Talk:Via Devana

Gray and Stubbings, in Cambridge Street Names, CUP, 2000, ISBN 0521 789567, say that the name Via Devana was 'mistakenly given by antiquarians who believed it was part of a road that led from Colchester to Chester'. (PDF extract) Not having access to the whole book, I don't know what evidence they have for this, but I think it's generally true that the Roman roads were lost for centuries and then only named after they were rediscovered. Nobody knows their original names or routes for certain. Thomas Codrington's Roman Roads in Britain (1903)  says the name Via Devana was coined by a Dr Mason, "Woodwardian Professor about 1750" [p137]. --Heron 17:17, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

I am uncertain regarding the origin of this name, because You are saying that "The Latin name for Chester is Deva and it was thus 'The Chester Road'". Or, the Latin word for "Chester" is "Castrum" (citadel, fortress), not Deva! Instead, I as I am living in Deva (Romania), I am intereseted in this issue. In the <"Dictionar Enciclopedic Roman", Editura Politica, Bucuresti, 1964, Vol. II, pg. 21>, I found the word "Dava" saying : <"cuvant dac, care inseamna "asezare,localitate". Apare frecvent in toponimia traco-dacica, ca al doilea element (ex. Capidava, Sucidava, Cumidava, Ramidava, Piroboridava, etc."> ("Dacic word that means "place, locality", frequently appears in Thracian-Dacian toponymy, as second element (eg Capidava, Sucidava, Cumidava, Ramidava, Piroboridava, etc.."). In this part of Britain stayed for a while the "Cohors Aelia Dacorum" ( - < Wikipedia>). They spoke a vulgar latin, combined with Dacic words, and probably they introduced the word "Dava" for "Castrum", giving this way the name of "Via Devana" (Via Davana => Via Devana)to the road between the main towns (Dava = Castrum = Chester). Grun Gheorghe - Deva, Romania. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deveanu (talk • contribs) 10:18, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

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Error on the map?
The map shows the route from Colchester as westwards to meet Ermine Street at Puckeridge. However that is the route of Stane St, not the Via Devana. The text says that the Via Devana route is via Wixoe and Cambridge, meeting Ermine St at Godmanchester. This implies that the route from Colchester would be north-west rather than west. I'm reluctant to try to replace the map (partly due to my lack of skills). Any thoughts on this? See also https://frrfd.org.uk/archaeology-and-history/roman-road/ and https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCB9602&resourceID=1000

Gilgamesh4 (talk) 17:45, 27 March 2020 (UTC)


 * I suspect that one stretch of road could well have been used as part of two long-distance routes. A lot of Via Devana routing is conjecture. S a g a C i t y (talk) 18:02, 27 March 2020 (UTC)


 * From the article it seems that Charles Mason concatenated various Roman Roads linking Colchester to Chester and labelled this as 'Via Devana' - a name of his own invention. However, the sources indicate that this route ran via Cambridge, whereas the map here misses Cambridge by a large margin (as Ermine St is well to the west). OS maps label the route from Wixoe to Godmanchester via Cambridge as 'Roman Road', so there *is* a Roman link going that way - so it seems likely to me that the map shown is incorrect.  (There isn't much context for the map on wiki commons - someone has just annotated a map of Roman roads with a red overlay). Gilgamesh4 (talk) 12:11, 28 March 2020 (UTC)