Vertevia

Attested:  Vertevia at position 14 in the Ravenna Cosmography

Where:  Most likely the complex of fort and camps at North Tawton near SX660997 on the main Roman road (Margary 492a) from Exeter.

Name origin:  Ver- could have many meanings, with possibly the best candidate here being PIE *wer- ‘to look out, be aware, keep watch’, whose many descendants in modern English include wary, warden, guard, revere, Wearde, etc, as discussed for Verolamium.  The -tevia part might then refer to the river Taw; see under Tava about spate rivers (Tay, Tavy, Teifi, etc) and a possible link to Latin tabeo ‘to melt’ and its cognates.

Notes:  This analysis overrules a previous idea of an undiscovered Roman site near Tavistock.  See also about Mestevia probably on the other side of Dartmoor by the river Teign.  The implication is that many rivers flowing off high ground once had names like Tavy, but not all kept it.

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Last edited 21 September 2025    to main Menu