Othello it and reworked hints in creating the character of Othello. While supplying the source of the plot, the book offered nothing of the sense of place of Venice or Cyprus. For knowledge of this, Shakespeare may have used Gasparo Contarini's "The Commonwealth and Government of Venice", in Lewes Lewkenor's 1599 translation. The earliest mention of the play is found in a 1604 Revels Office account, which records that on "Hallamas Day, being the first of Nouembar ... the Kings Maiesties plaiers" performed "A Play in the Banketinghouse at Whit Hall Called The Moor of Venis." The work is attributed to
Kersal Moor receding glaciers, in a process known as sedimentary fluting. The moor is criss-crossed with footpaths, many of which cut through to the sand and gravel below. Singleton Brook, to the north of the moor, denotes the boundary between Salford and Prestwich. Flint scrapers, knives and other materials associated with neolithic humans were discovered on the moor in the late 19th and early 20th century by local antiquarians such as Charles Roeder. The Roman road from Manchester (Mamucium) to Ribchester (Bremetennacum) roughly followed the line of the A56 road (Bury New Road) which is just to the east of Kersal Moor.