Columbia (name) taken directly from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels while" a few others were classical or neoclassical in style. Such were Ierne for Ireland, Iberia for Spain, Noveborac for New York (from Eboracum, the Roman name for York) and Columbia for America—at the time used in the sense of "European colonies in the New World". The name was perhaps first coined by Samuel Johnson, thought to have been the author of an introductory essay (in which Columbia already appears) which explained the conceit of substituting Lilliputian for English names; Johnson also wrote down the "Debates" from 1740 to 1743. The name continued
Eboracum years. Estimates suggest that over 48,000m of stone were required, largely consisting of Magnesian Limestone from the quarries nearby the Roman settlement of Calcaria (Tadcaster). There is evidence that the Emperor Hadrian visited in 122 on his way north to plan his great walled frontier. He certainly brought with him the Sixth Legion to replace the existing garrison. Emperor Septimius Severus visited Eboracum in 208 and made it his base for campaigning in Scotland. (The fortress wall was probably reconstructed during his stay and at the east angle it is possible to see this work standing almost to full height.)