Ουολιβα
Attested: Ptolemy 2,3,30 Ουολιβα, a πολις of the Δουμνονιοι or Δαμνονιοι
Where: Near Falmouth, SW826315, from Ptolemy's coordinates, according to Kleineberg, Marx, and Lelgemann (2012).
Name origin: Most likely Ουολ- survives in the river name Fal, while –ιβα is a variant of the *uba/*oba ‘water, river’ element discussed here. Ekwall (1928) could not explain the name Fal, but commented that “F is rare in British languages except in loan-words ... names of rivers beginning in F- are rare in England”. He drew attention to rivers called Wellow, possibly derived from a root referring to a bendy river; that might suit the Fal. Apparently no one since then has thought seriously about Fal-, but south and west Britain are rich in names that can best be understood with the aid of ancient Greek. Φαλλος/phallus ‘penis’ might be an apt description for the shape of Pendennis Point at the river mouth, on which there probably stood an ancient promontory fort where Henry 8 later built a fort, and whose penis-like shape is obscured by modern docks. This suggestion outranks anything based on PIE *wel- ‘to turn, wrap, wind’, which has descendants in many languages, such as Old Irish fail/foil ‘torque, circuit’.
Notes: Extending inland from Falmouth is the huge deep-water harbour of Carrick Roads, a ria (drowned valley) whose central open portion is surrounded by many inlets with relatively small rivers, of which the river Fal proper, leading towards Truro, is just the biggest. Other candidates to be Ptolemy's πολις include the promontory fort at Round Wood Quay SW838403, hillforts at Bosvizack Round SW783462 and Gear Round SW721248, or a hypothetical tin-exporting port up the river Carnon in the region of Bissoe SW773414. Also in that area are the Cosmography's Devionisso (probably at St.Austell) and Ptolemy's Κενιωνος river mouth (probably near Truro), but a hoard of Roman coins found near Pennance point tips the balance of probability back to Falmouth.
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Last edited 27 November 2023 to main Menu