# Milecastle 3

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Milecastle 3 (Ouseburn) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. No remains exist, but it was thought to have been located at the junction of the A187 Byker Bridge and Stephen Street.

## Construction

No evidence exists as to the configuration or type of Milecastle 3, though the curtain wall at this stage was almost certainly a narrow configuration.

## Excavations and investigations

* 1732 - Horsley surveyed the milecastle, recording its position.
* 1776 - The location was visited by Stukeley, who sketched the area for his Iter Boreale'.
* 1789 - Brand visited the site, but noted that many of the stones had been removed from the foundations some years previously, for use in the building of an adjoining house.
* 1848 - Collingwood Briuce reported that a small, partly illegible altar had been found close to the presumed site of the milecastle. The altar (NMR Number: NZ 26 SE 227) was dedicated by Julius Maximus. Having searched the area, he could find no trace of Roman remains.
* 1858 - Henry MacLauchlan surveyed the area but reported no dependable trace of the milecastle.
* 1928 - FG Simpson measured the distance from Milecastle 2 to Milecastle 3 as 1,450 yards (1,330 m).
* 1979 - Exploratory trenches were sunk during the building of the Metro, revealing no trace of the milecastle.

## 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 3 are known as Turret 3A and Turret 3B.

### Turret 3A

Nothing is known of Turret 3A and it was presumed to be located around 54°58′30″N 1°35′46″W﻿ / ﻿54.974892°N 1.596128°W﻿ / 54.974892; -1.596128﻿ (Turret 3A). In September 2022 Pre-Construct Archaeology announced that they had located the turret at approximately 54°58′28″N 1°35′44.5″W﻿ / ﻿54.97444°N 1.595694°W﻿ / 54.97444; -1.595694, during surveys in advance of construction of student accommodation. Excavations found the walls of the turret in addition to a ditch and six obstacle pits. Turret 3A became the most easterly known turret on the wall. The turret was recorded as having a length of around 12 metres (39 ft) and foundations of 2.36–2.46 metres (7 ft 9 in – 8 ft 1 in) in width. The interior of the turret is thought to have been truncated by late 19th or early 20th century construction work. A Roman tegula tile was recovered, suggesting that the turret may have had a tiled roof.

### Turret 3B

Nothing is known of Turret 3B.
Presumed location: 54°58′20″N 1°36′09″W﻿ / ﻿54.972217°N 1.602403°W﻿ / 54.972217; -1.602403﻿ (Turret 3B)

## Monument records

| Monument | Monument Number | English Heritage Archive Number |
| Milecastle 3 | 24904 | NZ 26 SE 15 |
| Turret 3A | 24907 | NZ 26 SE 16 |
| Turret 3B | 24912 | NZ 26 SE 17 |