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THE ROMANS AND BRADWELL
CONTENTS:
1.0 Introducon 2 - 4
2.0 Background to Roman Roads 4 - 5
2.1 The Roman roads around Bradwell 5 - 9
2.2 Finding Roman roads 10 - 16
3.0 Roman lead mining 16 - 21
3.1 The Pigs 21 - 22
3.2 Slavery 22 - 23
4.0 Navio (Brough) Fort 23 - 28
4.1 Why was Navio rebuilt? 28 - 31
5.0 Conclusion 31
6.0 Postscript 31
6.1 The Roman Diploma of A.D. 124 31 - 33
6.2 archiuk.com 33 - 37
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1.0 Introducon
Any modern visitor to Bradwell could be forgiven in dismissing it as a sleepy
village in beauful surroundings. There is lile to suggest that it is situated in
what was once a remote Roman province, an integral part of the biggest
empire the world had ever seen. The Romans were here to exploit lead and to
do that, they had to build roads and forts. Consequently, 2000 years ago, the
area was an industrial powerhouse, bustling with industry, people, and troops
on horseback. Roads led from here directly to Rome. This arcle is an aempt
to update our knowledge on the Roman period in and around Bradwell.
Today, the Roman fort of Navio, less than a mile north of Bradwell, remains as
eight courses of stone below ground. Much, if not all, of that early lead
industry was destroyed by later mining and quarrying. Similarly, Roman roads
in or around Bradwell have been covered by modern roads or have been lost.
The village, situated as it is on the periphery of Navio, was not in existence at
that me. Whatever, the Roman world here was real, a dynamic place and
perhaps far more signicant than has been recognised in the past. However,
not a word was wrien down by the Britons and we only have biased wrien
accounts from the Romans.
We must also ignore local myths, strong in Eyam at least, that the Romans
stayed on in the area, and that local people, including those in Bradwell, were
descended from slaves. We have no evidence of this or that any of the villages
existed in Roman mes. Even if they had, doubtless they were eecvely
destroyed by the retreat of the Romans. What followed was a severe
depression leading into what we call the Dark Ages.
When I rst considered the Romans in what is now Bradwell, my interest was in
the roads. Then, as I researched further, it occurred to me that at least one
Roman road was missing. This is because the three known roads all head in the
direcon of a Roman fort. The research suggests that the galena, the lead ore,
or the processed lead pigs, would not be sent to a fort. Consequently, a road to
a lead processing area in Derbyshire was essenal and we now have at least
two possible sites for this. Nothing is certain and, as I outline below, many
historians and archaeologists have been pondering over this and the ‘missing’
roads for hundreds of years.
As my research progressed it became apparent that Navio fort is an exceponal
place. This is because most forts were built as the Roman invasion advanced,
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and then were abandoned as they moved on. This happened at Navio but then
they rebuilt the fort, expensively, in dressed stone and manned it for over 200
years. This is atypical of the Romans and suggests an extraordinary purpose for
this small fort. If we could throw more light on this, then we would gain a
deeper understanding of the Romans in and around Bradwell.
The associaon of Bradwell with Navio and the Romans perhaps needs a lile
explanaon. Aer all, the hamlet of Brough and the village of Hope have a
claim to the fort. However, in this arcle, I will show that Bradwell also has a
strong claim. For instance, two roads from Navio have been said to go directly
south through what is now Bradwell. At 0.9 of a mile, a Roman mile, we could
assume that the rst milestone stood where the village now sits. It would have
reminded travellers to turn right along Batham Gate or go straight on to
Carsington. As it is evident that Romano-Brish selements were located
alongside such roads, this suggests that such farm sites might later have led to
the foundaon of Bradwell. Indeed, at least two potenal farm sites have been
proposed, one in Bradwell and one around Hazelbadge. These might suggest
that the Bradwell valley supplied food to Navio and its civilian selement, the
vicus. Also, Bradwell is situated on the galena lead ore eld, which Hope is not.
Firstly, to understand how to locate Roman roads, I read “THE ROAD: A STORY
OF ROMANS AND WAYS OF THE PAST” by Christopher Hadley, published in
2023. I also referred to the her.derbyshire.gov.uk, a website with 349
references to ancient features in Bradwell. This includes menon of local
Roman roads by one S. Cooper of Bradwell in 1956 and 1969. It also states that
the road (Batham Gate) is visible as at limestone paving at SK 1618 8118. Lile
or no interest in the Roman period has arisen since that date, a full 50 years
ago.
The third research document was a 500 page online thesis authored by Marn
J. Dearne to Sheeld University in 1990. He is an archaeologist who was
involved in excavaons, of which there have been at least 10, at Navio. This
thesis is called: ECONOMY OF ROMAN SOUTH PENNINES & THE ROLE OF LEAD
MINING. Although somewhat outdated, it is the only resource directly related
to local lead mining. Also, I studied ROMAN DERBYSHIRE, wrien by Mark
Paerson and published in 2016, THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ROMAN ROADS
OF BRITAIN by M C Bishop and republished in 2019, and ROMAN BRITAIN: A
NEW HISTORY by Guy de la Bedoyere, revised edion 2013.
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2.0 Background to Roman Roads
At this point it is worth reviewing the general situaon on Roman roads in
Britain as well as around Bradwell. This is because the Roman period here must
be idened in at least two episodes. The rst relates to the me of the
invasion and the second to subsequent development in the pacied areas. In
the south of England, the military roads were oen directly targeted at Iron
Age selements, and each tribe was defeated in turn. Many of these centres
became Roman towns. The Romans and Romano-Brish became farmers and
this ulmately created the wealth exemplied by construcon of a Roman villa.
There were as many as 2500 villas, mostly in the south but, as yet, none on the
Pennines.
As the invasion expanded, military roads linked forts in order to readily move
troops. Aer incursions into Scotland, the froner of the Roman Empire was
dened by Hadrian’s Wall. Subsequently, around 200, Britain was divided into
Britannia Superior and Inferior. Derbyshire is in the inferior zone.
Most of these Roman military roads are marked on OS maps and, although not
denive, are usually correct. They were entered by the Ordnance Survey
Archaeology Division from 1920 onwards but the unit was disbanded in 1983. I
have purchased a copy of the Ordnance Survey Period Map of Roman Britain.
The 4th edion dated 1978 is considered the best and it shows Navio and the
three denive Roman roads to the fort.
In reality, many of the Roman invasion roads were fairly immediately
redundant because the Roman forts, or even cies, such as Viriconium, now
Wroxeter, Shropshire, were abandoned. What followed were secondary Roman
roads to serve farming areas and industrial zones. This laer topic, of the
impressive Roman industrial legacy, is not at the forefront when one reads ‘THE
ROAD’ or, indeed, the work by historians or archaeologists on Roman roads in
Britain. This is understandable when we consider that lile or no industry
occurred before the invasion. Neither is industry a focus in the farm rich south
of England, where the majority of Roman research is focussed.
Consequently, Bradwell and its lead industry, all of which needed roads, might
t into what we could consider a typical Roman industrial scenario. However,
Roman industrial scenarios are very thin on the ground.
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The invasion roads that head into and out of the rst Navio fort t the military
perspecve. We might also assume that these roads pre-date the development
of the lead industry. This can easily distract us from what happened
subsequently, principally because dang what happened is simply not possible.
2.1 The Roman roads around Bradwell
Although most of the Roman roads into and out of Navio are proven, it would
be a mistake to say that their route is fully dened. The precise line they took
oen includes gaps and lile or no research has occurred for many decades.
It is essenal to appreciate that a Roman road is not denive if it is not
entered in ‘ROMAN ROADS OF BRITAIN’, wrien by Ivan Margary and rst
published in the 1950’s. This is now an orphan book so to obtain a copy I joined
the Roman Roads Research Associaon (RRRA). They have permission to make
a copy available to members only.
To be a denive Roman road it must have a Margary reference number. The
key people in locally dening and even nding these roads were Peter Wroe,
Peter Mellors and then Clive Hart, all operang in the 1970’s and 80’s. In 1970,
they won a Margary number for the Buxton to Melandra road, which is outside
the remit of this arcle. Excavaon to prove the road existed was somemes
necessary and hard work. Up on the Pennine summits, the Doctor’s Gate
Roman road was found under 3m of peat.
There are six roads to consider, three with Margary numbers and three ‘lost
roads’, as follows:
• Buxton to Navio (Brough) – This road is called Batham Gate
and has the number 710a. The fort in Buxton has not been
located and this road is picked up some way out of the
town. It is marked ROMAN ROAD on OS maps for much of
the route to Navio, but with signicant gaps.
• Navio to Templeborough fort (Rotherham) is number 710b.
This road is not marked on OS maps and it is surprising that
it was given a Margary number. The route is vague from
beginning to end. It may have le Navio as part of the
Melandra road, number 711, and then turned right, aer
crossing the River Noe, and heading to Bamford. Or, it may
have le Navio, heading directly east over the Bradwell
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Brook and towards Shaon. It is suggested that a
terraceway 18’ wide, ‘almost certainly Roman’, can be
idened on Towneld Lane. Having walked the Towneld
Lane, I found it dicult to idenfy this terrace. Below
Towneld Lane, a terrace does appear parallel to the river.
Both routes crossed to Bamford and then probably
ascended Bole Hill via Hurst Clough. The route was then
over Stanage Edge via the Long Causeway and Stanedge
Pole and has now become lost in the suburbs of Sheeld.
Doubt exists over this route and some favour a route via
Hathersage and Houndkirk Moor. The fort at
Templeborough was destroyed by the expansion of the
steelworks and nothing remains. Oddly, Margary ignored
the roads linking Templeborough elsewhere.
• Navio to Melandra fort (Glossop) and on to Manchester, is
number 711. This route is shown on OS maps as ROMAN
ROAD for much of its length. It leaves Navio northern gate,
crosses the River Noe and, though not inially dened,
passes Hope cemetery and climbs past Fulwood Sle Farm.
Before the farm, a ditch/hedge might highlight the route.
Excavaons have proven that the agger (road mound)
remains below ground here. It crosses Hope Brinks and is
shown as far as the Snake Inn. However, the Doctor’s Gate
nish to Glossop is disputed by some. The true line is said to
be over Ashop Moor, one kilometre south. That line is
almost unwalkable due to peat bog and heather. Note that
Melandra fort was decommissioned quite early so this route
may not have been used for a long period aer the invasion.
Before connuing, it is worth nong that The SECRET HISTORY considers
Margary in urgent need of updang.
The above three roads have Margary numbers but three further ‘lost’ roads,
not shown on OS maps, can be considered.
• Both the thesis and ROMAN DERBYSHIRE highlight the rst
lost road from Navio to Carsington. The administrave
centre of Roman lead trading in Derbyshire appears to be
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either Carsington or Wirksworth. The former is favoured as
Lutudarum, a word cast into at least 20 ingots (pigs) of lead.
They note that this road has been ‘idened for 3 miles
south’ (of Navio). Consequently, this would assume a road
through Bradwell, Hazlebadge and south via Great Hucklow.
However, Bradwell Dale, below Hazlebadge, was lile more
than a track prior to 1850. Neither would it be a route
chosen by the Romans because of its high ground on both
sides. Consequently, the Roman road is considered to have
passed to the east side of Bradwell. The Derbyshire Historic
Environment Record suggests a line from Navio, across
Streield Road, then Bradwell Brook and roughly in line with
the current footpath portal through the Grey Ditch, then
directly le of the current building line of the village, where
it then disappears. This line is not given any protected
status. Using logic, we might assume the line to be further
right in the village, for instance through The Green or Bessie
Lane. Where The Green currently ends, the footpath
beyond is adjacent to the potenal Romano-Brish farm
site. Such places were oen on Roman roadsides. This
route would pass by the tumuli on the hilltop and thereby
impose itself on an ancient Brish feature. The Romans
oen did this. An informal conversaon with the farmer at
Hazlebadge showed that he believed the road was over to
the east of Bradwell, and beneath Bradwell Edge.
This lost road is said to have been widened to 6m in three phases. A
lesser road would usually be 4.6 m – 5.5 m wide. However, where this
widening is apparent is not recorded. Such a widening might support
the use of ox, mule or horse drawn wagons to carry ingots. If mules
were used, with panniers, it appears they could carry one ingot (pig)
of lead. However, the SECRET GUIDE considers this loading too
unbalanced and that a mule could not carry two pigs. It suggests that
two pigs were carried on a single wagon. The use of Roman draught
horses is uncertain because their horses were all under 14.2 hands,
and today they would be classied as ponies. I connue to use the
word horse but this point should be borne in mind.
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Lutudarum is considered the centre for processing lead and perhaps
silver, for distribuon and export. The port of Brough-by-Humber,
called Petuaria by the Romans, was considered the embarkaon
point. Eleven lead ingots were found in the vicinity. Further
Derbyshire ingots were found at Pulborough in Sussex proving that
the lead did travel. The ingots were probably transported from
Lutudarum down the Derwent and Trent rivers to the Humber. This is
a route yet to be proven.
• The second lost road is from Navio to the fort more recently
found beneath the centre of Chestereld. This road is
suggested because Roman forts were usually linked to each
other. Although no route is idened, it would probably
have had to cross the River Derwent below Curbar Gap. This
sets the route to cross Big Moor, a route later taken by
packhorse trails. Inscribed stone posts sll exist on the moor
marking the packhorse route to Chestereld.
• The third lost road is from Navio to Penistone and, again, no
route is idened. Penistone fails the Roman road test in
that no Roman fort or other Roman feature has been
discovered in the town.
The portway, referred to as Brough Lane on OS maps, has been ignored as a
potenal route. It may well have existed since the Iron Age, perhaps earlier. It is
assumed to begin at the Iron Age Mam Tor hillfort and to head south to
Nongham. However, the start of the portway is not idened nor the point
where it reaches Brough. Neither does it appear, from my research, to have
been used by the Romans. The portway reminds us that roads did exist before
the Romans came to Britain. The dierence is that the Romans ‘built’ roads
rather than let them evolve as people moved between places.
It is worth nong that when the Grey Ditch was built in the Dark Ages, the
Roman roads and the portway were probably evident. To prove this, the Grey
Ditch was given a portal to allow the portway through on Bradwell Edge.
Further gaps, possibly portals, exist in the Grey Ditch westwards, in the elds.
Beyond that, the Grey Ditch has been too damaged by housing and roads to
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know what portals might have existed. The nal secon of the Grey Ditch, west
of Mich Low, is covered later in this arcle, related to lidar ndings.
Having read the route descripons for the three Margary roads, it is surprising
to nd that they can be quite vague, making assumpons and highlighng
where secons of the actual road might be spoed. These tend to be old
references and few, if any, have been checked in recent mes. For instance,
there is a note that where Batham Gate leaves the A623 heading north to
Bradwell, as it ascends the hill near The Holmes it is clear as a terrace 18’ wide
with a clear agger 30’ wide. I have idened The Holmes and the Roman road
later in this arcle under lidar research. It is also suggested that Batham Gate
road le Navio and aer 90 metres, crossed Bradwell Brook to the east. This
appears an unnecessary crossing, because the road must later recross the
brook and head south west via Smalldale. It appears odd to cross a brook
twice. These references are all old and need reconsideraon.
A further lost road is suggested from Great Hucklow to Leadmill. This is
assumed to be the hamlet of Leadmill, a short way south from Hathersage but
no further informaon could be found. This route might suggest that lead or
galena ore was taken to Leadmill, loaded onto shallow Roman barges and
oated down the River Derwent. No evidence of this exists, neither does this
route t into the Lutudarum perspecve, that of a lead processing centre at
Carsington or Wirksworth, as they are not on this river.
Some researchers suggest that Navio was, because of all these roads, a
signicant transport hub. In addion, the thesis suggests that ‘our roads are
aributed to the post-conquest consolidaon of the Pennines’. The implicaon
here is that these roads are less about the invasion and more about what
happened subsequently. This, in turn, demands that we relate the roads to at
least two separate factors. Firstly, the development and importance of lead
mining to the story of Navio and, secondly, whether the fort was an important
trans-Pennine route independent of lead mining. I discuss how these two
topics relate below under item 4.0 NAVIO (BROUGH) FORT.
Brough, incidentally, is recorded as Brough-in-Noedale, not Hope Valley, in all
early references. The River Noe rises in Edale and ows down to the Derwent,
near Shaon.
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2.2 Finding Roman roads
If we have lost roads, how do we nd them? Conrming a route is called
‘proving the line’. It is essenal that we do not force the line. There is an
assumed requirement that a Roman road must begin and end at a recognised
fort or selement. This might not apply to minor roads linking, for instance,
lead mining areas where wood needed to be carried in and lead or ore, carried
out.
We might also ask ourselves why a road disappeared and what happened to it.
There are supposedly 10,000 miles of Roman roads in Britain, which is certainly
a guesmate. They started with the invasion at a Kent beachhead in 43. This
entailed 4 legions (reduced to 3 legions in 70) and a similar number of
auxiliaries, perhaps 40,000 troops in all. They advanced up what we now call
Watling Street (A5) for 270 miles to Wroxeter, a crossing for the River Severn
and the route to invade Wales. The road to Colchester followed, probably to
control the Catuvellauni tribe, the most powerful in England. The conquest
lasted 40 years.
For Rome the roads were not merely a symbol of power but also served as a
concrete instrument of rule. All principal roads were military and intended to
move the legions quickly into posion. It now appears that the legions built the
roads themselves, and did not ulise slaves or companies to do the work. They
may have forced local tribes to do some work, perhaps in the supply of
materials.
The non-invasion roads were oen intended to transport minerals, including
silver, to places like Gaul. Consequently, we might assume that lesser roads,
oen called agrarian roads, will have linked all limestone areas, where lead and
silver existed, to points of embarkaon. These roads, not built by the military,
might be assumed to be less well constructed, perhaps even lacking a decent
agger. If so, these roads may be less easy to spot, even using new techniques
such as lidar.
The Ordnance Survey archaeology eld guide for beginners suggests that
‘paent examinaon of the ground on foot is essenal’. Ploughing is valuable in
exhibing soil marks. However, ploughing is less common in the Peak District.
Chalk soils show crop marks best, clay soils worst and no menon is made of
limestone, shale or gritstone, the soils of Bradwell.
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Spong the roads should start in winter, with a low sun. This is called ‘lynchet
me’ when shadows are thrown over ground features. The agger or mound of
the Roman road may be seen at this me. The use of a drone might allow us to
replicate aerial photographs, said to be only secondary to actual excavaon in
value. The roads can be some depth below ground. It is evident that some
routes follow pre-exisng Iron Age tracks.
To prove we have found a road we should expect to nd items as evidence that
people used it, such as coins and broaches of the period. We also need to
check buildings and walls for Roman masonry and milestones that may have
been incorporated in later construcon. Brough, Shaon, Bradwell and Hope,
may all have ulised Navio stone. Buildings somemes used Roman roads as
their foundaons, which might be the case at Fulwood Sle Farm above Hope.
Research suggests that crossing points of streams and rivers should be sought
where arfacts might be found on the banks. Most forts were placed at river
crossings, partly to protect any bridge or ford but also to water the horses.
Garrisons were usually 15-20 miles apart, a day’s march. It is also now
understood that roadside selements were vital to the Roman economy. The
imperial postal service was called cursus publicus and their couriers rode
around 50 miles in a day. They needed overnight accommodaon, fresh horses,
stabling and fodder.
It is a misnomer to assume that all Roman roads are straight, however, their
surveyors worked in straight secons, oen making correcons by sight from
hilltops. Roman engineers adapted the roads to the topography. Drainage was a
principal concern and some argue that Roman engineers tolerated steeper
slopes than modern road builders. When climbing, they did not want their
soldiers silhoueed against the sky, so roads would be below the skyline. They
were certain that an aack would not come from below. The wildwood, which
would have hidden aackers, was principally destroyed by the Iron Age and it is
impossible to know how much existed in Derbyshire at the me.
Recent excavaon of a Roman road at Corby found wooden posts stood in the
roads at specic spots. They were uncertain as to whether these related to
construcon or not. They may have been spots where trac was taxed as it
passed. Perhaps they were kilometre markers placed by surveyors.
The Roman standard mile is 5000 pedes = 1000 passus = 1.48 km or 0.9 of a
Brish Imperial mile. The posion of the milestone is called a milestaon. It is
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oen assumed that markers were placed every mile in Britain, which could
amount to 20,000 milestaons. However, fewer than 100 Roman milestones
(only 0.5%) are known to exist, and only 4 sll stand in their original locaon.
Most are fragments, found in wells or reused in steps and walls. Most do not
menon the actual mileage and it is doubul that every mile was marked,
especially in areas devoid of stone. Milestone size varied from boulders to
worked stones 2 metres high. Some may have been in wood. Many are
inscribed but oen in abbreviated form. Evidence suggests that Roman verbal
travel direcons might be based on, say, turning right at the fourteenth
milestone. A fascinang and very rare cylindrical Roman milestone is on display
at Buxton Museum. It supposedly, stood on the road to Navio.
The Milestone Society (milestonesociety.co.uk) oer some useful informaon
on Roman milestones, even though they cover all ages and types of milestones.
Their informaon suggests that few stones recorded the actual milage on
them. Also, most were honoric, that is recording the emperor’s name rather
than mileage. This honouring of the emperor was the principal funcon of the
stone. One of their contributors suggests that cylindrical milestones, such as
the Buxton model, were used on major roads and rectangular ones on lesser
roads. No stones appear before Hadrian in 120 and perhaps he introduced the
idea, in Britain at least. Many stones were re-used, perhaps because the
emperor’s name had to be changed each me a new one arose. Because of
this, many feel the milestones were painted and only inscribed in the third
century. In that period the municipia took over the responsibility and all stones
were honoric. With three principal roads at Navio it is surprising that only one
milestone has been found over in Buxton. Typically, a heavy large stone would
sink into the ground within a few hundred years due to worm and insect (ant)
acvity in the soil. The stones either exist below their original locaon or they
were robbed for use in walls or buildings. With so much stone present in our
locality, it might be dicult to spot that reused Roman milestone!
In THE ROAD, it idenes the unusual process of nding a road by specic
wildowers suited to the altered ground condions. The well drained agger or
its stoniness would grow plants very dierent to those in the weer ditches
along each side. The presence of oxlips has been used in this way down south,
on boulder clay, but that is not a wildower found in the Peak District.
It is also suggested that local names of elds, buildings and suchlike be studied
to see if they imply anything Roman. That can be complex research. In the past
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it was assumed that such names might relate to the local Brish language of
the me. In fact, as the Romans were using people from all over Europe, they
might ulise any number of European languages in naming local features or
bridges.
A Roman road has a cambered embankment, its agger, built of rammed
material. Recent ndings suggest that cale or horses may have been driven
over new surfaces to compact them. This was, apparently, used in the 1700’s to
compact the clay in canals. Somemes, they would oat the road on a mber
or brushwood foundaon. The running surface was always narrower than the
agger. This was the metalled (stone) part of the road. To carry wheeled trac,
the metal had an average depth of 50 cm. This could extend to 300cm where
the road was repaired many mes. As a rule, locally found material was used.
The road, from anking ditch to ditch, might be 7 metres wide. The average
surface is said to be 6 or 7 metres wide. Roman law stated that a ‘via’ required
that two vehicles should be able to pass side by side. However, there can be
much variaon. Watling Street is oen over 10 metres wide. All Roman roads
derive from the Appian Way, the rst all-weather military road.
However, some roads (The Secret History suggests Brough-on-Noe) were poorly
built with pebbles laid on subsoil, aer the turf and topsoil were removed. This
may be because they were early conquest roads or because the original surface
has been removed, perhaps for foundaon material for local buildings.
It appears that, conservavely, Roman roads crossed 560 watercourses in
Britain and yet fewer than 100 bridges have been located. With no bridge, the
crossing would be a ford. At least 4 bridges or fords must have existed around
Navio. Experts disagree as to whether the Romans preferred a bridge or a ford.
However, a ford would be dicult to cross with the river in ood. In the north,
with readily available stone, more bridges are found. A river may have moved
over 2000 years so abutments might be in an adjacent eld, some way from
the current river course. If they used mber abutments, it resembled a log
cabin lled with rubble and possibly earth. Some experts argue that many, if
not all Roman roads, were blocked by earthworks built in later periods because
they made access too easy for invaders. The Grey Ditch, possibly circa 920 may
t that perspecve in Bradwell. See item on The Grey Ditch =
hps://bradwellhistoricalsociety.les.wordpress.com/2023/01/newsleer-no-
23-jan-2023.pdf
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Roman cairns, a pile of stones, may have marked roads on high ground. These
were called Mercury’s Heaps, aer the messenger god and patron of travellers.
This might be more relevant to Pennine routes than other parts of Britain.
Aer the Romans le, it is evident that where their roads lead to places that
people sll needed to go, they remained in use. Batham Gate to Buxton
appears to t this paern. However, at least one expert considers that this road
was abandoned at some stage. Over me, landowners oen moved the route
to accommodate new buildings or elds. When a Roman road was not used, it
is suggested that it could be dicult to nd in just 10 years. The lost roads from
Navio to forts at Rotherham and Glossop may well have been abandoned fairly
immediately. This is because, with no military purpose, they were no longer
locaons of any value to local people or the economy at the me.
Aer the Romans le, the local people, whom we refer to as Romano-Brish,
were pushed west by incomers. Whether they were totally or parally replaced
by people from north-western Europe is uncertain. The economy also
collapsed. Villas were abandoned, the populaon fell, poery and newly
minted coins disappeared. This decline may well have begun perhaps 100 years
before the Romans actually le these shores. The Romanisaon of Britain
limped on for at least another 100 years. Unlike other Roman provinces, the
Brish were unique in eecvely stripping out Roman life and returning to their
old habits. It was an island mentality, far distant from Rome.
A Romano-Brish selement at North Lees, west of Hathersage, was
abandoned at this me and farming this high ground did not recommence unl
the 13th century. By this me, the Romano-Brish boundaries might have been
lost and so not used, and thereby not idenable on later maps.
The entries in the Domesday Book (1086 AD) need to be studied. The village,
spelled Bradwelle, was listed as well as Hazlebadge. Further study might
suggest what areas were farmed, the populaon density and whether anything
suggests that lead was sll produced in the area.
The medieval parish is perhaps the most important feature in our history, so
parish boundaries need to be studied. Many may have been land divisions
delineated during the Roman occupaon. The Romans were keen on
idenfying boundaries and marking them. There is also evidence that the
Romans might have given land on the condion that the landowner then had
to maintain the road adjacent to their boundary.
15
In and around Bradwell, can we idenfy boundaries against our three Margary
roads as well as the three lost roads? When medieval parishes were dened
each had to be given its fair share of resources, such as good verses poor land.
The boundary lines had to be physical and known to everybody. Tithe, estate
and enclosure maps might also help us here. Also, Google Earth can be studied
to see whether it shows any possible Roman features.
Coins can be expected as lost items along roads. They are, obviously, helpful in
dang the road. Most coins in the north can be linked to military sites. It has
been esmated that in the rst century alone, the Roman army in Britain would
have needed over 1.5 million denarii each year. The silver denarii were trusted
by soldiers and so valued. However, only one coin has been found at Navio and
there seem to be few coin nds generally in this area (see more on nds in
later secon covering lidar).
Although the Roman villa does not exist in Bradwell, at least two Romano
Brish selements existed and, almost certainly, others remain to be found.
Selement could be quite dense. A gure of 3.3 selements per square mile in
the south was quoted but no gure for the north. Considerable Roman
selement has been found around Buxton, probably driven by the need to
supply food to this large selement. The nearest Romano-Brish selements to
Bradwell are at Hazlebadge and Pindale/Dirtlow Rake. Another was suggested
as ‘on a knoll southwest of Bradwell’. This was menoned earlier as the area
beyond the end of The Green. Up to 140 Romano-Brish selements have
been idened in Derbyshire.
As already menoned, the Roman road is not necessarily straight but was built
in straight secons. They diverted to avoid rivers and steep inclines. Oen,
diversions are at the top of a hill, perhaps because the surveyor could see both
forward and back. Overall, the road returns to the line when it can. No
informaon exists on how they surveyed but it is assumed a groma was used.
This was like a weather vane on a pole with plumb lines on the four ends. They
would line up with a known point behind and in front so they had three
markers. Hundreds of stakes would then be used to mark the centre of the
road between these markers.
The Peak District is a parcularly complex place to navigate. Some of the dales,
such as Millers Dale, are very dicult to cross. Early deviaons would be
essenal and well before reaching such impediments. Monsal Head may always
have been an ideal crossing point because it avoids steep drops and climbs.
16
Such focal points may well have been what is called a coldharbour, a place
where travellers might ancipate nding a shelter in inclement weather. This
word appears on maps in the south but not in the north. Some experts suggest
that the Romans might have maintained a leather tent as a coldharbour. We
might ancipate these being set up for use when crossing the exposed Pennine
routes from Navio.
The Romans oen placed carved altars, in stone or wood, to signify the genius
loci, the spirit of the place and to bring luck. Other Roman spirits guarded
boundaries, homes, elds, roads and parcularly crossroads.
The Roman period was not always seled. The Barbarian Conspiracy in 367 saw
Saxons, Picts and Scots moving as far south as London over two years. Was the
Peak District bypassed by these events? It appears that this violence led to the
building of stone walls around some English towns but there is no evidence
that this happened here. Did the invaders use the Roman roads or did they sail
down the east coast?
Some 12% of the Roman army was based in Britain. This illustrates the
importance of the province to the empire. If we assume, as noted above, that
Roman military roads usually headed directly into Iron Age tribal areas then
that will have had lile impact on the Bradwell area. It appears that few Iron
Age people lived here, indeed, that it was a relavely wild and remote area at
the me.
The ideal method to nd any landscape features around Bradwell would be to
study lidar images. This aspect is featured later in this arcle.
The occupaon of caves, including Fissure cave and New Cave, both listed as
near Bradwell, is apparent in Roman mes. Whether people lived in these
caves is less certain. However, they secreted material in caves and perhaps
used them for work purposes, such as making jewellery, at least in Buxton.
3.0 Roman lead mining
Before considering the local lead industry, we need to look at the wider
context. Lead was in use by the Romans long before they came to Britain. They
understood plumbism, otherwise known as lead poisoning. This will be one of
the reasons why they used slave labour to work in the mines. Also, as most
Italian cies and towns smelted lead for local use, the pollung impact on the
atmosphere was well understood. Consequently, all lead smelng was banned
17
in Italy and lead producon pushed out to the provinces. Consequently,
Derbyshire is referenced by the Romans if not actually named.
In 2019, a number of Roman skeletons were checked against Brish Iron Age
skeletons for the presence of lead. The Roman skeletons contained up to 400
mes the lead content of the Iron Age people. This was considered sucient to
have widespread health eects. Some experts suggest that lead poisoning was
the real reason why the Roman empire collapsed. It was not just lead pipes.
Pewter table wear, high in demand by the fourth century also included lead
and even wine producon ulised lead troughs. All this exposed the populaon
to lead poisoning. For certain, Derbyshire lead contributed to both ill health
and madness in the empire.
There is no evidence that the Britons used lead before the Romans arrived and
it must be assumed as an enrely new and innovave industry introduced to
limestone areas of Britain. The lead they sought was perhaps the rst
commodity, an arcle of commerce, ever developed in Britain. The stone axes,
traded in the Neolithic, could hardly be considered commercial. This desire for
commodies has connued in Derbyshire to this very day through both mining
and quarrying.
The Roman baths they constructed ulising lead pipes was also a new state for
humans, that of cleanliness. Whether the Romans increased their longevity
through bathing is not known, however, it was a step into the modern world.
Both these acons implied civilisaon, at least to the Romans.
The Pax Romana, the ‘Roman Peace’, was a period of perhaps 200 years and
during the rule of Vespasian. It should not be derided simply because they
were colonialists. Vespasian is supposed to have said that to keep the people
happy, give them bread and circuses. For Britons, we might change that to
bread and baths. This period of stability and trade, was, as historian Edward
Gibbon wrote, when “the condion of the human race was most happy and
prosperous.” It was followed by a long period of strife which we call the Dark
Ages. The Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Normans will destroy stability and give our
island centuries of misery.
Before the Romans invaded Britain, they obtained their lead from Spain and
Portugal. Some evidence suggests that Britain usurped these provinces over
me as the leading supplier of lead, and perhaps silver. However, the queson
arises as to whether the Romans knew that Britain had such resources and how
18
much this inuenced the invasion. Indeed, was it the focus behind the
invasion? The invasion of 43 was the second Roman invasion or, at least,
expedion, to Britain. Caesar, in 55 BC, landed on our shores but was forced to
return early to Gaul. It appears that he wrote an account of Britain and that
this outlined our mineral reserves. How he obtained informaon on lead
reserves is dicult to imagine. He remained in the South East, where it is
doubul anybody understood what limestone areas existed in Britain, where
galena lead ore might be located. The Romans did have client tribes in the
south east and may well have gathered informaon through these tribes. In the
event, the speed in which the Romans exploited lead reserves suggests they
were prepared to establish this new industry here.
As the invasion progressed, the Mendips was the rst area where they started
extracng lead and possibly silver. This appears to have taken only six years
and was fully operaonal by 49. The speed of development suggests they
brought in skilled people from Europe, probably from the Iberian Peninsula.
This almost certainly included mining companies, their managers and even the
slaves. However, in that province they mined galena underground whereas in
Britain they only exploited reserves on the surface. The word surface might be
misleading. If galena existed on the surface, it is dicult to believe that they
did not follow the veins deeper into the ground, whilst always working in
natural daylight. If so, the miners, whether slaves or not, might have suered
less from lead poisoning than in Iberia.
As the invasion moved north, lead from the Sperstones, a small area in
Shropshire, followed and then from Flintshire. Derbyshire was next and then
the northern Pennines. Derbyshire is the largest lead reserve, stretching a full
50 km as the crow ies, from Castleton to Carsington. This area is the surface of
the limestone dome and no galena exists in the surrounding gritstone areas.
However, no reliable dates for this assumed developmental period are
available. By 70 Britain is reputedly the largest supplier of lead and silver in the
Roman Empire. That date is 9 years before the rst Navio fort was built in 79
and at least 85 years before the second fort was rebuilt in stone.
The Romans appear to have reached the Derby area around the late 40’s or
early 50’s. However, the invasion then appears to slow, perhaps to consolidate.
Much points to Vespasian’s rule between 69 – 79, as the period when road
building and lead mining in Derbyshire developed apace. They also mined iron
19
ore and coal. The quarrying, cung, and transporng of limestone, sandstone
and gritstone was also on a large scale.
These dates pose further quesons. They suggest that when Britain was,
reputedly, a leading lead supplier, it may be that Derbyshire was not included
at that early stage. It is hard to imagine that lead was exploited before the
army took control. As the lead industry was developed, then the involvement
of the military is less certain. For instance, the rst Navio fort was abandoned
for 35 years from 120 to 155. Hadrian’s Wall was built in 122 so this period saw
the Romans consolidate the North. If the military were absent then either the
lead industry did not need them, or the lead industry was not developed unl
155. Whether coincidence or not, the rst posive evidence of Derbyshire lead
is the name Hadrian on a lead ingot dated mid second century.
The procurator metallarum (the procurator of mines) controlled all Roman
minerals. The best evidence of mineral extracon comes from lead mining but
this is sll very sketchy.
The lead industry appears to have been exploited and managed by private
companies. That said, the military may have taken overall control later in the
period. Provided the tax was paid, there appears no reason for the military to
be involved, except if lead ingots were a target for the. Also, there are
suggesons that as the number of companies expanded, corrupon increased.
There is no evidence of large-scale lead smelng or processing at Navio or in its
surroundings. That might not surprise us because, with our awareness of local
lead rakes, we might assume that lead smelng and processing occurred up in
the hills to the west and south of Navio. That area, of course, includes where
Bradwell later developed.
How the lead was mined and processed, at that me, is almost unknown to us.
No proven Roman workings have been found in Derbyshire although few
excavaons have been completed. There is also the belief that any Roman
workings would have been swept away by the later expansion of the lead
industry as well as by the quarrying of limestone. However, as galena is present
all over the limestone dome, a vast number of small surface mining sites could
have created a very considerable lead industry. The processing of ore, at these
dispersed sites, needed considerable wood to create charcoal. Even if the
limestone areas were heavily wooded, say with ash trees, that forest might
have quickly diminished. The enre limestone dome might have been stripped
20
of trees over this period. Even today, the limestone dome has only a light cover
of trees. Some suggest that it was more ecient to carry the galena to the
more heavily wooded areas on the east of the dome. Indeed, that might be
why the centre of the industry appears focussed on Carsington and
Wirksworth.
The Roman buildings found at Carsington shows evidence of lead working but
not smelng. In medieval mes, farming appears to be associated with lead
working. The mining of galena on a farm was winter work, and food the
summer occupaon. However, there is no evidence this happened in the
Roman period. That said, sheep farming, the animals shorn with newly
introduced Roman metal shears, increased dramacally in Roman mes. Sheep
and Derbyshire are synonymous.
Experts suggest that smelng galena lead ore is relavely simple, using a re in
a trench. Lots of primive smelng like this is evident in Derbyshire in later
periods. The slag is found but is not dateable. Also, slag has been re-smelted at
later stages to remove any lead that remains. Removing the silver from the
galena, called cupellaon, is far more complex. This required a furnace and
chimney in order to reach 1000C. No industrial Roman furnaces have been
found in Derbyshire.
The situaon related to silver is more complex. If silver is present in sucient
quanes, then it is far more aracve to the Romans than lead. The silver
content of exisng Derbyshire lead galena is low. However, the Romans were
ulising surface galena. This, apparently, would lose its lead content to rainfall
and weathering and would have created a higher silver content. However,
because that surface galena is no longer present, we cannot ascertain its silver
content. Consequently, we have no way to assess silver producon in Roman
mes. Neither does the research suggest that any Roman silver ingots have
been found in Derbyshire.
In the BBC programme, Digging for Britain (April 2023) they showed
archaeological excavaons associated with processing lead. This was adjacent
to the Breedon shale quarry next to Navio fort. There was no evidence of
smelng or casng on site but it might be assumed somewhere in the vicinity.
Charterhouse, a village in the Mendips, is the only place where Roman smelng
is evident.
21
This processing locaon at Navio was within the vicus, the civilian community
around the fort. This might support the view that private companies, within the
vicus, managed all the mining operaons. The use of private companies is also
supported by an assumed company name, evident on lead pigs found in
Matlock, which is idencal to one from the Mendips. Private mining companies
appear roune in Roman provinces.
No Roman mining tools have been found. Neither have any lead ingot (pig)
moulds been found even though there must have been a considerable number
used. They were made of clay and might only have survived ve mouldings. A
waste pile must have built up. Alternavely, some argue that stone moulds
were used, however, none have been found. The lead pig weighed an average
of 74 kg, but this could vary. The mould either included identy markings on
the pig or it was hand inscribed at some stage.
A considerable amount of labour was needed in this industry, but lile is
known about how this was organised. The collecon and carriage of wood and
the charcoal burning would have required a large workforce. All this also
assumes the need for good roads to move between the various zones, whether
by wagon or packmule.
3.1 The Pigs
Overall, 20 Derbyshire lead pigs have been found inscribed with the word
Lutudarum. Some of these were found during excavaons at Petuaria (Brough-
on-Humber) and elsewhere on the Humber estuary. Four pigs were also found
at Pulborough in Sussex, thought to be intended for Noviomagnus (Chichester).
The research ulised in the thesis looked at how lead mining occurred
elsewhere in the Roman world and beyond. The province which is now Portugal
is the only one where documents on the management of the lead industry
have been found. These show that lead and silver were valuable and that the
Romans applied onerous management and controls. This is why pigs had to be
idened, not least to ensure that taxes were paid and collected. Perhaps
levying this tax reinforces the fact that civilian companies were producing the
lead. Severe punishment was also applied for avoiding tax or stealing the pigs
or even the ore. It can be assumed that this also applied in Derbyshire. The
extensive Derbyshire lead eld was far bigger than the Mendips or
Sperstones. Perhaps this was why a military presence was maintained at
Navio.
22
The known lead handling and processing sites are too large to be part of a
typical fort. Navio was a small fort by comparison, but with a large vicus.
Consequently, it would be very helpful to idenfy where the lead was sent. If
Lutudarum was either Carsington or Wirksworth, the logiscs would suggest
that a Roman road heading south through Bradwell and to either place, would
pass through Monsal Head.
The fact that tax is involved suggests a complex administrave level of
organisaon. The producers of the lead pig must be paid before they can pay
the tax on it. This suggests the movement of considerable sums of money
around the lead eld, and the need for policing.
A further observaon, not noted anywhere in my research, is whether lead pigs
always needed to go to Lutudarum. Was there sucient demand to move lead
from Navio directly to relavely close Roman centres? For instance, the
demand must have been considerable via Glossop to the fort at Manchester,
perhaps then to Chester, and east to Rotherham and up to York. It seems
inecient to send all the lead south and then to haul it back north to such
centres. Protecng the lead shipments across wild moorland routes appears a
logical funcon for the Navio garrison, as well as monitoring the tax situaon in
general.
3.2 Slavery
It can be condently assumed that slaves did most if not all the lead producon
in Derbyshire. These slaves will have been imported by ship, having been
captured in the Eastern Roman provinces. Consequently, they could not
converse easily with local people, which might reduce aempts to escape.
Neither would they be allowed access to local people, hence, nding their
genes locally appears very unlikely.
In the Roman empire, slavery was ubiquitous and 10 – 20% of the populaon
were enslaved. Slaves arose from the children of slaves, from people captured
or even levied on beaten populaons. These people would be passed to
dealers and thence into slave markets. The status of slaves varied and the
unskilled ones were pushed into labouring roles. It appears that even the slaves
dreaded the condions in quarrying and mining. Slaves from here will have
been shipped elsewhere in the empire.
The condion of slaves mining in Spain was said to be parcularly cruel and
harsh, and they were probably mining galena, lead ore. Describing the
23
harrowing working condions in Spain, the historian Diodorus Siculus wrote in
the 1st century BC:
… the slaves who are engaged in the working of [the mines] produce for their masters'
revenues in sums defying belief, but they themselves wear out their bodies both by day and
by night in the diggings under the earth, dying in large numbers because of the exceptional
hardships they endure. For no respite or pause is granted them in their labours, but compelled
beneath blows of the overseers to endure the severity of their plight, they throw away their
lives in this wretched manner […]; indeed death in their eyes is more to be desired than life,
because of the magnitude of the hardships they must bear.
Pliny stated that in the 70’s Britain was abundant in lead and that it was more
easily extracted than deposits in Gaul and Spain.
Before I began this research, I had assumed that the Romans would not allow
the bodies of dead slaves to be interred in one of their cemeteries. I have not
found any evidence to the contrary. This suggests that if a cemetery is found
for Navio, it will not include the remains of the many slaves who will have died.
The slaves would have no grave goods so their burials could also be difficult to
identify. They would certainly not be marked by a memorial. The Romans, in
their respect for the dead, usually placed cemeteries alongside major roads.
A skeleton found in 2015 at Great Casterton in the East Midlands throws some
light on slavery. This was a male who showed traumatic physical injuries over
his life. He was deemed a manual labourer because iron hobnails were found
around his feet. A pair of manacles, an extremely rare find, were around his
ankles and he was buried without the usual laying out, in a ditch. The dates
suggest that he was a Roman slave. He was, as it were, dumped, merely a few
meters from an established burial ground. Great Casterton is on Ermine Street,
once a Roman road.
Elsewhere, I mention the need to construct secondary, non-military, Roman
roads to serve the mining areas and perhaps farming zones. We might safely
assume that this work was also done by slaves. Likewise, the cutting and
haulage of timber and making of charcoal. Consequently, slave burials might
well exist almost anywhere in the landscape where such work was carried out.
4.0 Navio (Brough) Fort
Navio (Brough) and Melandra (Glossop) forts are the best surviving Roman
ruins in Derbyshire. Being in the north, this is surprising because the southern
White Peak displayed the highest occupaon in Roman mes. The rst Navio
fort is assumed to have been founded in 79, some 36 years aer the invasion in
24
43. This was probably the me that the Noe (Hope) Valley was the
northernmost perimeter of Roman advance. The Noe Valley was thought to be
well populated at the me but lile evidence of this has been found.
Although I use the tle Navio, there is some evidence that the fort was called
Anavio, a name I have ignored in this arcle.
The rst fort was built in mber and earth and was orientated south west, with
three circular ditches, the widest at 6m. The fort was 1.64 acres and measured
104m x 95m. It appears to have been decommissioned and demolished in 120.
A Roman decommissioning event was total and included the destrucon of all
buildings, the burning of wood to recover valuable nails, and all ditches lled
in. One excavaon reported that the Navio site was then covered in 12 inches
of clay. This appears a strange nding in that clay is not a material found in any
abundance in the Noe Valley.
The orientaon of the rst fort to the south west is worthy of analysis. With an
assumpon that the fort faced its principal road, which was Batham Gate, then
this approached directly from the south west. As the road descended from
what we call Bradwell Moor, travellers on the road looked straight down to the
fort frontage. We might assume that looking to the road was the strategic aim
at that early stage, when Navio was the northern froner.
The second fort was built in 155-158 some 10 metres farther back from the
river, the walls in dressed stone. This was orientated facing north east. We
must assume that, strategically, looking in that direcon oered advantages
over looking south west. The new fort was even smaller at 1.35 acres and
87.5m x 105.5m. It was never changed externally unl a ramp was added.
There were 3 ditches around the new fort, 1.5 m deep and the widest at 6.4m,
a formidable defence.
The new locaon clearly gave the fort the perfect survey posion looking over
the Noe Valley, including the River Noe and Bradwell Brook. The fort had four
towers, one to each corner, and perhaps a h over the north gate. It appears
to have been constantly occupied to at least 350. Various buildings in the fort
were rebuilt in stone in 200 and 300.
Although reference is made to the value of the new orientaon, none is made
as to why the rst fort looked in a completely dierent direcon. What
changed to jusfy this new fort and the new outlook? It must have entailed
considerable work to reposion the roads to enter the new fort.
25
About 7 or 8 courses of dressed stone walls sll exist beneath ground. The
praetorium (headquarters) has possibly been located and beneath this, a stone
strongroom, complete with entrance steps. The stone is referred to as
sandstone and not gritstone. Is that a mistake, as gritstone is so available and
yet hard to work? If sandstone was used, where did it come from? Is it the
stone evident on the sides of the River Noe further downstream? The Noe
gorge further down river has high and quite dramac sandstone clis. When
forts were built on Hadrian’s Wall, the stone used was quarried locally and
those quarries oen idened in modern mes. The mason’s marks can sll be
found on the quarry walls. No quarry has been idened for Navio.
The rebuilding is oen ascribed as a response to revolt by the Brigantes, the
northern tribe said to dominate this area. In fact, there is no evidence that the
Peak District was Briganan, nor, indeed, that such a tribe actually dominated
in the north. Neither is there any evidence whatsoever of ghng or hoslies
at Navio. Also, logically, if such a revolt had occurred, it would make no sense
to retain one small garrison at distant Navio. Hoslity apart, the Romans clearly
wanted the fort to look impressive and to dominate the area.
A stone tablet, now in Buxton Museum, records that, inially at least, the 1st
cohort of Aquitanians was based at the new fort. They were auxiliary cavalry
and had previously been based on Hadrian’s Wall. Did they rebuild the fort in
stone simply because they were a new garrison? All Roman military units were
self-contained, with the skills to build and decommission forts. These auxiliaries
were from south west Gaul (France). None were Roman cizens and they were
expected to serve for 25 years. Auxiliaries did most of the ghng and
campaigning. On compleon of their service, they were given Roman
cizenship, and this extended to one marriage and any children from that
marriage. It was only with cizenship that they could marry another Roman
cizen. The commander of the fort may well have been an Italian or Spanish,
and will have been a Roman cizen.
The internet oers considerable informaon on Roman auxiliaries. Apparently,
both the Gauls and Germans were good horse riders. Consequently, the
Romans may have levied on Gaul the provision of both men and horses to
create auxiliary units. The Gaulish horses were well known, at 13-14 hands and
able to carry a man or haul wagons. Each auxiliary would have his own horse
and be enrely responsible for it. That included using his own salary to provide
fodder and oats, products perhaps bought from farms in the Bradwell valley.
26
Auxiliaries were sent as far as possible from their homeland to dissuade them
from aempng to desert and return home. We might assume that the unit
would include breeding mares and stallions so that horses could be bred
around Navio. A skilled veterinarian is said to have accompanied each unit. The
auxiliary was the ‘eyes and ears’ for the Romans, skilled at scoung and
policing.
An interesng perspecve of archaeologists excavang Roman remains relates
to the Britons experience of Roman troops. They felt that in most parts of
Britain, local people would not see a Roman soldier in their lifeme. The troops
would be in garrisons such as Chester or on borders, such as Hadrian’s Wall.
This suggests that Derbyshire was extremely unusual in having troops present,
and visible to the populace, for hundreds of years.
One might expect evidence of the use of horses at Navio, other than stables,
but none appears to have been found. Firstly, hundreds of horses will have died
over the life of the fort and must be buried somewhere. That is, unless they
were rounely rendered to produce glue, candles, ferlizer and other materials
(no data exists on rendering at the me). Secondly, although Roman horses
were not shoed as we know it, a set of 4 hipposandles have been found at
Vindolanda on Hadrian’s Wall. These iron shoes ed around the hoof and
were not nailed. Being iron, they will have been recycled and so are a very rare
nd. It appears that the cavalry rode alongside Roman roads, on soer ground,
if they were not hipposandled. Otherwise, the hard metalled surface quickly
wore down the hoof and damaged the frog, the so inner hoof. Evidence
suggests that the major reason why horses were rered or killed was because
of lameness, probably because most were not shoed.
The fort is small by Roman standards, which immediately raises quesons. Was
it small because the Romans wanted to hold down costs, being aware that this
fort was a long-term commitment? If so, that suggests that the funcon of the
fort was novel, that it was dierent to typical Roman forts.
The excavaons in the 1940’s thought the fort was too small for 480 troops, the
usual allocaon in a small fort. However, it appears that most fort barracks do
not fully accommodate the units staoned there. The stables appeared to
accommodate just 25 horses which implies a small garrison. It appears that the
horses were not shared and it was one cavalryman per animal. Recent thinking
is that many, perhaps half the troops, were out of the fort on dues at any one
27
me. As it appears there was no ghng or rebellion in the area, these dues
must have been signicant to jusfy the high cost of maintaining such a fort.
The queson, in the light of all this informaon, is whether Navio was purely a
cavalry fort. Such an excepon would appear logical in that it was not typical of
small Roman forts. A Turmae was the smallest basic unit of cavalry and
comprised of 32 troopers. This sounds an ideal unit for Navio. With a number
of horses out to grazing around the fort and for breeding, stables for 25 horses
appears a funconal number.
A bath house was built, typically outside the fort, at the conuence of the River
Noe and Bradwell Brook. In 1793, an ‘oblong square building in hewn gritstone’
was found and there was ‘a double row of pillars’ in a eld next to the
conuence. A vicus (civilian selement) developed outside the east gate, which
crossed Bradwell Brook, and to the south. Being the second fort, this was the
second vicus and it was large, at least 20 acres. The thesis esmates that 800 –
1200 people lived in the vicus. The fort appears to have been abandoned some
me before 360 and the vicus may have been abandoned some me before
that. There is no evidence of a market at the vicus. That supports a view that
the fort economy was built on military salaries and not on a self-supporng
local economy. However, it may just be that a marketplace has yet to be
excavated.
The vicus excavaons have thrown up at least 11 altar stones and inscripons.
About 250 meters east of the fort, 2 gritstone ballista balls, a quern and two
altar stones were found. It was considered that a temple existed up the hill
from this spot. There were stone buildings in the vicus, which implies that a
level of wealth existed. There were few buildings around the other three gates
of the fort.
Otherwise, compared to other vicus, very few arfacts indicang wealth, such
as glass and ornaments have been found there. That said, the percentage of
the vicus that has been excavated is not known.
Water was brought in via the south west gate and from a stone water tank near
the gulley at this point. On this wall, a gap was opened out at some stage, and
the ramp constructed, probably to allow cavalry to rapidly exit. It could also
have facilitated access to horse grazing and equine care in general. The north
west gate, with a tower above, was excavated and found to be nearly 5 metres
wide. This was over the road to Melandra, which fairly immediately crossed
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over the River Noe. This Navio excavaon was in 1938/9 and the arfacts were
taken to Sheeld.
It is worth nong that Melandra, possibly called Ardotalia by the Romans, was
built at the same me as the rst Navio fort, say 70 - 80. Then, at Melandra,
about 120, a wall 1.5 metres thick, was built in front of the rampart, and the
wood principia (headquarters building) was rebuilt in stone. There appeared to
be a mansio (ocial stopping place), for overnighng visitors, outside the fort.
This was 45m x 20m, with two oors, and bigger than the fort headquarters.
The fort was considered a key staging post for travellers heading north to
Manchester from Buxton and east to Navio.
However, just 20 years later, around 140, the enre fort and mansio was
decommissioned. All oors were dug up, the fort walls pushed into the three
ditches. Unlike at Navio, it was not rebuilt. Consequently, the road from Navio
to Melandra might have been abandoned. With no fort and mansio, and the
next fort at Manchester, this long stretch appears to oer no protecon to
travellers. The forts at Chestereld and Rotherham (Templeborough) also
appear to have been built at the same me as Navio (70–80). One author puts
this date as the 60’s. There is lile evidence as to when these forts were
decommissioned. As they both sat alongside Ryknield Street, an important
route both north and south, the forts themselves may have been less the
objecve than the road to more important Roman centres.
4.1 Why was Navio rebuilt?
Why was Navio re-built, in stone? Why here, and why at quite a late period? It
was not decommissioned, as was Melandra. A strong argument is that it was
intended to protect what was a signicant trans-Pennine route. However, that
reasoning must be quesoned if the closure of Melandra is correctly dated. We
can assume that at the me of the invasion and for some decades, the trans-
Pennine route between forts was essenal. However, once the border is moved
to Hadrian’s Wall, would crossing the Pennines so far south be necessary? It is,
even today, a high and exposed crossing.
The more we weaken the existence of a trans-Pennine route, the stronger the
argument that Navio was built to protect and police the lead industry. It could,
of course, have controlled both the route and the lead industry. Further south
in Derbyshire, no evidence suggests that a fort was necessary to protect the
lead industry. It is feasible that a cavalry unit at Navio, the northern edge of the
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ore eld, is ideally placed to accompany consignments of lead as they moved
south through the various lead workings to Carsington or Wirksworth. All the
lead consignments could, in theory, be protected by the detachment from
Navio. These troops could also protect consignments of grain and money to
maintain the garrison.
The fact that the fort was rebuilt in stone is signicant and implies a far-sighted
intenon. The rst fort, built in mber around 79, was probably associated with
the invasion of this part of the island. There were no major Iron Age
selements in the Noe Valley and no evident need to aack and suppress local
tribes. The Mam Tor hillfort was out of use by the 6th century BC. Typically, such
isolated Roman forts were only maintained unl the Roman border moved
further north.
The rebuilding of the fort in stone is clearly part of post invasion development.
That the fort was also manned unl at least the 300’s is signicant. The reason
for this would appear atypical as it did not occur elsewhere, or very rarely.
As a military fort for close on 300 years, it might also be ancipated that
veteran soldiers might have become resident in the locality, yet no evidence
exists of this. Resident ex-soldiers created a cushion for the Romans,
maintaining a community that would protect Roman values. This happened
along Hadrian’s Wall but that was because the legionaries had a higher status.
They were granted land for farming aer their service ended. Recent research
points to extensive Roman farming in the Eden Valley, south of Hadrian’s Wall.
However, granng land was not the case for auxiliaries, as at Navio. We can
assume that, aer their service, they returned to Gaul and aunted their
Roman cizenship. To do this, it is assumed that they would have ridden their
Gaulish horse back to Gaul, and probably paid for the horse to be shipped
across the channel. A horse was valuable and a means of status back in Gaul.
Although, in theory, auxiliary soldiers could not marry it appears that ‘wives’
typically existed in various kinds of liaisons. In view of this, we might also
ancipate Gaulish genes in the local populaon. No evidence of this has arisen
possibly because the post-Roman populaon moved westward as people from
Europe displaced them.
Typically, Roman soldiers were provided with grain. Indeed, later excavaons at
Navio found granary buildings measuring 17m x 10m, and built of stone. There
is no evidence that forts grew their own grain. Did local farmers grow and
30
deliver it to Navio? This is an interesng issue because, otherwise, grain
shipped to Navio would have been transported from the east or south of the
province. This is both dicult and expensive for the military. The grain convoys
would also be a target for possible aack and the and so in need of
protecon. One author highlights grain as the tribute the Britons had to pay to
the Romans. Indeed, some private individuals had to buy grain in order to pay
their taxes. The grain was stored in state granaries. It also appears that the
Britons were exporng grain well before the Roman invasion.
The SECRET GUIDE suggests that brigandage was endemic at rst and epidemic
by the third century. This was because of renegade soldiers with an awareness
of supply convoys. It was perhaps the reason why the whole of Britain was
militarized, not just the North. However, the evident remoteness and wildness
of Derbyshire must have made security more dicult.
At Roman Derby, the bones of cow, sheep and pig were found, and evidence of
malng, to make beer. None of these have been recorded at Navio.
In 1778 it was reported that the fort stone had been taken away for use in local
buildings. Later, in the 1840’s, the historian Bateman reported that fences in
the surrounding elds were built up with ‘squared sandstone pieces of les,
and other debris of the Roman fort’.
If the stone was used in buildings, can it be idened? Due to the me
involved, early buildings may have been demolished and the stone reused in
later buildings. The stone could easily have been taken to Shaon, just over
the hill. For instance, a piece of stone with evidence of carving can be seen
around the ford in Shaon.
Navio had four gates and the western gate might appear an anomaly. Later
illustraons of the fort show a tower over that gate. There was no vicus on that
side and, apparently, no road heading west. Today, we might view this side of
the fort as not oering good observaon up the Noe Valley towards Castleton.
However, there is a vast tract of land stretching from Castleton westwards over
which there is no evidence of a road. We might assume that as Navio appears
to have had a west gate, and that a gate usually facilitated a road, that one did
leave the western gate which has yet to be idened.
It might also be considered that the road from Navio to Melandra, number 711,
is an odd route. It immediately heads northwards over the highest hills and
where winter snows must have made the road impassable for long periods.
31
There is also considerable peat bog to cross at all mes of the year. That might
have been acceptable in the early military period but does not appear a viable
route for later day-to-day travellers. A route via what we call Edale Cross or
Winnats Pass is lower and may have had less peat underfoot. Using either of
those routes, the Roman road from Buxton to Melandra could readily be joined
further west via Hayeld.
5.0 Conclusion
I have aempted in this arcle to create a picture of how our small area of the
Peak District played a signicant part in Roman history. Within it I have
consolidated the research and somemes refuted earlier ndings and
suggested new ones. Not surprisingly, it poses many quesons. However, I trust
that this generates other minds to comment and add to the story, perhaps
even to challenge some of the ndings.
We must also recognise the message given to us by Navio. This is that the
military tend to dominate archaeology. There was a high rate of literacy in the
soldiers and this is perhaps why most inscripons and gravestones relate to the
military, and not to the average person in the street. That message may be
highly misleading as to how society operated at the me.
We might also ancipate that new excavaons at Navio and possible sites of
Roman roads in this area are unlikely. The nancial situaon in the UK favours
site specic archaeological digs, usually in urban sengs. This is oen a
response to planning applicaons to build supermarkets and the like. That
scenario is also unlikely to update Margary or similar countrywide projects. This
suggests that amateur eld observaons and intellectual study may be the only
way forward in the next few decades, and historical sociees will have a
valuable role to play in this.
6.0 Postscript
Having completed this document, two further sources of informaon arose
which throw light on the informaon above, and even answer many of the
quesons posed. The rst is:
6.1 The Roman Diploma of A.D. 124
In all my research no menon has been made of how a Roman auxiliary
obtained their Roman Cizenship. However, a book of this tle was lent to me
by a fellow member of the society. It was self-published by Michael Dyson of
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Sheeld and no ISBN number is given. It is about an arfact found beneath a
gritstone boulder in the Rivelin Valley, near Stannington. This was close to, and
midway along, the presumed Roman road from Navio to Templeborough, no.
710b. The book includes reference to the lead industry in the Peak District.
The modern word diploma is used to describe the Roman Army discharge
cercates found in the empire. Fieen of these relate to troops staoned in
Britain. Each one comprises two metal plates, in copper alloy. They are held
together by two metal rings, which enables them to be opened and closed like
a book. All four faces were inscribed in Lan in Rome. In essence, nocaon
was sent by fort commanders through to Rome lisng those soldiers
compleng their military service. The diploma was created, then witnessed and
adversed, in Rome. The emperor personally approved and granted the rights.
The diploma recorded the grant of Roman cizenship to the named individual.
It also included one present or future ‘wife’. Their children were also included
and cizenship passed down to descendants. It appears important to the
individual auxiliary that the whole family obtains this status. The diploma was
only relevant to auxiliaries because the legionaries had to possess cizenship
before they could join a legion. The diploma was the only evidence of
cizenship so extremely valuable. The metal plates measured 160 x 130 mm
on average.
The Stannington diploma, as it was called, was inscribed in 124, during the
reign of Hadrian. It was discovered by a ‘ploughman’ in 1761. This was later
disputed in that the land is too poor to plough. The ploughman was, in fact,
one Edward Nichols, a farmer and cutlery manufacturer, who was evidently
aware of the importance of the nd. In fact, he and other men were ‘ridding’
the land, that is levering up gritstone blocks, which were all over the piece of
ground. It appears that someone had previously excavated below the stone
and secreted the diploma beneath. One or two Roman coins were
subsequently found in close proximity, none of which were recorded.
Of the Stannington diploma, the damaged front plate is deposited in the Brish
Museum. The complete second plate was lost; however, a transcript had been
drawn up. The auxiliary’s name was probably on the damaged plate and is
unknown. He was from Belgium, somewhere between Cologne and Liege.
There is nothing to suggest he was staoned at Navio, but could have been at
Templeborough. He had served in 25 campaigns or more, and may have been
entled to a grant of money or land. If he had chosen land, it might have been
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in the Rivelin Valley. As stated previously, no evidence of and selement by
Roman military veterans has been found in this area or the Peak District. It was,
clearly, quite exposed land, and poor-quality for farming. Nonetheless, it is
possible that a rering soldier, now a Roman cizen and aware of how the lead
industry operates, could buy such land with the intenon of farming in the
summer, and smelng lead in the winter. With a good supply of wood in
Stannington, charcoal could be produced throughout the year, and smelng
lead achieved over the winter months. Such a person may have had contacts
for selling the lead pigs back to the military.
The reason this may be feasible is through further comments made in 1863,
which stated:
“We have recently found in a small wood, in some of the unreclaimed land near
this place, which is not known to have been disturbed for many centuries, a
quanty of lead and lead ore, partly smelted: and in the immediate
neighbourhood several considerable beds of charcoal have been discovered, of
which we possess porons. There can indeed be lile doubt that the process of
smelng lead ore, probably from the Derbyshire mines, which are not many
miles distant, was here carried on by the Romans”
Since that date, this smelng evidence has not been located. It appears that
John Derby, who wrote this, and his colleagues, made some very important
discoveries in the 1860’s regarding Roman lead producon in the area, yet have
been largely ignored.
Another author, in 1920, is recorded as wring: “There is no doubt that lead
was carried along this Roman road (Navio to Templeborough) to be smelted in
places where wood was plenful. There was hardly a tree on the high land
between the Derbyshire lead mines and Brough, and it was more convenient to
take lead to the woods than to carry charcoal to the mines”
The Rivelin Valley had previously been a deer forest and it might be assumed to
possess a high number of trees in those early centuries. Oak, which prefers
gritstone soils to limestone, and alder, make ideal charcoal.
6.2 archiuk.com
The second item in the postscript is how modern techniques have completely
changed the way we might research the past. Whilst crossing from Mich Low
Lane to Smalldale, I spoke to one of two metal detectorists. Both were local
34
men, who have permission to search elds owned by Breedon. They explained
that several Roman nds by metal detectorists have occurred and that they are
oen outside the convenonal archaeology process. He then showed me the
archiuk website on his mobile, which is where most metal detectorists appear
to report their nds.
I subsequently subscribed to archiuk.com, which can be done by monthly or
annual subscripon. The laer was just under £50.00 for the year. This site
contains copies of OS and all old maps of the UK and wider. It aggregates nds
making it relavely easy to locate them on exisng OS maps. Far more
signicantly, using a page slider, a map can be transferred instantly into a lidar
image of that precise locaon.
Lidar stands for light detecon and ranging. It uses a pulsed laser to measure
distance into the earth, up to a few metres. Consequently, any feature beneath
the surface is highlighted. For Roman roads, the agger, if it exists, is shown
precisely where it lies, crossing the landscape.
To test this process, I returned to my comment above related to Margary, in
parcular about Batham Gate leaving the A623 heading north to Bradwell: that
where it ascends the hill near The Holmes it is clear as a terrace 18’ wide with a
clear agger 30’ wide. I stated that I had not been able to idenfy The Holmes
on the modern OS map. Using archiuk it was a simple maer to nd The
Holmes on a circa 1888 OS map. Changing this to lidar clearly highlights the
Roman agger crossing the A623 just behind The High Peak Tavern (now a
private house) and climbing the hill towards Bradwell.
35
The second property, top right corner, now holiday coages, can be idened
as The Holmes. To the le of it, the Roman agger creates a straight line across
the elds. It climbs to Bradwell Moor mine wasteland, where it is beneath
Clement Lane, and runs downhill past Poer Barn to the le. It leaves the lane
and crosses elds behind Paradise farm, with a small barn on the le, and joins
Cresswellpart Lane. This metalled lane drops down through Smalldale.
In considering Batham Gate, I doubted that it descended down Smalldale.
Roman surveyors always avoided dales because they oered an aacking
advantage to local tribes. If it did not use Smalldale then it could not connue
to join the modern Streield Road. This belies those convinced, for many
decades, that this raised road displays clear signs of the Roman agger. It also
belies the fact that current OS maps overlay Batham Gate on Streield Road.
The revelaon is that lidar proves that the Roman Road goes straight across
Cresswellpart Lane, heading north, behind Smalldale Head. It then connues
over elds in a direct line to Navio. It appears to cross into the Breedon site at
the end of the fourth secon of the Grey Ditch, the nal secon of this
earthwork. Is it just co-incidence that the Anglo Saxons, when construcng the
Grey Ditch, stopped at just the point where it meets the Roman road? If they
were intending the Grey Ditch to seal o, or control, all road access from the
Hope Valley into Mercia, then it needed to address the Roman Road. It is
feasible that the Roman road was sll used at that me or at least passable.
The line is a breach, a dip, in the ridge between Mich Low and an unnamed
height within the quarry site, and therefore private land.
This fourth secon of the grey ditch is the westerly secon, which starts just
over the summit of Mich Low, and extends west for one eld. It is possible, of
course, that quarrying has removed an extension of the Grey Ditch heading
further west. Indeed, some have claimed that it extends to Mam Tor even
though there is no evidence for this. It is also evident that Victorian OS maps
do not show this extended fourth secon of the Grey Ditch. The ditch was
assumed as terminang just as it approaches Mich Low from the east. The
fourth secon was perhaps idened much later by the OS archaeological unit
(1920 – 1983) menoned above.
From this point the Roman Road disappears into the exisng quarry site, then
beneath the sh ponds (once shale quarries) and is not evident whatsoever
before Navio is reached. This enre area, on Victorian OS maps is a mass of
lead mines and shas, and was clearly well disturbed before the later
36
limestone quarrying began. It is feasible that the eld area immediately around
Navio has been so damaged by the many excavaons that all signs of the agger,
if it was present, have been destroyed. On this screenshot, you can see the
agger coming in from mid boom and moving across the elds to the Breedon
track and then fading before crossing the loop in the track.
Aer the above line, the agger hits the end of the fourth secon of the Grey
Ditch. In then appears to drop through trees down the slope about half way
between Mich Low and the two obvious square Breedon buildings. The line is
faint but it heads directly for Navio only to disappear beneath the shponds.
I also used the lidar to search for the line of the Navio to Melandra road
(Margary no. 7). There is no visible evidence of this road starng at Navio, nor
in the elds prior to Hope Cemetery. Above this, it is faintly evident in the elds
37
before Fulwood Sle Farm. In fact, the agger was excavated at this point so we
know it exists. Beyond that, and over Hope Brinks, there are so many ground
features that it is dicult to follow the line. From there to Melandra, the line is
not evident. It is possible that as a later road, that is post invasion, it was not
built by the military. As a mountain route, unsuited to wheeled trac, it might
be assumed that a lesser construcon standard might apply. That might
suggest no metalling and less of an agger.
In late 2023, a Roman road from Manchester intending to cross the Pennines
via Longdendale was idened. This had a spur to Melandra, proving that a
through route was in use.
I used lidar to try and idenfy the road from Navio to Templeborough fort
(Rotherham), Margary number 710b. It is suggested that this broke away from
the road to Melandra aer it crossed over the River Noe. It then crossed the
Wye near Bamford and ascended to Stanage Edge. Alternavely, a route via
Shaon is suggested. That would require a crossing of the Bradwell Brook and
then crossing the Noe and Wye, three bridges or fords. If the crossing was aer
the Wye and Noe have joined, that crossing would be much wider and require
an extensive bridge in view of the heavy oods in winter. However, nothing was
visible using lidar suggesng either route existed. Neither did lidar indicate a
route over Stanage Edge, where an agger might be expected to survive when
agricultural acvity is reduced.
I also used lidar to idenfy any possible Roman Road up the Bradwell Valley,
even as far as Monsal Head. Nothing was evident. I also searched for any signs
of a Roman road leaving the centre of Chestereld. The fort was somewhere
beneath the town centre. However, no potenal road was evident.
Finally, my thanks go to members Brian Salisbury and Jerry Youle for their
review of these notes and provision of books about the Roman period.
Ken West
February 2024
