Two Roman Place-Names in Wales: Alabum and Varis

Abstract

Rivet and Smith said of this name in the Ravenna Cosmography, 'One cannot improve upon [Sir Ifor] Williams: Presumably a latinised form of British *alabon, neuter. Two Welsh words may be derived from such a form: (1) alaf 'herd, cattle; wealth'; (2) alafon, in the context alafon dwyfron ... probably the breastbone, ... a possible root is *alebh, *alobh, seen in Greek lophos 'ridge, crest; cockscomb'. Williams goes on to prefer the second possibility; the name would be simply hill, crest.' The place is surely the Roman fort at Llanfair-ar-y-bryn (SN 77 35), Llandovery, Carmarthenshire.63 This should not be confused with another Llanfair-ar-y-bryn 'St Mary's Church on the hill' four miles north-east of Llandovery. Randall described the fort at Llandovery as a typical Roman rectangular earthwork, containing an area of about five acres and enclosing the church of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn about half-a-mile north of Llandovery, and perhaps to be identified as Ptolemy's Luentinum, if this was not Llanio in Ceredigion.64 Richmond related the Llandovery fort to the road system of Roman Wales.65 Little can now be seen of the defences here, but excavation suggests they were perhaps built soon after the conquest campaign of the first century, that the site was later reduced from 2.5 hectares to half size, and was abandoned before A.D. 200.66 On the name, Rivet and Smith take Ptolemy's Luentinum 'washing-place' as Pumpsaint (SN 66 40), where the Romans 'hushed' or exposed the gold-bearing rock of Dolau Cothi by sudden releases of water. They show that the old name of Llanio (SN 64 56) must have been Bremia.67 Alabum may thus be taken as the Llandovery fort. Yet Ifor Williams's explanation of this name, quoted by