Spinis
SPINIS Berkshire, England.
Both references to this place in the Antonine Itinerary (485.6, 486.6) indicate a location at Speen, 1.6 km NW of Newbury, or more precisely at Woodspeen, which lies just to the NW; but although finds of Roman material are not uncommon in the area, no nucleation has so far been noted. The excavated settlement at Thatcham lies too far E to fit the figures. The derivation of the modern name from the ancient one (Latin: at the thorn-bushes), though superficially straightforward, presents some etymological difficulty.
BIBLIOGRAPHYH. Peake, The Archaeology of Berkshire (1931) 229; Itinerary : A.L.F. Rivet, Britannia 1 (1970) 58; name: K. H. Jackson, ibid. 79; Thatcham: W. E. Harris, Trans. Newbury and District Field Club 7 (1934-37) 219-55.
A.L.F. RIVET