Two Pigs found on Heyshaw Moor, Nidderdale in the 1730s weighed 156 lbs and
155 lbs. They were found burried at a depth of 2 feet, side by side and on
their ends. The description of their discovery concluded quite convincingly
that they had probably slipped off a packhorse (one carried each side of the
horse). There are no known roman roads in the area but further east a route
using Roman roads has been identified from Ripley to the river Ure at
Boroghbridge, from where there is a navigable river route to the north sea.
A further pig is recorded as being found around 1860 further west near
Nussey Knott weighing 88 lbs.

As these pigs were found around a 1.5 miles either side of Greenhow Hill the
asumption has previously been made that they must have come from the
Greenhow lead mines. One thing that i have noticed during recent survey work
at Greenhow is that there may be another explanation. Both pigs are
associated with a routeway that is documented from the Medieval period. Lead
from Greenhow was taken to Boroghbridge, for example 168 pigs were sent in
oxen carts to Windsor Castle in 1363. The route keeps to high ground which
is typical of very early roads. To the west of Greenhow it is possible to
trace a route past Nussey Knott to Grassington and then across Wharfedale
onto the high ground of Malham Moor, where there is a Roman marching camp,
and keeping to the high ground on to Settle. This then puts the west coast
within easy reach.

Although the Romans did build plenty of roads, which could be considered as
similar to todays motorways, there is plenty of eveidence that they also
used existing routways, so this is perhaps suggesting a pre Roman
transpennine and coast to coast transport route? At the moment it is still
just a theory but is does then raise questions about the origin of the pigs.
Did they come from Greenhow or were they just lost in transport from one
unknown location to another? There are no known Roman settlements at
Greenhow and the only other possible Roman find i am aware of is a small
horde of coins which is still being assesed. These were also found adjacent
to the road.

Further north work by Andrew Flemming has identified a possible Roman road
from Ulshaw Bridge in Wensleydale to Marrick in Swaledale, which was
associated with medieval mining at nearby Hurst. A further pig bearing a
Roman inscription is reported from the Hurst area. The presence of a
"proper" Roman road might suggest that carts were used for transport. It is
also thought that the Romans could bring boats up the river Ure as far as
Ulshaw Bridge.

This perhaps does not answer the question about how the Romans transported
lead but could suggest that they would have used a variety of methods which
may be similar to the techniques documented in the Medieval period.

Martin Roe

Conservation Officer NAMHO
National Association of Mining History Organisations http://www.namho.org

Lead Mining in the Yorkshire Dales
http://www.mroe.freeserve.co.uk

The Industrial Heritage of Calderdale
http://www.halifaxcouriertoday.co.uk/ftpinc/calderheritage

_________________________________________________________________
Get Hotmail on your mobile phone http://www.msn.co.uk/msnmobile