Pons Aelii
Attested: Ponte Aeli, where the Tribunus cohortis primae Cornoviorum was based, in the Notitia Dignitatum.
Where: Probably the small Roman fort at NZ25066387 in Newcastle, mostly under a later Norman castle. Hard evidence for a Roman bridge there has come from recent radiocarbon dating of a timber pile found when the Newcastle Swing Bridge was built, around 1870, as discussed here.
Name origin: Aelius was the family name of the emperor Hadrian. It remains possible that this name belonged to another bridge across the Tyne (see Brige) or to Wallsend fort (see Segedunum). Note also that Latin pons ‘bridge’ actually comes from PIE *pent- ‘path, to go’.
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Last edited 29 October 2022 To main Menu