Hadrian's Wall, Milecastle 8 (West Denton)

HER Number:
211

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Hadrian's Wall, Milecastle 8 (West Denton)

Place:
West Denton

Map Sheet:
NZ16NE

Class:
Defence

Site Type: Broad:
Frontier Defence

Site Type: Specific:
Milecastle

General Period:
Roman

Specific Period:
C2

Form of Evidence:
Demolished Building

Description:
Noted by MacLauchlan 12.5 furlongs from Benwell and 90 yards east of the brook at West Denton. It was visible as a "conspicuous mound where the main road leaves the line of the Wall and continues thus until half way up Denton Bank, nearly a mile to the east of Denton Lodge". It was investigated in 1928, without significant results. The site of the milecastle appears to have been cleared of stonework by stone robbers, leaving only pottery fragments in a dark occupation layer to indicate the site. The site is now under the south (west-bound) carriageway of the Throckley bypass. There is an unsubstantiated suggestion that substantial stone blocks, possibly the gateway, were found during these roadworks.

Easting:
1925

Northing:
6580

Grid Reference:
NZ19256580

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 211 >> H. MacLauchlan, 1858, Memoir written during a Survey of the Roman Wall, pp. 15-16 G.R.B.Spain, 1929, Work on the Roman Wall near Newcastle 1928, North of England Excavation Committee, Second Report, 1926-1928, pp. 14-15 M.H. Dodds, ed. 1930, The Wall from Benwell Fort to Rudchester Burn, Northumberland County History, p. 531 J.C. Bruce & I.A. Richmond, 1947, Handbook to the Roman Wall, 10th edition, p. J.C. Bruce & C.M. Daniels, 1978, Handbook to the Roman Wall, 13th edition, p. 71; David J. Breeze, Handbook to the Roman Wall, fourteenth edition, pages 158-165