Hadrian's Wall - Milecastle 10 - Walbottle Dene

Hadrian's Wall Milecastle

Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene) was a – Milecastle of the Roman Hadrian’s Wall. It is located near to the modern village of Throckley in Tyne and Wear, northern England. Much of the – Milecastle lies beneath a road but partial remains of the north wall can be seen in the garden of Dene House. It has been excavated several times and its walls located, though the remains have been “considerably damaged by ploughing”. Only one of the two associated turrets has been located and excavated.

Milecastle 10 was a long-axis – Milecastle with Type IV gateways. Such – Milecastles were thought to have been constructed by the legio XX Valeria Victrix who were based in Deva Victrix (Chester). The usually straight Hadrian’s Wall changes direction in this area, making a 20 degree turn just before it crosses a Dene (valley) and heading towards the Great Hill at Heddon-on-the-Wall.

The – Milecastle measures 78 feet 2 inches (23.83 m) long north to south and 67 feet (20 m) east to west with walls approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. The north gateway survives in the front garden of Dene House and consists of twelve foundation slabs with three stone blocks lying on top. One of the blocks is marked with an asterisk, two of them contain pivot holes for a gate and one shows signs of a lewis-hole. The southern part of the – Milecastle is visible only as a 0.4m high mound in a field and part of the ditch is also visible.

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