Antonine, as well as more extenfive and circumftantial. It appears to have been collected, in the fourteenth century, by one Richard, a native of Cirencester, but a monk of Weft minfter. Whence the whole collection was made we are not fufficiently informed; though the Itinerary in particular is faid, by Richard himself, to have been collected from fome remains of records drawn up (betwixt the years 138 and 170) by authority of a Roman general; whom Mr. W. conjectures to have been Lollius Urbicus, governor of Britain under Antoninus Pius.

These invaluable remains were in the moft imminent danger of perishing for ever, had not Mr. Bertram, an English gentleman, fortunately difcovered the manufcript at Copenhagen in 1747. A copy having been tranfmitted to the late Dr. Stukeley, he published a tranflation of the Itinerary part with a comment, in 1757; and in the fubfequent year the whole work was printed at Copenhagen, and a few copies fent to England as prefents. Our Author having frequently referred, in the courfe of his work, to this Itinerary of Ricardus Corinenfis, has fubjoined it to his hiftory, together with the parallel parts of Antonine's celebrated Itinerary, that one may illuftrate the other. He hath alfo annexed, in diftinct columns, the modern places correfpondent to each ancient name, as affigned by Gale, Horseley, and Stukeley.

Under the guidance of Richard's and the other Itinerary, with the occafional affiftance of Ptolemy, the Notitia, and Ravennas, our Author proceeds to point out the fites of the Roman ftations in general within the county of Lancaster, and others bordering upon it, as well as to trace the roads which extend betwixt them.

In the history of the Roman people, he remarks, there are few particulars which fo ftrongly betray their native grandeur of foul, as the roads which they profecuted over all the ample extent of their empire.' Though the Romans, doubtlefs, found many roads previously laid out for public ufe, yet thefe, he thinks, were scarce likely to anfwer all their exigencies. They therefore conftructed new ones, two of them indeed in the line of two ancient British ways, (the Watling and Ikening ftreets) and perhaps others; but all upon plans better calculated for convenience and duration. Mr. W. is of opinion, that these roads were not carried on, as is frequently imagined, by the foldiery, but that the Romans were merely the directors, and that the more laborious employ was impofed upon the natives; which feems no improbable conjecture.

It has been queftioned by antiquarians, whether the ftations or the roads of the Romans were prior in time. And though no determination hath hitherto been given to this

2.

queftion,

queftion, yet the decifion of it appears to be very obvious to Mr. W. who abfolutely affirms, that the ftations were certainly prior;' and that the roads, being only the channels of communication between them, could not (well) have been conftructed till after the peace of the country (wherein the stations were fixed, probably, during the conqueft of it) was tolerably fettled. The Roman road at the extremity of the Caftle-field, the fite of ancient Mancunium, was cut down from the furface to the bafe, in 1765, and the materials of it, we are told, lay plainly diftinguished from the natural gravel of the ground by the melted bricks and broken mill-tones which were found incorporated with them. It appeared to be constructed with a strong gravel mingled with large boulders and rocky fragments. The whole road was about fourteen yards in breadth, and a yard and an half in depth.'-From Mancunium he traces this road to, and determines (what he esteems) the genuine fite of, Cambodunum, originally fixed at Almondbury, and fince removed, by Horfeley, to Gretlandmoor. But the former lying, he thinks, too much to the fouth, and the latter equally too much to the north, of the visible Roman road, Mr. W. declares he has at last been fortunate enough to difcover the ground whereon to fettle this long-loft town, which he now fixes at a place called Slack, in the township of Longwood, and parish of Huthersfield, in Yorkshire. Here he found four clofes called the Yeld Fields, (i. e. the Eald or old fields) adjoining to the track of the Roman road from Mancunium, and at the proper distance from thence. In thefe fields many large foundations of buildings have been difcovered, compofed of ftrong ftone and mortar. Alfo a great quantity of bricks, (apparently Roman) urns, bones, coins, and several other things, particularly a Roman altar, now in Mr. Whitaker's own poffeffion, a figure of which, and the infcription, are given in a plate.-Thefe remains appearing to be what he supposes, he exultingly concludes, in the genuine spirit of antiquarianifm, Thus have we clearly found what industry has vainly toiled, and genius has ineffectually fchemed, to difcover through the long extent of a century and an half, the real fite of Cambodunum.'

The pofition of Condate hath alfo embarraffed the antiquarian critics; fettled originally at Congleton, it has fince been fixed at or near Northwich; but, according to this writer, it was neither at one nor the other, but at Kinderton in Cheshire. For the reasons however of this change, which appear plaufible enough, we must refer to the work itself.

Chap. 5. is employed in pointing out feveral other Roman ftations, and tracing the roads of communication betwixt them. In thefe refearches our Author fometimes differs from

preceding

preceding writers: For inftance, though Baxter fuppofes the Portus Siftuntiorum to have been the mouth of the Mersey, and Stukeley fixes it at the mouth of the Lune, yet Mr. W. deems them both mistaken, and agrees in opinion with Horseley, that it must have been at the mouth of the Ribble: And from the great fingularity of the name which the Romans conferred upon it, THE HARBOUR OF LANCASHIRE, it appears to have been the only river in the county which was employed as an harbour by them. Paffing through the center of the Siftuntian country, and opening with the largest mouth into the fea, the Romans. naturally preferred it to the Merfey or the Lune, and made it the one port for the county of Lancaster.'-But it was then, he obferves, a much more confiderable æftuary than it is at prefent; for he acknowledges that it now affords a much worse harbour' than either of the laft-mentioned rivers.

Chap. 6. opens with the following judicious remarks. These are the Roman roads that courfed from Mancunium to the neighbouring ftations. And fuch as they are, they must fhare in the great admiration and the high praife which antiquarians have beftowed upon the roads of the Romans in general. But furely those critics have been too lavish in their eulogiums upon them. Antiquarianifm is the younger fifter of biftory, lefs fedate and more fanciful, and apt to become enamoured of the face of time by looking fo frequently upon it. But let not this be the conduct of her foberer difciples. Let not the fenfible antiquarian difgrace himself and his profeffion by admiring greatly what is merely ancient, and by applauding fondly what is only Roman. The pencil of age may justly be allowed to throw a fhade of refpectableness, and to diffufe even an air of venerableness, over the productions of very ancient art. And we may appeal to the native feelings of every fenfible beholder for the truth of the obfervation. But, this is all that can be allowed to the mere influence of time. And the antiquarian that once overfteps this reafonable limit, facrifices the dignity of fentiment to the dreams of antiquarianifin, and gives up the realities of history for the fables of imagination.' The Caftra Efliva, or fummer-camps of the Romans, were, he obferves, a requifite addition to their regular ftations. the latter were generally fixed upon the foutherly flope of an bill or bank, they were well calculated for the keennefs of our winters, and as ill for the warmth of our fummers. The Romans therefore naturally conftructed an additional camp for their station in the fummer.' For this purpofe, he fuppofes they neceffarily felected fome fite in the neighbourhood of the regular flation, which was fully open to the north. Such was apparently the general reafon for which the Romans conftructed their fummer-camps, and fuch the general principle upon Rev. Jan. 1772.

D

which

which they felected the proper pofitions for them. On this principle, a fummer-camp was abfolutely neceflary at Mancunium, as the warm beams of fummer are uncommonly fervid and fcorching upon the flope of the Caftle-field.'-To the queftion,But where would the Romans moft probably settle the fummer ftation?' Mr. W. replies, Its real fite appears to have been pretty near to the regular ftation, about a mile to the north of it, and is now the fite of the Collegiate Church, and other buildings. This (he immediately adds) is infinitely the propereft fite in the vicinity of the town that can pretend to attract the notice of the enquiring antiquarians. This is abfolutely the only fite in the vicinity of the ftation that could pretend to attract the notice of the examining Romans.'

6

With respect to the number of troops kept up here, it is fuppofed by Horfeley, that the Roman garrifon in Britain, during the fecond, third, and fourth centuries, amounted only to three legions, the fixth Victorious, the twentieth Valerian and Victorious, and the fecond Auguftan, and the auxiliaries regularly attendant upon them. And with this fuppofition the Hiftory of Dio, the Geography of Ptolemy, and the Itinerary of Antonine, feem all to concur, as they all mention these three and only thefe three legions to be refident in the island. This number of legions, as appears from the complement of a fingle legion during thofe centuries, which was 6100 foot and 726 horse, and from the ftated proportion of the auxiliary to the legionary troops, which was equal in the infantry and double in the cavalry, muft have contained about 36,600 foot and 6,534 horfe.' But, thus confidered, three legions and their auxiliaries are plainly infufficient for the purpotes of garrifoning the island.' The ftations mentioned in the Itineraries are not fewer than 140, but rather more, even after the Romans had retired to the valium of Antoninus, and had abandoned all the ftations from Inverness to the Friths. But it would be evidently ridiculous to diftribute a body of about 43,000 men into 140 principal ftations, as fuch a diftribution. could allot only 307 for a ftation, and its attendant caftellets ;' -and each station is fuppofed to have had several fuch dependant upon it.

The garrifon therefore of each ftation, with its caftellets, could not, Mr. W. thinks, have been lefs than 400 effective men: and, even upon this difpofition, the total amount would have been 56,000. But a much greater number probably refided in the kingdom, as, during the difperfion of the reft,. fome confiderable bodies must have been kept together, the more effectually to overawe the conquered Britons within the walls, and the unconquered without. And fuch bodies actually appear to have been thus kept together, one large corps

being quartered at York, another at Chefter, and a third at Caerleon in Monmouthshire. This being the cafe, there must certainly have been more than three legions within the island' and the pofitive teftimony of Jofephus affures us, that in the reign of Vefpafian there were four. The account of Richard, as well as feveral infcriptions that have been difcovered, ince that there were more afterwards. Infcriptions have been found in Wales which clearly exhibited the name of the tenth legion; and to this we may add the feventh, or Claudian legion, which was fettled at Gloucefter, where it must have remained for a confiderable period, as the town was denominated from it Claudioceftria. Thus are five legions difcovered to have been refident within the island; two additional to the number fuppofed by Horseley.

Chap. 7. Regularly as the Romans extended their conquefts in the island, they appear equally to have erected stations for themselves, and to have constructed cities for the Britons.'

By this means the progrefs of their arms was diftinctly marked by the progrefs of cultivation, and the face of the country gradually brightened up, as the line of their conquests advanced.'-As the Romans prevailed, they carried along with them all the ufeful refinements of civil life. Thefe they introduced, not with the godlike defign of foftening the rough genius of Lancashire, and of diffufing the fweets of focial happiness among its inhabitants, but merely to promote the little purposes of their own felfifh policy. That eternal wifdom however, which gave all the central regions of the globe to the Romans, and gave them for reafons worthy the great Father of Humanity, directed the low cunning of man to his own exalted ends, the higher cultivation of the rational powers, and the better propagation of the fyftem of redeeming benevolence.'

Agricola fubdued Lancashire in 79, and immediately ordered ftationary forts to be erected. This was neceffarily the first object of his attention:-The fecond had a deeper reach and more permanent confequences. Actuated by principles of policy, he exerted all his addrefs to invite the Siftuntii from their original habitations amidst extenfive forefts and mashes (where they might have kept up fome kind of independency) to a common refidence in towns; and his addrefs prevailed.Such was the first commencement of the prefent towns of Lancafhire in general, and of Manchetter in particular.

The rife of Manchetler is thus defcribed: The town was originally constructed, not as the old central parts of it are now planted, at the diftance nearly of a mile from the Caftle-field, but in the more immediate neighbourhood of the ftation. No tradition however afcertains the particular fite. In the vicinity