More information : No trace of tower 17b. There is no reason to doubt that the sequence of milefortlets and towers which formed the Roman frontier along the Cumberland Coast was continuous, though no remains have been located on the ground between milefortlets 17 and 20 around Allonby Bay, much of which is occupied by the very linear village of Allonby. Bellhouse (1a) has assumed continuity, and also that each milefortlet and tower is a precise distance apart (547.5m). Using this formula, he has felt able to position each of these works accurately on a plan, which has resulted in several of the works, including tower 17b at NY 075 446, being located in the inter-tidal zone in the bay. It has been demonstrated elsewhere along the frontier that these distances need not be precise, and therefore the alleged positions in the bay are very doubtful. (1)
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