Ashes Under Uricon

Geographical note

Should the historical novelist use ancient place-names or modern? The choice is a tricky one. To most readers, York and Bath will mean more than Eboracum and Aquae Sulis. Few, on the other hand, even present-day Britons, have heard of Wroxeter or Leintwardine, and Viroconium and Bravonium impart a finer sense of period. For better or worse, therefore, I have mostly plumped for the ancient names, in latinised rather than in native spelling. But where there are obviously similar English forms, ancient place-names like Roma, Parisii, Londinium and Britannia seem over-pedantic. The same applies to personal names like Constantinus and Vertigernus.

One special case, however, calls for comment. To the Romans, Ireland was Hibernia, and its inhabitants were Scotti, Scots. It was not until well after our period that Irish settlers gave their name to what is now known as Scotland. The Irish crop up frequently in this story, and it seems to me that, even with this warning, to call them Scots would invite confusion. Irish they therefore are, living in Ireland.

The following list identifies such ancient names as are not blindingly obvious. Most are certainly genuine. A few are probably or possibly so. But where the ancient ones are not on record at all, I have fabricated them by working back from more recent names, and these are marked with asterisks. After the list are three maps, at different scales, which mark all the British and Irish places and peoples mentioned.

Abona	River Avon (Bristol)
Abonae	Sea Mills (Avonmouth)
Aquae Sulis	Bath
Armorica	Brittany, France
Attacotti	Irish people settled in south-west Wales
Bithynia	Roman province, north-west Asia Minor
Bononia	Boulogne, France
Bravonium	Leintwardine, Herefordshire
Brigantes	British tribe/civitas centred on Yorkshire
Brigodunum*	The Breiddin, Powys
Burdigala	Bordeaux, France
Camulodunum	Colchester, Essex
Canovium	Caerhun, Conwy
Condate	Northwich, Cheshire
Cordocum*	Caer Caradoc, Shropshire
Corinium Dobunnorum	Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Cornovii	British tribe/civitas centred on Shropshire
Cravodunum*	Great Orme, Conwy
Croucodunum*	Llanymynech Hill, Powys
Croucomailum*	Cruck Meole, Shropshire
Cunetio	Cound, Shropshire
Deceangli	British tribe centred on Flintshire
Demetae, Demetia	British tribe/civitas of Dyfed, south-west Wales
Deva	Chester, also River Dee
Deva Sea	Liverpool Bay
Dobunni	British tribe/civitas centred on Gloucestershire
Dubris	Dover, Kent
Dumnonii	British tribe/civitas of Devon and Cornwall
Durotriges	British tribe/civitas centred on Dorset
Eboracum	York
Fanum Maponi*	Nettleton, Wiltshire
Ganganorum Promontory	Braich y Pwll, Gwynedd
Gaul	France, approximately
Glevum	Gloucester
Hippo	Bone, Algeria
Iceni	British tribe/civitas centred on Norfolk
Inberdea	Wicklow, Ireland
Isca	Caerleon, Gwent
Isca Dumnoniorum	Exeter, Devon
Isurium Brigantium	Aldborough, Yorkshire
Laigin	Leinster, Ireland; later Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd
Levobrinta	Forden Gaer, Powys
Lindum	Lincoln
Luguvallium	Carlisle, Cumbria
Mailobrunnia	The Malverns, Worcestershire
Mediolanum	Milan; also Whitchurch, Shropshire
Mona	Anglesey
Moridunum	Carmarthen, Dyfed
Nemetobala	Lydney, Gloucestershire
Noviomagus	Chichester, Sussex
Oaxes	fictional river
Oboca	River Avonmore, Co. Wicklow
Octapitarum	St David’s Head, Dyfed
Onna*	Linley, Shropshire
Pagenses	part of Cornovii in central Wales (hence Powys)
Pannonia	Roman province centred on Hungary
Picts	people of highland Scotland
Pons Aelius	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Ratae	Leicester
Rutunium	Harcourt Park, Shropshire
Rutupiae	Richborough, Kent
Sabrina	River Severn
Sabrina Sea	Bristol Channel
Salicinum*	Helygain, Halkyn, Flintshire
Salinae	Middlewich, Cheshire
Saxons	people of coastal Europe, N Holland to Denmark
Scythia	Ukraine, roughly
Segontium	Caernarfon, Gwynedd
Silina	Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, then a single island
Silures	British tribe/civitas in South Wales
Tamium	Cardiff
Trena	River Tern, Shropshire
Treveri	Trier, Germany
Truscolenum*	Mynydd Parys, Anglesey
Uí Failgi	Irish tribe centred on Co. Kildare
Uí Garrchon	Irish tribe centred on Co. Wicklow/Kildare
Varae	St Asaph, Denbighshire
Vebriacum	The Mendips, Somerset
Vectis	Isle of Wight
Venedotia	Gwynedd
Venta Belgarum	Winchester, Hampshire
Venta Silurum	Caerwent, Gwent
Vertis	Worcester
Verulamium	St Albans, Hertfordshire
Vindolocum*	Wenlock Edge, Shropshire
Virocodunum*	The Wrekin, Shropshire
Viroconium Cornoviorum	Wroxeter, Shropshire
Vogius	River Wye
The Wall	Hadrian’s Wall, between R Tyne and R Solway