Archaeology

Scillonian Etymology- Whats in the name 'Scilly?'

The confused and confusing history of these islands is reflected in the supposed origins of the archipelago's name. The etymology of Scilly, pronounced to non-islanders' eternal delight 'silly', is a conundrum. Several potential solutions present themselves, of which the following seem the most reasonable.

• Scilly could come from Sulis (Roman Sun God)
• Scilly could be derived from sillina a Roman word meaning 'place-of' or 'island-of'. Roman Scilly appears to have been a pilgrimage centre, dominated by a marine goddess.
• On old maps the islands were called Sorlingus, this could be a corruption of salt ling (fish). The islands are Les Sorlingues in French, Las Sorlingas in Spanish.

Silumnus, Silimnus, Silura , Sillinas, Syllorga, Silli, Islettes of Scylley, Silley or Sulley: history provides a wealth of variations on this theme! The adjective Scillonian (the 'c' is silent) is of much more recent ancestry. Until the 18th century the residents of the Isles of Scilly were called 'islanders' or 'people of the islands'. The author of the first book about Scilly, Army officer, Robert Heath, wrote the following lines in a poem in 1750:

"O blest SCILLONIANS! Favourites of Heav'n!
To whom so wise a Governor is given.'

Scillonian Archaeology

Archaeological evidence suggests human presence in these islands for at least the past three thousand years. The early landscape of Scilly would have looked rather different to that of today.

The archipelago in circa 3000BC comprised three landmasses: the first and largest of which would have been densely wooded, covering the area we know as St Mary's, St Martin's, Tresco and Bryher; the second area in size covered Agnes and Gugh; and the third area approximated to the Western Rocks. Nomadic Mesolithic hunter-gatherers eked out a rigorous existence using rough flint tools, some of which can still be found on the beaches and in the fields of Scilly.

Gradually, the Neolithic and Bronze Age islanders cleared the land and settled in the islands, forming a well-populated, self-sufficient community.