Hadrian's Wall, Dean Street to the Big Lamp (Wall mile 4)

HER Number:
203

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Hadrian's Wall, Dean Street to the Big Lamp (Wall mile 4)

Place:
Newcastle

Map Sheet:
NZ26SE NZ26SW

Class:
Defence

Site Type: Broad:

Site Type: Specific:
Frontier Defence

General Period:
Roman

Specific Period:
C2

Form of Evidence:
Demolished Building

Description:
In this mile the Wall is supposed to have run from Milecastle 4 (not found) to Milecastle 5 (Quarry House), of which traces were reported by Horsley but which has not been seen in recent times. The curtain wall wasf found in 1952 outside the Mining Institute, Westgate Road. The ditch was located (12 feet deep) in 1929 in the back street west of St. Nicholas Buildings; the north lip in 1951 at the junction of Westgate Road and Collingwood Street; the south lip in 1934 north of the Stephenson Monument in Westgate Road and again in 1929 at the north end of Blandford Street. No remains were found in 1929 in "two trenches 80 yards apart" between the south back of Westgate Road and Summerhill Grove. The positions, though not the complete outlines, of Newcastle Fort and the Westgate Road Milecastle are known, but no turrets have been found. The southern lip of the ditch has been seen on the south side of Westgate Road in 1929, 1995 and 1997, which means that the northern edge should be under the centre of the modern road.

Easting:
251

Northing:
641

Grid Reference:
NZ251641

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 203 >> J. Horsley, 1732, Britannia Romana, p. 137 G.R.B. Spain, 1929, The Line of the Roman Wall through Newcastle, North of England Excavation Committee, Second Report, 1926-1928, pp. 6-7 M.H. Dodds, ed. 1930, Northumberland County History, XIII, pp. 499-500, 515-519 1931, Roman discoveries near All Saints, the Castle and in Westgate Road, North of England Excavation Committee, Third Report, 1929-1930, p. 4 G.R.B. Spain, 1934, The Roman Wall in Westgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, Archaeologia Aeliana, 4, XI, pp. 227-233 G.R.B. Spain, 1936, Roman discoveries in Westgate Road, North of England Excavation Committee, Fifth Report, 1933-1935, pp. 7-8 North of England Excavation Committee - Minutes, Vol. 3, 22.xi.1951, 21.xii.1951 Journal Roman Studies, 1953, Roman Britain in 1952, Vol. XLIII, p. 110 F.G. Simpson, ed. by G. Simpson, 1976, Watermills and Military Works on Hadrian's Wall, Appendix, pp. 169-192 S. Speak, 1991, Excavation report, 177 Westgate Rd, & Westgate Rd/Cross Villa Place North D.H. Heslop, L. Truman & J.E. Vaughan, 1994, Excavations on Westgate Road, Newcastle, 1991, Archaeologia Aeliana, 5, XXII, pp. 153, 157 M. Snape, 1992, Excavation report, The Pavilion Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne S. Macpherson & P. Bidwell, 2001, Excavations at Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne and the position.... The Abeia Journal, Vol 6-7, 1997-98 (2001), p 49-54 J.C. Mabbitt, 2004, Tyne and Wear Museums, Former Hertz Site, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, Archaeological Assessment and Building Survey M.E. Snape & P.T. Bidwell, 2002, The Roman Fort at Newcastle upon Tyne, Archaeologia Aeliana, Series 5, Vol 31, p 261 Tyne and Wear Museums, 2004, East Blenheim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, Archaeological Watching Brief Tyne and Wear Museums, 2004, East Blenheim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, Archaeological Evaluation; David J. Breeze, Handbook to the Roman Wall, fourteenth edition, pages 149-151; Pre-Construct Archaeology, 2011, The junction of Westgate Road and the B1600 (Elswick Rd and Corporation St), Newcastle upon Tyne - Archaeological Evaluation; The Archaeological Practice, 2015, Gateway Public Realm Improvements at Westgate Road and Neville Street; The Archaeological Practice, 2018, Neville Hall, Newcastle - Archaeological Evaluation and Monitoring