| Milefortlet 5 | |
|---|---|
View over the Solway marshes, north of the site of Milefortlet 5
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  Location within Cumbria | |
| Type | Milecastle |
| Place in the Roman world | |
| Province | Britannia |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 54°54′48″N 3°17′44″W / 54.913343°N 3.29555°W / 54.913343; -3.29555 |
| County | Cumbria |
| Country | England |
| Reference | |
| UK-OSNG reference | NY17045839 |
Milefortlet 5 (Cardurnock) was a Milefortlet of the Roman Cumbrian Coast defences. These milefortlets and intervening stone watchtowers extended from the western end of Hadrian's Wall, along the Cumbrian coast and were linked by a wooden palisade. They were contemporary with defensive structures on Hadrian's Wall. The remains of Milefortlet 5 was excavated in 1943-4 prior to its destruction in 1944.
Milefortlet 5 was situated in a field just south of the hamlet of Cardurnock in the civil parishofBowness.[1] The site lies within a disused wartime airfield, now under pasture. There is nothing to see on the ground, but aerial photographs taken in 2006 show the cropmarks of the northern end of the milefortlet.[1]
The coastline to the south is interrupted by Moricambe Bay, and the next known fort is Milefortlet 9. Milefortlets 6, 7 and 8 were once thought to have been eroded by Moricambe, but there is in fact no evidence that the sites ever existed,[2] and the system is believed to begin again with Milefortlet 9.[3]
The milefortlet was excavated in 1943-4 prior to the construction of an airfield.[1] Three phases of construction could be traced. Phase 1 dated to the Hadrianic period. Phase 2 dated to the Antonine era, when the size of the milefortlet was reduced.[1] Phase 3 seems to date from the 4th century.[1] In Phase 3 the ramparts were retained but they were refaced on the south, west and north sides, and it seems a stone building in the fortlet was built during this period.[1]
ARoman road has been traced to the southwest of Milefortlet 5, and it was excavated in 1992–3.[4]
Each milefortlet had two associated towers, similar in construction to the turrets built along Hadrian's Wall. These towers were positioned approximately one-third and two-thirds of a Roman mile to the west of the Milefortlet. However the coastline at this point is interrupted by Moricambe Bay, and any additional towers are purely conjectural.[2]
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Forts and structures of Hadrian's Wall
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| Wall Forts (East to West) |
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| Outpost Forts |
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| Stanegate Forts |
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| Supply Forts |
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| Cumbrian Coast Forts (North to South) |
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| Milecastles |
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| Milefortlets |
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| Other structures on Hadrian's Wall |
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| Regular and linear features |
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