Milecastle 19

Milecastle 19 stands beside the B6318 Military Road in North East England, part of the remains of Hadrian’s Wall built by the Romans. It lies just east of the small hamlet of Matfen Piers on a stretch of narrow wall. Though much of it now lies beneath the modern road, the site appears as a clear rise in the hedgerow and a low platform in a nearby cereal field. The milecastle measures about 16 metres from east to west and 17 metres from north to south. Archaeologists know it sits on a patch of degraded sandstone, either natural or laid for the purpose. The milecastle is important because of an altar found nearby in the 1930s by Eric Birley. The inscription on the altar dedicates it to the Mother Goddesses and names the First Cohort of Varduli, soldiers from northern Spain. This is one of only 60 such dedications known in Roman Britain. The presence of these troops has led historians to debate whether Hadrian’s Wall was guarded by Roman legionaries or auxiliary units. A smaller altar was also found at one of the two nearby turrets. Visitors can see the site as a low mound beside the road and a slight platform in the field. The remains of Turret 19A stand just 5 metres of stone walling high within a hedge, while Turret 19B, also beneath the road, has no visible traces. The altar discovered in the 1930s is now kept in the Durham University Museum of Archaeology. The surrounding land shows traces of the vallum, the defensive ditch behind the wall, with gaps once bridged by causeways.