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

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

in the present-day

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region of France.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

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 In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

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

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city 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 inhabita ...

), 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 commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

), 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. His ...

, in the department of

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

. Accordingly, he considers that there is an error in Ptolemy, for the place is called a port in one manuscript at least. But if Alauna is at or near Valognes, as most modern geographers contend, Crociatonum must be looked for elsewhere.

Walckenaer Baron Charles Athanase Walckenaer (25 December 1771 – 28 April 1852) was a French civil servant, writer, man of letters, and scientist. He was a polymath and wrote extensively on geography, natural history, and literature. Major contributio ...

places it at the village of Turqueville, west of Audouville-la-Hubert, 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 m ...

, west of

Isigny-sur-Mer Isigny-sur-Mer (, literally ''Isigny on Sea'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department and Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of north-western Fra ...

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

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History The capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantius ...

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