Page:Roman Manchester (1900) by Charles Roeder.djvu/192

 PERSPECTIVE VIEWS OF MANCUNIUM.

I have to add a few words of explanation with regard to Mr. Phelps's drawing. It has been prepared from a careful geological survey of the ground and a due consideration of the physical features of the locality, and is supposed to be viewed from the Gaythorn side. The structural details were obtained from the ground plan that accompanies it, and must be considered correct and properly authenticated. Only those points have been introduced of which remnants and indications were still visible, and of which we have accurate and incontestable records, such as are found in Whitaker's and Thompson Watkin's accounts, and in addition to this, the further discoveries made by myself in the last four years, so that imagination has been excluded from the the reconstruction which has been attempted. The only regret is that the former destruction and a want of personal watching within the last twenty to thirty years has prevented us from filling in more detail of buildings and structures; as it is, the view offers only a mere outline sketch. With regard to the fosses that originally surrounded the northern and eastern wall, I wish to remark that inadvertently the northern fosses which are just shown should not have been drawn curving round the western wall. These fosses as shown on Whitaker's "View of Mancunium," extended in a straight line considerably beyond the northern side and then turned, but did not merge into the western rock-excavated fosse, which slanted off at a fair distance and at an angle towards the Medlock, as already adverted to in the footnotes of my paper. The probable course the latter took is indicated on Whitaker's View by the series of gardens on the Knott Mill side, which occupied their original position. The prospective view does not show the fosses, and the northern Roman suburb has been indicated instead in faint outlines; this has been done to save the preparation of two separate views: either we have to omit the town and show only the fosses, or vice versâ. When the town was erected the fosses were probably already in toto or partially filled up, for we have the road to Buxton built over them, as proved during the excavations. The rocky height is also a little exaggerated for greater prominence. It is necessary to mention this for fear of misinterpretation.