Baños de Riocaldo

Riocaldo

Camino de la Geira y los Arrieiros

Ourense · OrenseGalicia

The río Caldo, from the Latin calidus 'hot', after its thermal waters; the baths are those of the Roman mansio of the Via Nova, long read as Aquis Originis.

The name is hot. The río Caldo is so called from the Latin calidus, 'hot' —⁠the same root as caldo and 'scald'⁠—⁠, because its thermal springs raise the water's temperature; and the baths are those of the Roman mansio that stopped here on the Via Nova, one of its eleven posts between Braga and Astorga. That mansio was for centuries read as Aquis Originis, 'the waters of the source', but a fragment of pottery found in 2023 points to its true name, Aquis Ogeresibus: 'the waters of Ocaere', the old pre-Roman water-deity who is also behind Gerês —⁠and, some say, behind the name Geira itself⁠—⁠. Water, here, names the river, the baths and perhaps the whole road.

Evolution of the name

  1. (rivum) calidum / balneum Latin etymon
  2. Aquis Originis / Aquis Ogeresibus Latin mansio, 1st century AD
  3. Baños de Riocaldo Galician modern

Reflections, to the letter

Put your hand in the river and you will understand: it is called Caldo because the water comes out hot, from the Latin calidus, through the thermal springs. The baths you see are those of a Roman mansio, one of the eleven stops of the Via Nova between Braga and Astorga; the spa still works over the same waters. For centuries the post was thought to be called Aquis Originis, 'the waters of the source'; a piece of pottery two thousand years old, found in 2023, corrected the name: Aquis Ogeresibus, the waters of Ocaere, the ancient god who names the Gerês you have just crossed.

Languages of origin

Themes

Origin status

confirmed

Sources

  • Bascuas, E. — Estudios de hidronimia paleoeuropea gallega (Universidade de Santiago, 2002)
  • Turismo de Galicia — «Restos arqueológicos romanos de Baños de Riocaldo»
  • La Región (Ourense) — «Un topónimo bimilenario: el hallazgo en Lobios» (30 jun 2023)

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Camino de la Geira y los Arrieiros

  1. ··· toward Santiago
  2. Codeseda
  3. Beariz
  4. Pazos de Arenteiro
  5. Ribadavia
  6. Cortegada
  7. Lobios
  8. Baños de Riocaldo
  9. Portela do Homem
  10. Braga