Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/208

Chap. VI. O F M A'NCH ESTRR. 19 the fame prote&ion of their cattle. The mount of Hillwood being fixed in the narrow opening into the curve which is de- fcribed on the eaftern fide of the vale, and being feparated by an arm of the river from the large extent of the meadows on • the weftern northern and north* weftern fides, it could be de- figned to guard the cattle only that ranged within the conlpafs of the curve. But the cattle in thofe divided paftures muft have wanted a prote&ion as well as the others. And the garrifbn upon the mount could not afford it. The intervention of the river muft have rendered the communication with thefe paftures uncertain and the aftlftance o£ the garrifbn precarious. Obferving this, the Romans were obliged to form another Agrarian fortrefs. But they were not obliged to raife another artificial mount. They were obliged only to plant a fortrefs upon the northern fide of the vale, as this great curve of the meadows opened only to the north. And they planted it upon a convenient proje&ioti from the fide of the north-weftern hills. For a connexion with the fort at Hillwood and a defence of their cattle in the Valley, the fite was as properly calculated as it was almpft ne- ccflarily chofen. For fuch a connection and fuch a defence only was the fite properly calculated at all, being a good way upon the defcent from the height and much below the level of the moor. And fuch a connexion is ftill afferted by tradition, which fixes an army in both the caftles, and fets the one in op* pofition to the other f This then was manifeftly the defign of the fix little fortrefles that we find in the immediate neighbourhood of Manchefter. Three of them demonftratively Roman * and all of them equally Romanized in their general afpect* they were undoubtedly the Agrarian fortrefles appendant to the ftation on the Medlock. Two of them being calculated merely for the prote£tion of the convoys on the roads, the other four were conftru&ed for the fecurity of the cattle in the paftures. Thefe therefore were all planted in one particular quarter of our Mancunian precinfts. Planted by pairs, each of the two evidently carries a ftriking and particular relation to its fellow. And each of the pairs as evidently chal- A a a lenges