Eboracum was a
fort and
city in
Roman Britain. It shared the same site as modern
York, located in
North Yorkshire,
England.
The first known recorded mention of Eboracum by name is dated circa 95-104 AD and is an address containing the Latin form of the settlement's name, "Eburaci", on a wooden stylus tablet from the Roman fortress of Vindolanda in what is now the modern Northumberland.[1] During the Roman Period the name was also written in the form Eboracum and Eburacum.[1]
The etymology of Eboracum is uncertain as the language of the indigenous population of the area was never recorded. However, based on the generally accepted view of British history,[2][3][4] the inhabitants of Britain probably spoke a Celtic language, related to modern Welsh. A language has been constructed from Latin place names and modern Celtic languages called British or Proto-Brythonic which most linguists think was spoken in the area. Eboracum is thought to have derived from the Proto-Brythonic word Eborakon which can mean "place of the yew trees" or "the field of Eburos".[5] The name of the yew is Efrawg in British, Efwr in Welsh, Iobhar in Irish Gaelic, Iorc in Scottish Gaelic, Evor in Breton . The Gaulic equivalent Eburos is the basis for toponyms as far as Eburobrittium (Évora) among the Lusitani, or Ebura in Hispania Baetica, for the Celtiberians gens of the Eburanci or peoples like the Eburones or Eburovices in Gaul.[6] The name is then thought to have been Latinized by replacing -acon with -acum.
The Roman conquest of Britain began in 43&_160;AD but advance beyond the Humber did not take place until the early 70s&_160;AD. This was because the people in the area known as the Brigantes by the Romans became a Roman client state. When their leadership changed becoming more hostile to Rome Roman General Quintus Petillius Cerialis led the Ninth Legion north from Lincoln across the Humber.[7] Eboracum was founded in 71&_160;AD when Cerialis and the Ninth Legion constructed a military fortress (castra) on flat ground above the River Ouse near its junction with the River Foss. In the same year Cerialis was appointed Governor of Britain.[8]
