Milecastle 34 - Day 56 #Alongthewallin80days

Milecastle 34, also known as Grindon was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. There are no visible remains, but the site is within a small, tree-filled, walled enclosure located around 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) east of Sewingshields farm.

Milecastle 34 was a long-axis milecastle with Type II gateways. Such milecastles were thought to have been constructed by the legio XX Valeria Victrix who were based in Deva Victrix (Chester).

The milecastle was excavated several times over the years...

1947 - The axis and type are established.

1965 - English Heritage Field Investigation. Lack of visible remains was noted, and the location within the enclosure confirmed.

1988 - English Heritage Field Investigation as part of Hadrian's Wall project. Previous findings were confirmed.

The milecastle and its associated turrets, which we will talk about tomorrow, are accessible along the Hadrian's Wall Path.