Καρβαντοριγον
Attested: Ptolemy 2,3,8 Καρβαντοριγον, a πολις of the (Σ)ελγοουαι; Carbantium at position 161 in the Ravenna Cosmography
Where: Raeburnfoot Roman fort at NY25109908, at the head of Eskdale.
Name Origin: Latin carpentum ‘two-wheeled cart, wagon’ is often asserted to be a loan-word from Gaulish *carbanton, but is more likely to be a Latin word based on carpo ‘to gather’, related to Greek καρποω ‘to bear fruit’ and to English harvest, pressed into service to describe the war chariots (“battle taxis”) that Romans encountered in northern Europe after they were obsolete elsewhere. It has become customary to amend ριγον to ριτον and then to Celtic *ritu- ‘ford’, but Latin rigor ‘straight line or course’ is the correct sense here. Richmond (1946) described how the Romans engineered a remarkable roadway at “one of the most isolated and remote of Roman sites in Scotland” as part of a Roman road heading north-east across southern Scotland to link up with the main north road (Dere Street) at Trimontium (Newstead).
Notes: Carbantia was a place in northern Italy named on the Antonine Itinerary.
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Last edited 10 March 2023 to main Menu