Milecastle 52

About

Milecastle 52 (Bankshead) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY57946490).

Description: Milecastle 52 is west of Birdoswald fort. It lies 1484 metres west of Milecastle 51 and 1520 metres east of Milecastle 53. The site is occupied by Bankshead House and garden. There is no trace of the milecastle visible.

Excavations: Milecastle 52 was excavated in 1934. Although not now visible, excavation showed that it measures 27.5 m east to west by 23.4 m north to south and that it has Type III gateways. The stone milecastle replaced its underlying predecessor, Milecastle 52TW on the Turf Wall. In 1808 two altars to the local deity Cocidius were discovered here. One of the altars was dedicated by soldiers of the Twentieth Legion in the years 262–6. In 1862 a broken slab was found with the name of Hadrian.

Associated turrets: Each milecastle on Hadrian's Wall had two associated turret structures. These turrets were positioned approximately one-third and two-thirds of a Roman mile to the west of the Milecastle, and would probably have been manned by part of the milecastle's garrison. The turrets associated with Milecastle 52 are known as Turret 52A and Turret 52B....