THE EARLY DEFENSIVE EARTHWORK ON COMB MOSS, I 13 



to carry up water for days beforehand when the fortresses Avere 

 likely to be needed — a task allotted by the Maories to their 

 women.* 



It is, however, recorded by Mr. Sainterf that at Comb Moss 

 " there is a good spring of water in about the centre of the area," 

 and, as we have seen, Major Rooke refers to water supply. 



A cursory examination (in a downpour of rain) of this inter- 

 esting fortress made one long lor the opportunity to conduct a 

 systematic exploration under favourable conditions, which 

 might tell us at what period the great ramparts were raised ; a 

 task which one may hope will some day be undertaken by 

 Derbyshire archaeologists. 



Geological Notes. 



The Geological Survey Memoir ou North Derbyshire, 2nd 

 edition, p. 15 (1887), says: — 



" The large flat-topped hill of Comb Moss is capped by an 

 outlier of Third Grit, while round its flanks the outcrops of the 

 Fourth, Fifth, and Shale Grits run in concentric rings." 



The Geological Survey Memoir on the Stockport District, p. 61 

 (1866), says : — 



" At the top lies a hummock of shales, and the little coal at 

 the junction [with the Third Grit] has formerly been worked 

 . . . Round the flanks of the hill run the outcrops of two 

 grit beds, the Fourth and Fifth Grits, representing the Kinder 

 Scout Grit. The upper is mostly a coarse red grit, the lower 

 not so coarse, and flaggy. . . . Below these is found the Yore- 

 dale Grit, a fine-grained brown sandstone. . . . The Third 

 Grit . . . ends off sharply in a line of crags, broken here and 

 there by large landslips, while below we may trace three fainter 

 lines of cliff, marking the outcrops of the Fourth, Fifth, and 

 Yoredale Grits." 



* Old New Zealand (1887). 



t Sainler (J. D.), Gambles /?ound Afau/cs/ie/d (1878). 



