Lindinis
Attested: Lindinis at position 26 in the Ravenna Cosmography; stone ci dvrotrag lendiniesi, stone c dvrtrg...endinesis
Where: Lindinis has long been identified with Ilchester as the only major Roman town known in the right area, located at the head of the flood-prone Somerset Levels, at ST521227. It was the key ancient crossroads for the whole big peninsula of south-west England and a twin of Lindum (Lincoln) at the other end of the Fosse Way.
Name Origin: The Lind- part could be a verbal participle *lendh- ‘wetness’, from PIE *lei- ‘to flow’, with Celtic and Germanic parallels as discussed for Lindum Colonia. The -inis part could mean ‘island’ in most Celtic languages, but it could also be the locative plural of a Latin adjective.
Notes: Ptolemy's Ισκαλις now seems most likely to be at Crandon Bridge not Ilchester. There was a Roman settlement at Langport, below Ilchester on the Parrett. There is a Linden Farm near Bridgwater. See here for a general discussion of names in Roman Somerset.
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