Isca Dumnoniorum

Isca Dumnoniorum, also known simply as Isca, was originally a Roman legionary fortress for the Second Augustan Legion (established ) in the Roman province of Britannia at the site of present-day Exeter in Devon. The town grew up around this fortress and served as the tribal capital of the Dumnonians under and after the Romans. The city walls of Exeter (some 70% of which survive) mark the former perimeter of Isca. Name The name Isca Dumnoniorum is a Latinization of a native Brittonic name describing flowing water, in reference to the River Exe. More exactly, the name seems to have originally meant "full of fish" (cf. Welsh pysg, "fish"), although it came to be a simple synonym for water (cf. Scottish whisky). This is also reflected in the modern Welsh name for Exeter: Caerwysg meaning "fortified settlement on the river Uisc". The same name was used for the River Usk (modern ) in southern Wales, causing the settlement there (modern Caerleon) to be distinguished as Isca Augusta, while the Devonian Isca was called Isca Dumnoniorum: Usk of the Dumnonians. History