Deventiasteno

Attested:  Statio (or Stadio) deventiasteno at position 11 in the Ravenna Cosmography

Where:  The large Roman camp recently discovered at Roche, Cornwall, near SW9960, probably supervised the collection and taxing of Cornish tin.

Name origin:  Latin statio ‘station, base’ tended to mean a government office, especially one involved in taxation.  Deventia- might come from devenio ‘to come’ but debeo ‘to owe’ (the source of our word debenture) is more likely, with the usual near interchangeability of V and B.  And –steno resembles stannum ‘tin’, which is claimed to derive via Celtic from PIE *steh₂- ‘to stand’.  Most ancient tin came from the western fringe of Europe (such as Cornwall), where current thinking suggests that the Celtic languages were born.

Notes:  Richmond & Crawford reported Williams' suggestion that deventia came from PIE *dei- ‘to shine, god’ and that –steno had been mangled from –ensis.  Not convincing.

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Last edited 1 February 2023     To main Menu.