Editing Cramond (section)

==Etymology==

It was once believed that [[Cramond Roman Fort]] was known to the Romans as ''Alaterva''. A stone altar was dug up in the grounds of Cramond House dedicated "To the Alatervan [[Matres and Matrones|Mothers]] and the Mothers of the Parade-ground."<ref name="rcahms">[http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/50409/details/cramond/ Site Record for Cramond Edinburgh, Cramond Roman Fort Details] – Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland</ref> Early [[antiquarian]]s interpreted the inscription as referring to the place where the stone was found, but this idea is no longer accepted among scholars, and "Alatervae" is presumably a native name for the deities the [[Matres and Matronae]], perhaps originating with the [[Tungri]]an cohort who erected the altar.<ref>"The ''Matres Alatervae'' (or ''Alatervia''), on the other hand, are mentioned only here, and the significance of the epithet they bear is wholly obscure. Sir John Clerk, in a letter which is printed by Gordon, suggested that it was local and that ''Alaterva'' was the Roman name of Cramond. Endorsed by [[William Stukeley|Stukeley]], this suggestion has been generally accepted. But it has no foundation in fact. It is much more probable that the Tungrians had brought the designation with them from their native land, and that it is there that Alaterva must be looked for, if indeed it be a place at all." ''Tenth report with inventory of monuments and constructions in the counties of Midlothian and West Lothian'', (1929), page 42. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland</ref>

In the centuries that followed the end of the Roman occupation, Cramond passed into the hands of the [[Votadini]], who spoke [[Cumbric language|Cumbric]], a [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]] [[Celtic languages|Celtic language]], and gave the settlement its name. Cramond is derived from the compound ''Caer Amon'', meaning 'fort on the river', referring to the Roman fort that lay on the River Almond.<ref>Bethany Fox, 'The P-Celtic Place-Names of North-East England and South-East Scotland', The Heroic Age, 10 (2007), http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox.html (appendix at http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox-appendix.html).</ref>