Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/54

 Ch&p,ll. OF MANCHESTER. 35 The whole figure of the caftrum was an irregular parallelogram. The parallel fides were equally right lines and equally long. But the corners were rounded. The Romans particularly affect- ed the parallelogram in the configuration of their camps. And they efteemed thofe as the raoft beautiful of the fort which were juft by one third longer than they were broad '. But they feldem rounded the angles of fuch -camps; and Ivelchefter, Dorchefter, Chefterford near Cambridge, Little Chefter near Derby, and our own at Manchefter are fome of the few ftatioas in the king- dom where they have ao. The area of the Roman caftrum was much fmadler than the compais of die Brittih town. And while the latter contained nearly thirteen acres of our ftatute-mea* fare, the former included only about five acres and ten perches, or 24,500 fquare yards. The eaftern fide, like the weftern, is one hundred and forty yards in length. And, for eighty yards from the northern termination, the nearly perpendicular vallum ftill carries a creft of fix and feven feet in height. It is then lowered to form the great enterance, the porta praetoria 0/ the caftrum "» the earth there rifing in a ridge and doping up to the creft of the bank abput 10 yards in breadth. Then rifing gradually as the ground falls away, it has a creft of ten feet in height for three or four yards at the fouth-eaftern angle. And the whole jrange of thi* eaftern vallum is fringed with a broken line of thorns above, fhewsjlie white mortar here and there peeping from under thq green, coat of turf, and near the fouth-eaftern angle bellies forth with a thick buttrefs of earth continued fpr feveral yards, along it. The fouthern fide, like the .northern, is one hundred and fcventy five yards in length. And the vallum finks immediately from its height often feet at the eaftern termination^ fuccefiively declining till about fifty yards fropa the termination it is now.reduced to the tnconfiderable height of only two or three feet. And about fixty- fibven yards from it there appears to have been a fecond gateway* the ground particularly Hoping up to the creft of the b^nk foj: four? or fiveyards at the point. The Roman caftra had couftantly about; • • '* " F 2 ' ' the