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ROMAN MANCHESTER RE-STUDIED.
9
- 12 inches rough, undressed sandstone;
- 19 " consisting of six consecutive layers of well-selected, oval-shaped, small boulder stones, carefully laid in rows, each 2 inches to 3 inches high, all of 5 inches long, and imbedded between regular bands of stiff brown clay, below the natural deposit of
- 70 " valley gravel, which again rest immediately on the scooped surface of the red rock.[1]
On the western side of the same trench (about 10 feet wide), the layer of 6 inches clay is absent.
In trench No. 2, starting from the bottom, we find:—
- 10-12 inches boulder stones, of medium to large size, bedded on clay;
- 10 " stiff brown clay;
- 7 " large, dressed red sandstone;
- 8 " mortar.
Rest obliterated by some fireplace, built into the wall at this point, which cuts off the remaining 3 feet.
At duplicate-trench No. I, we have a cross and longitudinal section of the wall 10 feet long, which shows:—
- 23 inches rubbish;
- 29 " greenish soil;
- 4-5 " boulder-stones, bedded in stiff boulder clay. underlaid by
- 45 " valley gravel.
And about a yard to the east, instead of boulder stones, we meet with rubble or red sandstone, resting on the clay, and below a light yellow soil, which I may call the pre-Roman or original surface, which spreads over the valley gravel.
- ↑ I have kept samples of the various kinds of mortar and a specimen of the tough clay with the boulder stones imbedded in it for reference and as an ocular demonstration of the foundations of Roman Manchester.
