Anderelio nuba

Attested:  Ravenna Cosmography 68 Anderelio nuba.  All 3 manuscripts definitely spell that name with an L, not a T or D, and 2 put a space in front of nuba.

Where:  Eastbourne, next to Beachy Head, where there was a large Roman villa at TV61769893.

Name origin:  Greek ανδηρα ‘raised bank of a river or ditch, dike’, as discussed for Anderidos, plus ηλιος (helios) ‘sunshine’.  The nuba part may be related to nub or knob, but in classical languages Nubae/Νουβαι meant ‘Nubian’ from an Egyptian word for gold.

Notes:  As the highest chalk cliff in Britain, Beachy Head (a name with nothing to do with beaches, being derived from French beau chef) would have been known to every ancient sailor in that area.  The Sussex coast holds the record for maximum hours of sunshine in Britain, as the photo below shows, of date palms thriving on Eastbourne sea front.  Saulkrasti in Latvia is though to mean ‘sunshine coast’.  Several large hoards of Roman coins have been found in this area.

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Last edited 31 March 2025       To main menu