THE ANCIENT ROADS AND THE SITE 5 



tlie Shelf brook into Glossop (sheet 86). Throughout this 

 portion of its course it has all the characters of a road of 

 the Prehistoric Iron Age. It was continued through 

 Glossop, where several fragments of Roman road are pre- 

 served, and through Dinting in the valley of the Glossop 

 brook close under Melandra. It crosses the Etherow at 

 Woolley Bridge, and joins the Roman road to Stockport at 

 Mottram. In this section of its course it has undoubtedly 

 been reconstructed and carried along the bottom of the 

 valley by the Roman engineers. 



The road to Stockport is a point to point road, and there- 

 fore Roman. It passes from Mottram to the south and 

 west, following the line of the high road through Gee Cross 

 and Woodley to Stockport (sheet 98). After crossing the 

 Great Central Railway, an old winding ridge way, named 

 Apple Street, ascends to the height of over 900 ft. by 

 Windy Harbour, over Werneth Low, rejoining the main 

 road at Woodley. In my opinion this is a portion of the 

 original line of the Prehistoric cross way, superseded by 

 the later work of the Roman engineer, carried along an 

 easier gradient. It is obvious that this was a line of 

 communication between Stockport and Brough. From 

 Mottram (sheet 86) there was another line of communica- 

 tion probably of prehistoric age, but marked by fragments 

 of a Roman road, passing northwards through Roe Cross,^ 

 and following the contours of the east side of the Tame 

 near Bucton Castle^ in the direction of the Roman fort 

 at Castleshaw. Here it joined the road from Man- 

 chester through Oldham and Delph, which from its 

 structure and straightness is undoubtedly Roman. 



5. S. Andrew Trans. Lane, and Chesh. Antiq. Soc, x., p. 48. 



6. There is no evidence that this is Roman. It probably belongs to 

 the Prehistoric Iron Age. 



