Ground conditions may be soft and uneven
(read more)Ring setting with Greek Sphinx
DERSB : 5359
A glass ring setting or intaglio, found at Melandra, Glossop, 75-140CE. The design features a finely engraved Greek-style crouching sphinx.
This finely crafted seal was probably mounted in a ring. The sphinx is mostly associated with Egypt; the face of a woman identifies this as having Greek origins.
In around 70CE, the Romans built a timber fort near modern-day Gamesley, Glossop. This fort controlled the east-west route across the southern Pennines. About 40 years later soldiers from the First Frisiavones Cohort, recruited from Germany, rebuilt the fort in stone. They were joined by soldiers of the Third Cohort Bracara Augustini, recruited from modern-day Portugal.
The fort contained barracks, store rooms, granaries, a commanding officers house, and a headquarters building. A bathhouse, with underfloor heating, was built just outside the fort. The presence of the soldiers attracted local people who set up houses and shops outside the walls.
The Roman name for the fort may have been Ardotalia, from Celtic words meaning the place of the high dark hill. Today the site is known as Melandra. This name may have been given to it by John Watson, rector of Stockport and antiquarian, who studied the area in the 1770s.
Additional information
- Description: width 11mm; length 14mm; depth mm; diameter mm
- Rights: Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (part of Derbyshire County Council)
Wonders linked to this object:
Melandra Castle Layout Sketch
Mapping out Melandra - what was the layout of the fort?
(read more)Melandra Castle Principia
In the centre of the East - West roadway lie the remains of a small square building. This is the Principia or Command and Administration headquarters. The Principia was also the spiritual centre of the fort and the central room would contain the regimental shrine as well as a sunken pit which acted as a 'strong room' for the regimental pay chest. The money was kept here as a deterrent to thieves who would be committing sacrilege if they stole from the shrine. ... (read more)