Crociatonum (, Ptol. ii. 8) or Cronciaconnum, is a location on the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the ''cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The m ...

in the present-day

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region of France.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

makes it a port of the

Unelli The Venellī or Unellī (Gaulish: *''Uenellī/Wenellī'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling on the Cotentin peninsula, in the northwest of modern Normandy, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. In 57 BC, they capitulated to Caesar's legate Publiu ...

or Veneli, a Gallic nation who occupied part of

Armorica Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...

. The Table contains a route from Alauna to Caesarodunum (modern

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

), in which the next station to Alauna is Cronciaconnum, distant 10½ Roman miles (milia passuum, or M. P. ("1,000 paces")) from Alauna. Its position, therefore, depends on that of Alauna. Crociatonum lies between Alauna and Augustodorus (modern

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

), from which it is 31½ M. P. distant.

D'Anville Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (; born in Paris 11 July 169728 January 1782) was a French geographer and cartographer who greatly improved the standards of map-making. D'Anville became cartographer to the king, who purchased his cartographic ...

, who places Alauna at the Moutiers d'Alonne, fixes Crociatonum at

Valognes Valognes () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Geography Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg. History ...

, in the department of

Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.Walckenaer Baron Charles Athanase Walckenaer (25 December 1771 – 28 April 1852) was a French civil servant and scientist. Biography Walckenaer was born in Paris and studied at the universities of Oxford and Glasgow. In 1793 he was appointed head of t ...

places it at the village of Turqueville, west of

Audouville-la-Hubert Audouville-la-Hubert () is a commune in the Manche department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. History In 1944, thirty German prisoners of war were massacred near the village of Audouville-la-Hubert by American paratroopers in an ...

, at the entrance of the Bay of Isigny. There may have been both a town and a port of the same name. Some geographers, including the editors of the

Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World The ''Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' is a large-format English language atlas of ancient Europe, Asia, and North Africa, edited by Richard Talbert, Richard J. A. Talbert. The time period depicted is roughly from Archaic Greece, ...

would fix Crociatonum at

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was merg ...

, west of

Isigny-sur-Mer Isigny-sur-Mer (, literally ''Isigny on Sea'') is a commune in the Calvados department and Normandy region of north-western France. It is part of the communauté de communes Isigny-Omaha Intercom, the 59 communes of which have a combined populat ...

. Crociatonum appears to be a composite of Crocq (spur of land) i (of) aton (place name) um (town).

Coutances Coutances () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. History Capital of the Unelli, a Gauls, Gaulish tribe, the town was given the n ...

is usually given as the town of the Unelli, it is also the correct distance ratio's from Moutiers d'Alonne and Bayeux. To The west of Coutances, north of the Sienne estuary is a spur of land (Crocq) ending at Pointe Agon, it would appear that Crociatonum (Crociagonum) ought to be the port on the Sienne estuary serving Coutances.

References

* {{coord missing, France Celtic towns Roman towns and cities in France Former populated places in France Armorica