Milecastle 3

Milecastle 3
Tyne and Wear, England, UK
Milecastle 3 probably overlooked the Ouseburn ravine
Milecastle 3 Location in Tyne and Wear
Coordinates	54.975901°N 1.589009°W / 54.975901; -1.589009
Grid reference	NZ26406466

Milecastle 3 (Ouseburn) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. No remains exist, but it was thought to have been located at the junction of the A187 Byker Bridge and Stephen Street.

Construction

No evidence exists as to the configuration or type of Milecastle 3, though the curtain wall at this stage was almost certainly a narrow configuration.

Excavations and investigations

• 1732 - Horsley surveyed the milecastle, recording its position.

• 1776 - The location was visited by Stukeley, who sketched the area for his Iter Boreale'.

• 1789 - Brand visited the site, but noted that many of the stones had been removed from the foundations some years previously, for use in the building of an adjoining house.

• 1848 - Collingwood Briuce reported that a small, partly illegible altar had been found close to the presumed site of the milecastle. The altar (NMR Number: NZ 26 SE 227) was dedicated by Julius Maximus. Having searched the area, he could find no trace of Roman remains.
• 1858 - Henry MacLauchlan surveyed the area but reported no dependable trace of the milecastle.
• 1928 - FG Simpson measured the distance from Milecastle 2 to Milecastle 3 as 1,450 yards (1,330 m).
• 1979 - Exploratory trenches were sunk during the building of the Metro, revealing no trace of the milecastle.

Associated turrets

Each milecastle on Hadrian's Wall had two associated turret structures. These turrets were positioned approximately one-third and two-thirds of a Roman mile to the west of the Milecastle, and would probably have been manned by part of the milecastle's garrison. The turrets associated with Milecastle 3 are known as Turret 3A and Turret 3B.

Turret 3A

Nothing is known of Turret 3A and it was presumed to be located around 54.974892°N 1.596128°W / 54.974892; -1.596128 (Turret 3A). In September 2022 Pre-Construct Archaeology announced that they had located the turret at approximately 54°58′28″N 1°35′44.5″W, during surveys in advance of construction of student accommodation. Excavations found the walls of the turret in addition to a ditch and six obstacle pits. Turret 3A became the most easterly known turret on the wall. The turret was recorded as having a length of around 12 metres (39 ft) and foundations of 2.36–2.46 metres (7 ft 9 in – 8 ft 1 in) in width. The interior of the turret is thought to have been truncated by late 19th or early 20th century construction work. A Roman tegula tile was recovered, suggesting that the turret may have had a tiled roof.

Turret 3B

Nothing is known of Turret 3B.
Presumed location: 54.972217°N 1.602403°W / 54.972217; -1.602403 (Turret 3B)

Monument records

Monument	Monument Number	English Heritage Archive Number
Milecastle 3	24904	NZ 26 SE 15
Turret 3A	24907	NZ 26 SE 16
Turret 3B	24912	NZ 26 SE 17

Bibliography

• Daniels, Charles (1979), "Review: Fact and Theory on Hadrian's Wall", Britannia, 10: 357–364, JSTOR 526069