Melandra ……. part 1 …. rediscovering the Roman fort and making a new acquaintance

Now, you either like the Romans or you pass over them with a shudder.

For some they are the quintessential example of ruthless Imperial aggrandisement, characterised by vicious military campaigns, and an economy based on exploitation and slavery.

And that is before you get on to gladiators, dodgy Emperors and fish paste.

Me …. I take the more balanced view which does require a bit of convenient amnesia, but I have been fascinated by the Romans from about the age of 6, so as I head towards my 73rd birthday, I don’t see it changing.

All of which is an introduction to a short guide to the Roman fort of Melandra in Glossop which I picked up sometime in the 1970s.

The fort was one of a series built to consolidate the occupation of the Northwest and were linked by roads which connected the big legionary bases at Chester and York.

And having stumbled across the guide, I contacted the artist who drew a series of images, including a plan and a reconstruction of the fort.

This was Mike Brown, who has a long association with the archaeology of Melandra going back to the 1950s.

We spoke recently and the conversation ebbed and flowed about his lifelong interest in the fort, some of the more bizarre tales of the early days of excavation and the continuing plans to advance our knowledge of the place.

Mike has promised to send over a heap of material from the digs, including more of his pictures and an up-to-date version of the guidebook.

In the meantime, he referred me to an edition of the guide book produced in 2020 which can be accessed by following the link, and I rather think I will return to the story of Melandra and in particular the settlement which grew up outside the fort.

These civilian settlements offer up a rich insight into the relationship between the military and the varied groups who made their home outside the forts.

They were rough and ready places, as the discovery of a murder under the floor of a bar outside the fort at Housesteads testifies.

So, lots more to come and a thank you to Mike Brown.

Leaving me to add before someone else does that Python question ..... "What did the Romans do for us?"  Answers on a wax tablet and addressed to the Commanding Officer, Melandra Fort, although Mike will no doubt correct me and point to what we think the Romans called it which was Ardotalia.

 Location; Glossop

Pictures; reconstruction of the Roman fort of Melandra and plan of the fort and civilian settlement, 1973, courtesy of Mike Brown

*Glossop Heritage; https://glossopheritage.co.uk/ghtarchive/melandra/