Milecastle 61 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Milecastle 61 |
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Hadrian's Wall Path at the approximate location of Milecastle 61
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 Location in Cumbria
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| Type | Milecastle |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 54°56′23″N 2°51′03″W / 54.939648°N 2.850894°W |
| County | Cumbria |
| Country | England |
Milecastle 61 (Wallhead) was a small fort, called a milecastle, built along Hadrian's Wall in ancient Roman times. These milecastles were like mini-forts placed about one Roman mile apart along the wall. They helped the Roman soldiers guard the border.
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Finding Milecastle 61
Milecastle 61 is thought to be near a place called Wallhead Farm. This farm is in a rural area of Cumbria, England. It's hard to know the exact spot of the milecastle today.
How We Look for Old Roman Sites
Archaeologists, who study ancient things, often use special tools to find hidden structures. In 1981, they did a geophysical survey in the area. This survey uses special equipment to look underground without digging. It can find things like old walls or ditches by measuring changes in the ground. The survey found an area where the ground had "high resistance," which might mean there are old Roman remains there.
Nearby Roman Camps
About 400 meters south of where Milecastle 61 is believed to be, there's another interesting area. From the air, people noticed some cropmarks at a place called Moss Side. Cropmarks are patterns in fields that show up because plants grow differently over buried structures. For example, plants might grow taller over a buried ditch or shorter over a buried wall. These cropmarks suggest there were two Roman "temporary camps" built on top of each other. Roman armies would set up these camps when they were on the move.
Turrets Connected to Milecastle 61
Every milecastle along Hadrian's Wall had two smaller guard towers, 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 have guarded these turrets.
Searching for Turrets 61A and 61B
The turrets connected to Milecastle 61 are known as Turret 61A and Turret 61B. However, archaeologists haven't found the exact locations of these two turrets yet. Many turrets along this part of Hadrian's Wall (between Milecastles 59 and 72) were not looked for or found until after 1961.
