ORETANI

The capital of the Oretani tribe in Spain is called "Oreto", which in itself proves that "Oreto" (like all similar names of Iberian tribes) is an adjective formed from the toponym "Oret-"). Accordingly, "Oreto", if you look at the name with Kartvelian eyes, looks more naturally like "Oreti" - "land of two", since "ori" in Georgian means "two".


Note how Ptolemy obviously misspelled "Oretani" into "Erotani".

First, the interpretation is supported by existence of its close relative - Lake Oreti in Georgian Tusheti. And second, the author of these lines assumed even before his trip there that at the location of Oreto (near Granatula de Calatrava) there must be some two natural landmarks, justifying the name "land of two". Either two rivers, or two mountains, or anything.

The trip to this abandoned part of Spain confirmed the guess. These two natural objects turned out to be two hills, on either side of Oreto. The hills are small, but nevertheless clearly stand out on the local terrain. Moreover, thousands of years ago, when the land around was not plowed as it is now, they could well have been higher.



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