ROMANO-BRITISH DERBYSHIRE it lies low enough to be sheltered and ha- bitable, and water and cultivable ground are close at hand. 1 The site, though popularly known as the Castle Yard and Castle Carrs, 2 received no archaeological re- cognition till an even later date than Brough. In 1771 it was visited by the Rev. John Watson, a prominent local an- tiquary, and its re- mains then, as it seems, comparatively undisturbed were at once correctly ex- plained as those of a Roman fort. But, as at Brough, the dis- covery was not pur- sued. Later writers, Bray, Pilkington, Gough, Aikin, Ly- sons, Glover and others, contented themselves substan- tially with quoting Watson for over a hundred years. Meanwhile much has perished ; masonry has been robbed for modern buildings ; the ground has been ploughed and broken up deeper than the plough limit by draining. Chance finds have been made, but scantily chronicled. 8 In 1899 a brief beginning of definite excavation was made by Mr. Garstang and others,* but only occasional search has been made since, until quite 1 The proximity of Mouselow camp has been cited by some writers as the reason for the establish- ment of a Roman fort at Melandra. But I imagine it had little to do with the matter. No Romans, nor anyone else for that matter, would tolerate the existence of a hostile fortress in the middle of their own territory and merely plant a permanent fort close by to watch it. They would clear it out and have done with it. Here, as so often, our English antiquaries have confused the strategy of a single campaign with that of a permanent occupation. 8 Watson citing old deeds, but without date or reference. 8 The chief seem to be : 1 832, an inscribed fragment (p. 214) ; 1841,3 stone coffin (p. 213) ; 1863-4, querns, coins, etc. found in draining and mostly not recorded; 1865 or 1875, traces of a gate with keystone of arch found and foundations traced and removed by the farmer. Deri. Arch. Journ. xxi. 14. Antiquary, Sept. 1882, p. 123. 4 Garstang, Derb. Arch. Jaunt, xxiii. 90 ; Hamnett, ibid. 99. 211 FIG. 1 6. SITE OF MELANDRA FORT. (The heights are in feet.)
