Roman Place Names in Britain Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aquae Sulis

Dedicated to the Roman Goddess Sulis, the name literally means the Waters of Sulis. Aquae Arnemetiae was another site of natural springs which attracted the Romans. Today it is the town of Buxton in Derbyshire.

Answer: Lindum Colonia

Lindum is thought to be a Latinised Celtic word meaning 'dark pool', referring to a nearby lake. The Romans established the 'Dark Pool Colony' or Lindum Colonia.

Answer: Pons Aelius

Pon Aelius was a fort on Hadrian's Wall. Pons means Bridge, while Aelius was the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The Fort was named after the bridge which crossed the Tyne, linking the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall to vital routes to the south.

Coria is the Roman name for another Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall. These days known as Corbridge, a town which is about 15 miles west of Newcastle.

Segedunum was the name of the fort marking the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. Now known as Wallsend, which is just next-door to Newcastle, the Segedunum Museum features original and reconstructed sections of the wall and fort.

Novo Castellum is just the Latin name for Newcastle and was used in official documents written in Latin. However, as the castle wasn't built until 1086, the Romans never used the name. Between the Romans leaving and the Normans arriving to build the castle, Newcastle was known as Monkchester.

Answer: Eboracum

Eboracum was the capital of Britannia Inferior (Northern Britain), and the place in which two Roman emperors, Severus and Constantius I both died. Upon the death of Constantius I, his son was proclaimed Emperor Constantius II in the city.

Answer: Camulodunum

Colchester is believed to be the oldest town in England, and the Celtic settlement of Camlodunon (Fortress of Camulos - Camulos being the Celtic God of war) already existed. Camlodunum was the first capital of Roman Britain, before it was moved to Londinium.

Answer: Ratae Corieltauvorum

Named after the Corieltauvi, a Celtic tribe which inhabited the area, Ratae Corieltauvorum was a settlement on the major North-South road in Roman Britain, the Fosse Way.

Answer: Dubris

Two lighthouses were built at Dover by the Romans, which were visible from the French coast.

Answer: Verulamium

The town was known as Verlamion, meaning Settlement of the Marshes by the Celtic Catuvellauni tribe prior to the Roman conquest. The Romans merely Latinized the name.

The modern name derived from Alban, a 3rd century inhabitant of Verulamium who was condemned to death for sheltering a Christian priest and converting to Christianity.

Answer: Isca Dumnoniorum

The Second Augustan Legion established a fort in AD 50, which became a civilian settlement of the local Dumnonii tribe thirty years later, and gave the place the name of Isca Dumoniorum.

Isca Augusta is the name of the fort that the Second Augustan Legion moved onto after Isca Dumoniorum became a civilian town. Isca Augusta is now the village on Caerleon, near Newport in South Wales.

By Anglo-Saxon times, Isca Dumoniorum was known as Isca Castra, which gradually evolved into the present name of Exeter.

Iscatorum is completely made up.

Answer: Mamucium

Many people believe that Manchester was known as 'Mancunium' in Roman times, which is the origin of the term 'Mancunian' for a native of the city. In fact the real name was the slightly different Mamucium.