The Ravenna Cosmography lists a series of British place names in Devon and Cornwall, which have been largely unidentified. The text is corrupted, and so the spellings of many of these places is uncertain; which doesn't help, but certain modern place names appear to retain these ancient names down to the present day.
As this list may shed some light on Devon place names during the Romano-British period, it may be useful to make some suggestions as an early stab at deciphering some of these difficult names. There are 22 names in the list and we know only a smaller number of Roman sites which might fit the bill, so some of the following suggestions have not yet been proven as being Roman and remain speculative but possible.
Giano (possible Roman flatlet at St Gennys, on the Cornish coast, 6 miles SW of Bude, a logical place to begin this list of names. At 1086, St Gennys was Sanguinas or Sanwinas and the very existence of St Genesius or Gennys, martyred in AD303, has been called into question; it would not be the first Cornish saint to be named from the place name, rather than a real person), Eltabo and Elconio may be the Roman forts at Nanstallon SX0367 and Restormel SX1061 or Elley by the Roman fort at Colebrooke SX7699, Nemotostacio (Nemetostatio = North Tawton Devon ?), Tamaris (possibly the recent find of a Roman fort at Calstock on the Tamar SX 43626918), Purocoronauis (ie Durocoronauis and in which Corineus (companion of Brutus) of Geoffrey of Monmouth may be intended could be the putative Roman fortlet at Morwenstow SS2014 with Cornakey and Cory just one mile to the north, Pilais (Pilton by Barnstaple has a prehistoric standing stone and the position is possible for a Roman site. There is a Pillas field in Morvah, but probably too far west for a Roman site), Vernalis, Arduarauenatone (ard means height in British so the Roman fortlet by Ardveer Point SS6649 would be a modern contraction of this long name), Devionisso (possibly near Totnes) Statio Deuentiasteno (Totnes which may be the Darent Urbs on pennies c950 and lay on Ptolemy's Derventia River), Duriarno (the Roman fortlet at Higher Duryard or a possible fort at the Roman road crossing the Exe at Lower Duryard would almost exactly render this ancient name), Uxelis (possibly Okehampton Roman fort), Verteuia (is Teuia referring to the River Taw or Tavy), Melamon(i) (possibly the Roman fort at Vellow ST0938 with M now spelt V, (I)scadu namorum (Exeter), Termonin, Mestevia (possible Aestivia or Lands End Cornwall or on same river Taw? as Verteuia above), Milidunum, Apaunaris, Masona, Alovergium (possibly the Roman fort at Alverdiscott near Bideford). The list ends there and then continues for Somerset, Dorset and onwards but Moriduno, which is the first of these, is likely to be the Roman fort at Pomeroy Wood SY1399, as evidenced by the mileage given in other Roman Itineraries.
The advantage in these possible sitings of this list in the Ravenna is that it follows a logical geographical ordering within a relatively tight area. Beginning on the coast in Cornwall, it continues into Cornwall and Western Devon up to Exmoor and then from the South Hams to Exeter and Central Devon and up to West Somerset. The list ends just before the new list begins in the Honiton area. If these identifications are correct, it will make the identification of the remaining ones much easier to ascertain.
