numbered westwards from

Dere Street Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman roads, Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond int ...

Course

The Military Way runs along the top of the north mound of the

Vallum Vallum is either the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. The vallum usually comprised an earthen or turf rampart ( Agger) with a wooden palisade on top, with a deep outer ditch (fossa). The name is derived from '' vallus'' (a ...

in many places, and elsewhere runs between the Vallum and the curtain wall. At the river crossings at

Chesters Bridge Chesters Bridge was a Roman bridge over the River North Tyne at Chollerford, Northumberland, England, and adjacent to the Roman fort of Cilurnum on Hadrian's Wall. The fort, mentioned in the '' Notitia Dignitatum'', and now identified wit ...

and at Willowford Bridge near

Birdoswald Birdoswald is a former farm in the civil parish of Waterhead in the English county of Cumbria. It stands on the site of the Roman fort of Banna. Middle Ages Birdoswald first appears in the written record in 1211 when Walter de Beivin was far ...

Roman fort, the bridges were widened in the early third century to take the road, as opposed to just the walkway as was previously the case.

Present day

The course of the Military Way is still very much evident and walkable between Sewing Shields (near

Milecastle 35 Milecastle 35 (Sewingshields) is one of the milecastles 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 Brit ...

) and Walltown Quarry (near Turret 45A). A

public right of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

follows the Military Way from Milking Gap (near

Milecastle 38 Milecastle 38 (Hotbank) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall in the vicinity of Hotbank Farm, (). It is notable for the joint inscription bearing the names of the emperor Hadrian and Aulus Platorius Nepos, the governor of Britannia at the time th ...

) to Walltown Quarry.

References

{{Milecastles Hadrian's Wall History of Northumberland History of Cumbria Roman roads in England Archaeological sites in Cumbria Archaeological sites in Northumberland