Where are all the Neanderthals? (Pre-History)

[Boreades]

Wiltshire, or Dorset, or Gloucester, or Wales. Whichever one you fancy.

[Mick Harper]

You must tell us. The Welsh could be said to be speaking Brythonic, but the Normans didn't really get to grips with Wales. Wiltshire, Dorset and Gloucester were filled exclusively by people speaking English (whether you care to call it Old or not).

Since Avons occur all over, this is not an unimportant question.

[Boreades]

The trouble is, these "River River"'s are all over the place. I know of examples in all the places mentioned, there may well be more, and I have no idea which specific example would be the most relevant. Perhaps the Normans were early adopters of dual-language signs?

[Wile E. Coyote]

My theory is avon=even

They were all easy to navigate.

[Mick Harper]

Not bad at all. (Have you checked whether they are?) I suppose the Kennet & Avon probably is.

[Wile E. Coyote]

I think mostly so but I suppose you also have to consider whether this would need to apply to whole of the length? As some pedant will point out, not between so and so. It's really got to be between the key points across the megalithic empire.

[Mick Harper]

I largely concur though, in their natural state, not many British rivers are navigable for not much of their lengths. But then again there aren't that many Avons so... maybe so. They should be added to that other mysteriously etymological category: rivers flowing into the North Sea beginning with T.

[Boreades]

Rivers flowing into the North Sea beginning with T?

Perhaps they all get named by folks in Yorkshire.

T' ay
T' weed
T' rent
T' yne

Not sure about
T' hames

[Mick Harper]

Why, what's wrong with the Thames? Add in Tees, Teviot and Tay. Looking through the lists I was rather struck by how infrequently rivers begin with a T.

[Boreades]

Maybe it was the Romans asking Yorkshire folk for the name of their rivers.

Quid est nomen illius fluminis?

"It's t' Evoit"
etc

[Boreades]

Re Thames
I've a vague memory of this being a topic on TME.
How did we get from "The Isis" to "Thames"?

[Hatty]