If a Roman road runs between the two sites you have chosen, the farms on either side of the road will be well worth checking, especially if the road crosses a river of some kind. If there is no evidence of a Roman road, run your straight edge between the two sites. Any prominent dwelling places or farms on either side of this line will be worth investigating. Look for old footpaths or track ways leading away from either side of the road or line, especially if they lead to a water source of some kind.

Even when there is no connecting road between the sites , there will have been people travelling between them, especially if a river runs between them. Under Roman occupation, the river would have been used to bring in supplies, the Romans knew how to use waterways to transport men and goods. The land on both sides of the river is worth attention. The unloading points would have been as close as possible to each fort, as the Romans believed in taking the shortest route between two points. The Romans took advantage of the track ways and dwellings that our ancestors had built before them. Some Roman roads were built over old track ways, others took a completely new route. As it was with the generations that followed the Romans, old facilities were adapted or discarded and new ones were created - each according to whether they suited the requirements of the day. That is why some old and very long track ways, heavily used in the past, are now no more than a series of short foot paths. For our ancestors walking was a way of life. They thought nothing of walking 3 to 4 hours each way to get to where they wanted to go, and they did this wherever possible in a straight line.

Look at the places you have colour marked on your map, especially those near a water source. Lots of our ancestors will have lived a reasonable distance from the major roads, they were considered dangerous and places to avoid whenever possible. Now move your straight edge slowly around your first centre point and mark off any line where several of your earlier coloured markings line up, or where there is a group reasonably close together. If you do this correctly you will eventually highlight several areas that are worth further attention.  For your records, transfer and mark the highlighted areas onto a recent Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 series map. For further research, mark them onto an Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 series, or the latest county A to Z map. You need to do this to make sure that the areas you have highlighted are not now built upon. If you find some of the dwellings or settlements highlighted on the map are now farmland areas, go and visit the area to confirm, and seek detecting permission.

Keep in mind, anyone can pick up a map, find the nearest fort and follow the Roman road. Many, if not most, detectorists will have done this before you. Use your imagination. Start off with the fact that everybody needed water. Before, during, and for many years after the Roman's occupation our ancestors did not have water brought to where they lived, they went to live where the water was. Pay special attention to any flat areas, on higher ground, close to a water source such as a small stream or a river. This is where they would have built their homes. Even though there would be a lot of trafficking between the water source and the dwelling, higher ground was preferred to ground that was below or level with the water source, as that land would be at risk of flooding, or would be boggy in wet weather.

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