Milecastle 3 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Milecastle 3
Tyne and Wear, England, UK
Milecastle 3 probably overlooked the Ouseburn ravine
Milecastle 3 Location in Tyne and Wear
Coordinates	54°58′33″N 1°35′20″W / 54.975901°N 1.589009°W / 54.975901; -1.589009

Milecastle 3 (Ouseburn) was a small fort built by the Romans as part of Hadrian's Wall. It was located near the Ouseburn ravine in what is now Newcastle upon Tyne. Today, there are no visible remains of this milecastle. Experts believe it was once located where the A187 Byker Bridge and Stephen Street meet.

Building Milecastle 3

We don't have much information about how Milecastle 3 was built. We don't know its exact shape or what kind of gates it had. However, the main wall of Hadrian's Wall in this area was likely built in a "narrow" style. This means it was not as wide as some other parts of the wall.

Discovering Milecastle 3: Past Investigations

Over many years, people have tried to find out more about Milecastle 3. Here's what they found:

• 1732 - An archaeologist named John Horsley mapped the area. He wrote down where he thought the milecastle was.
• 1776 - William Stukeley, another explorer, visited the site. He drew sketches of the area for his book, Iter Boreale.
• 1789 - A person named Brand visited the site. He noticed that many of the original stones from the milecastle had been taken away. These stones were used to build a nearby house.
• 1848 - Collingwood Bruce reported an interesting find. A small, hard-to-read altar was discovered close to where the milecastle was thought to be. This altar was dedicated by someone named Julius Maximus. Despite this find, Bruce could not see any other Roman remains when he looked around.
• 1858 - Henry MacLauchlan surveyed the area. He also reported that he couldn't find any clear signs of the milecastle.
• 1928 - FG Simpson measured the distance from Milecastle 2 to Milecastle 3. He found it was about 1,450 yards (1,326 meters).
• 1979 - When the Metro was being built, workers dug exploratory trenches. Even then, they found no trace of Milecastle 3.

Turrets Connected to Milecastle 3

Every milecastle along Hadrian's Wall had two smaller watchtowers, called turrets, linked to it. These turrets were usually placed about one-third and two-thirds of a Roman mile to the west of the milecastle. Soldiers from the milecastle would likely have guarded these turrets. The turrets connected to Milecastle 3 are known as Turret 3A and Turret 3B.

Turret 3A

We don't know much about Turret 3A. Its likely location is: 54°58′30″N 1°35′46″W / 54.974892°N 1.596128°W / 54.974892; -1.596128 (Turret 3A)

Turret 3B

We also don't know much about Turret 3B. Its likely location is: 54°58′20″N 1°36′09″W / 54.972217°N 1.602403°W / 54.972217; -1.602403 (Turret 3B)

Official Records

Archaeologists and historians keep records of important historical sites. Here are the official numbers for Milecastle 3 and its turrets:

See also

In Spanish: Castillo miliar 3 para niños