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ARCHAEOLOGIA 


OH 


MISCELLANEOUS    TRACTS 


TO 


ANTIQUITY. 


ARCH  AEOLOGIA : 


OR 


MISCELLANEOUS    TEACTS 


RELATING  TO 


ANTIQUITY, 


PUBLISHED  BY  THK 


SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  LONDON, 


VOLUME    XLIX. 


LONDON : 

PRINTED  BY  NICHOLS  AND  SONS,  25,  PARLIAMENT  STREET. 
SOLD  AT  THE  SOCIETY'S  APARTMENTS  IN  BURLINGTON  HOUSE. 


M.DCCC.LXXXV. 


DA 

to 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


PACK 

I. — Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum,  Parts  III.  IV.     By  ARTHUR  JOHN 

EVANS,  F.S.A.  1—167 

II. — Architectural  Feature*  of  the.  City  of  Ardea.     Uy  JOHN  HENRY  PARKEU, 

C.P,.,  Hon.  M.A.  Oxon.,  F.8.A.  168—179 

III. — Typical    Specimens    of  Cornish    Pxirroir^.       !>//   WILLIAM    COPELAND 

BORLASE,  M.P.,  F.S.A.  181—198 

IV. — On  the  Series  of  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford. 

By  JOHN  GREEN  WALLER  199—21 2 

V. — The  Ancient  Charters  of  the  City  of  Winchester,     liy  THOMAS  FKEDERICK 

KIRRY,  M.A.  21.1—218 

VI. — On.  the  ivords  "  O  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.     liy  EVERARD  GREEN, 

F.S.A.,  Hon.  Member  of  the  Spaldiny  Society  219—242 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATE  PAGE 

Researches  in  Illyricum. 

I.           Map  of   Dardania  and  the  South  part  of  Roman  Dalmatia 

between         4 — 5 

Fragment  of  a  Figure  of  Diana,  Blazui,  near  Serajevo  It) 

Engraved  Gem  from  Bosnia  (chalcedony)  21 

do.                  do.                (carbuncle)  -                                         22 

Monograms  on  the  Coins  of  Theodoric  22 

Sepulchral  Monuments  at  Plevlje  -       26,  28 

Plan  of  Plevlje  and  neighbourhood     -  2!) 

Fragments  of  an  Inscription  at  Avdovina  30 

Altar  to  Silvanus  31 

Illyro-Roman  Sepulchral  Slab  34 

Sepulchral  Monument  at  Sveti  Ilija    -  3."> 

Dedication  to  Cassar,  Diadumenian      -  3(> 

Votive  Altar  to  Jupiter  at  Sveti  Ilija  37 

Stamps  on  Roman  Tiles  at  Sveti  Ilija  4] 

Illyro-Romaii  Monument  near  Podpec  42 

Roman  Milestone  on  the  Cicia  Polje  -  43 

Inscription  at  Kolovrat,  near  Prijepolje  44 

The  "  Suhi  Most "      -  49 

Plan  of  the  Bath-buildings  of  Banja,  near  Novipazar  -  50 

Interior  of  the  Piscina  of  Banja  51 

Exterior  of                 do.  52 

The  Petrova  Crkva,  near  Novipazar  -  53 

Roman  Sarcophagus  at  Kadiacki,  Han  56 

Two  Inscriptions  at  Lipljan    -  59 

Two  Altars  to  Jupiter  at  Lower  Gustarica  -                                         GO 


viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PLATE  PAGE 

Researches  in  Illyricum — continued. 

Monument  from  Lipljan,  now  at  Pristina 
Roman  Sarcophagus  at  Pristina 

Ground  Plan  of  Byzantine  Church  at  Lipljan  64 

Elevation  of  same  Church  65 

Sepulchral  Inscription  at  Prisren  67 

Roman  Sepulchral  Slab  at  Dzerzan     -  68 

Votive  Column  in  honour  of  Severus  at  Old  Kacanik  73 

Monument  to  the  God  "  Andinus  "  74 

Milestone  of  yEmilian,  near  Kacanik  -  75 
Milliary  Column  of  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Constantine,  near 

Bles  Han  77 
II.           Map  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Scupi    -                            between       82-83 

Comnenian  Dedication  of  Church  at  Naresi    -  96 
Monument  at  Markov  Manastir 
Sepulchral  Slab  at  Dolnji  Sulna 
Two  Sepulchral  Inscriptions  at  Govarljevo     - 

Part  of  an  Altar  to  Fortuna    -  100 

Roman  Altar  to  Jupiter  at  Ibrahimovce  105 

Altar  dedicated  to  Hercules  Conservator  109 
Inscription  discovered  at  Hassanbeg  referring  to  Colony  of 

Scupi      -  111 
Inscription      discovered      at      Kuceviste      of      "  Veteranus 

deductions"  112 

Monument  from  Brazda  113 

do.            Nekistan  113 
Inscription    from    Kuceviste,    mentioning    decree    of    Ordo 

Scupensis  114 

Honorary  Dedication  to  Gallienus  from  Davina  115 
Inscription  found  on  site  of  Scupi 

Altar  with  Greek  Inscription  found  at  Uskiip  121 
Inscription  found  at  Ljubanze 

Altar  of  Silvanus  at  Uskiip     -  121 

Monument  of  a  Miles  Frumentarius    -  122 

Military  Titulus  at  Mirkovce  123 

Legionary  Monument  to  a  Cornicularius  123 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  ix 

PLATE  PAGB 

Researches  in  Illyricum — continued. 

Inscription  from  Neresi  -             -           125 

Greek  and  Thraco-Roman  Inscriptions  from  Salonica  -  126-127 

Sepulchral  Inscriptions  from  Scupi    -  ...  128-132 

Inscriptions  at  Taor  -  ...       144-5 

Plan  of  Roman  Remains  near  St.  Ilija,  Taor  -  -           145 

Kurshumli  Han,  Skopia  ...           147 

The  Aqueduct  of  Skopia  -           150 

Arches  of  the  Old  Bezestan,  Skopia  -  -           151 

Inscription  at  Kumanovo  -             -           154 

Plan  of  Roman  Remains  at  Zlata  158 

Inscriptions  at  Nish  -  161 

Inscription  at  Bela-Palanka,  Remesiana  -           162 

Roman  Christian  Inscription,  Remesiana  164 

Bronze  Corona,  Cross,  and  Lamp  at  Pirot  -                                       167 

The  City  of  Ardea. 

III.  i.  Plan  of  the  City 

ii.  Section  looking  south 

IV.  Two  views  of  the  walls  }>    between       172-3 
V.           i.  Exterior  of  the  City  Gate  - 

ii.  Interior  of  the  walls 
Cornish  Barrows. 

Karn  Leskys  -  183 

Types  of  pottery  184 

Karn  Creis     -  186 

Beads  found  -  188 

Button  found  189 

VI.           Barrow  at  Ballowall,  St.  Just  between       190-1 

VII.           Barrow  at  Tregaseal,  St.  Just  between       194-5 
VIII.           South-East  View  of  Chapel-Karn-Brea,  St.  Just     J 
IX.           Cairn  with  Cists,  Chapel-Karn-Brea,  St.  Just          ( 

Church  of  St.  Mary's,  Guildford. 

X.           Wall  Paintings  between       202-3 

XI.           "Wall  Paintings  between       206-7 

Ancient  Charters  of  the  City  of  Winchester. 

XII.           Charters  of  Henry  II.  to  the  Citizens  between       214-5 


ARCHAEOLOGIA: 

OR, 

MISCELLANEOUS  TEACTS, 


&c. 


I. — Antiquarian  Researches  in  lUyricum,  III,  and  IV.     Communicated  by  ARTHUR 

JOHN  EVANS,  F.S.A. 


Read  March  8,  1883,  and  March  20,  1884. 

III.-NOTES  ON  THE  ROMAN  ROAD-LINE  FROM  SALONS  TO 
SCUPI,  AND  ON  THE  MUNICIPAL  SITES  AND  MINING 
CENTRES  IN  THE  OLD  DALMATIAN  AND  DARDANIAN 
RANGES. 

SYNOPSIS. 

PAGE 

5.  Interior  lines  indicated  by  Roman  Milestones  found  at  SALONS. 

6.  Large  exploitation  of  Dalmatian  gold  mines  under  the  Empire. 

8.  Importance  of  SALONS  as  seat  of  the  Provincial  Office  of  Mines,  Imperial  Treasury,  and 
Arsenal. 

10.    The  COLLEGIVM  FABRVM  VENERIS. 

12.  Traces  of  ancient  gold-washings  on  Mount  Rosinj. 

13.  Mining  industry  of  the  Illyrian  tribe  of  the  Piruste:  utilized  in  Dacia. 

14.  Road  connexion  between  Salonse  and  ore-bearing  ranges  of  the  interior  of  Illyricum. 

16.  Discovery  of  site  of  Roman  Municipium  at  Blazui  on  the  Plain  of  Serajevo. 

17.  Dlyro-Roman  monuments  on  neighbouring  height  of  Crkvica. 

17.  Thermal  source :  mining  and  commercial  importance  of  the  position  ;  suggested  identification 

of  site  with  the  AD  MATRICEM  of  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana. 
20.  Survival  of  ancient  architectural  features  in  Turkish  Bosnia. 
VOL.  XLIX.  B 


PAGE 

21.  Inscribed  gem  of  apparently  Celtic  workmanship. 

22.  Carbuncle  intaglio  presenting  monogram  of  Ostrogothic  King  Theodoric. 

23.  Roman  Municipium  at  Gorazda. 

24.  Traces  of  Illyrian  aborigines  on  Mount  Kovac. 

25.  Site  of  important  Municipium  near  Plevlje ;  existing  monuments  and  inscriptions. 

30.  Altar  of  Silvanus. 

3 1 .  Illyro-Roman  hill  station  of  St.  Elias  or  Sveti  Ilija. 

32.  Traces  of  prse- Roman  sepulture,  and  indigenous  character  of  the  names  and  monuments. 

33.  Survival  of  Illyro-Roman  ornamental  traditions  on  Old  Serbian  sepulchral  blocks. 

37.  Monument  containing  a  dedication  to  a  Procurator  Augustorwn  by  the  local  Populus. 

38.  On  the  region  occupied  by  the  Illyrian  mining  race  of  the  PirustEe. 

42.  Roman  site  and  inscription  at  Podpec. 

43.  Course  of  Roman  road  from  Plevlje  to  the  Lim  Valley  :  discovery  of  Milestone. 

44.  Site  of  Municipium  near  Prijepolje. 

44.  Altar  of  Diana  and  inscription  mentioning  civic  officers. 

45.  .Further  course  of  the  Way  towards  Novipazar. 

46.  Roman  Milestone  on  the  "  Montagna  di  Morlacco." 

46.  Morlachs,  or  "  Black  Latins  " — descendants  of  the  Roman  Provincials. 

47.  Rouman  character  of  Dardanian  local  names  given  by  Procopius. 
49.  Ancient  bridge  called  Suhi  Most,  and  remains  of  embanked  Way. 
49.  Thermce  of  Banja,  near  Novipazar. 

51.  Bath-chamber  over  the  hot  springs  there,  resembling  early-Christian  baptistery. 

53.  Round  church  of  late  Roman  construction. 

54.  The  ancient  Ras  identified  with  the  Arsa  of  Procopius. 

55.  Thermce  at  Banjska. 

56.  Monument  referring  to  Municipium  formerly  existing  at  the  foot  of  the  medieval  Montagna 

d'Argento. 

57.  Importance  of  the  site,  as  one  of  the  principal  mining  centres  of  the  Peninsula. 

58.  Inscriptions  on  the  Kossovo  Polje. 

58.  Lipljan  the  ancient  VLPIANA. 

59.  Its  Roman  inscriptions. 

59.  Altars  of  Jupiter. 

60.  Inscriptions  at  Pristina. 

61.  Ancient  remains,  mining  and  metal- working  industry  at  Janjevo. 

62.  Importance  of  Ulpiana  in  late-Roman  and  ecclesiastical  history. 

63.  Justiniana  Secunda. 

63.  St.  Floras  and  St.  Laurus. 

64.  Byzantine  Church  of  Lipljan. 

65.  Notes  on  the  road-line  Lissus-Vlpiana-Naissus. 
65.  Roman  Way  across  North  Albanian  Alps. 


PAGE 

66.  Antiquities  of  Metochia. 

66.  Roman  inscription  at  Prisren. 

67.  Inscription  referring  to  Fourth  Legion  from  bridge  of  Svajan. 

68.  Roman  sites  and  inscriptions  near  Ipek. 

69.  Ancient  silver-mining  industry. 

69.  Proofs  of  former  existence  of  Rouman  indigenous  population  on  plain  of  Metochia. 

71.  Roman  monuments  at  Kacanik. 

72.  Votive  Altar  for  welfare  of  Septimius  Severus  and  Consorts. 

73.  Altar  of  unknown  Illyrian  god,  ANDINVS. 

74.  MiUiarium  of  ^Emilian. 

75.  Roman  Way  through  Kacanik  Pass  to  site  of  SCVPI. 

76.  Milliary  column  of  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Constantino. 


SKETCH    MAP 

OF 

DARDAJVIA 

AND  THE  SOUTHERN  PART  OF 

ROMANDALMATIA. 


Shewing  tfte;  Course'  of  'the  Jbicient'Ways  ;  and  the' 
Cfes  where'  Jiomati/  -Rerrutinj  Jutves  been  ck#coverecL/- 


PREPARED  BY  ARTHUR  J 

rs  onais  Observation,. 


of'Rvmafi  Ifunitifiia/  and  Stations 

•Sites  friw&Jfonian/Remains  have  been  discovered;  _____  #  * 
Momarv  Roads  .....  _ 

Conjectural;  course  of'KamanJlocuiU 


Ancient  Thermal?  Stations- 

'  vf  Reman.  Miles. 


Vol.XLLX. 


. 


ANTIQUAKIAN  EESEAKCHES  IN  ILLYEICUM. 


III.— AN  INVESTIGATION  OF  THE  ROMAN  ROAD-LINES  FROM 
SALONS  TO  SCUPI,  AND  OF  THE  MUNICIPAL  SITES  AND 
MINING  CENTRES  IN  THE  OLD  DALMATIAN  AND  DAR- 
DANIAN  RANGES. 

HITHERTO  we  have  been  concerned  with  the  Dalmatian  coast-cities  and  the  great 
parallel  lines  of  road  that  traversed  the  length  of  the  Province  from  the  borders  of 
Pannonia  and  Italy  to  those  of  Epirus.  From  Salonse  there  were,  in  addition  to 
these  highways  to  the  North  and  South,  at  least  two  main-lines  of  Roman  Way 
that  traversed  the  interior  ranges  of  the  Dinaric  Alps  and  led  to  the  Moesian  and 
Dardanian a  borders  that  lay  to  the  East  and  South-East.  Milliary  columns  have 
been  found  at  Salonas,  one  b  recording  the  completion  by  Tiberius'  Legate  Dolabella 
of  a  line  of  road  leading  from  the  Colony  of  Salonas  to  a  mountain  stronghold  of 
the  Ditiones — an  Illyrian  clan  probably  inhabiting  what  is  now  the  North-East 
region  of  Bosnia ;  another,  also  of  Tiberius'  time,0  referring  to  the  construction  of 
a  line,  156  miles  in  extent,  from  Salonae  to  a  Castellum  of  the  Daesitiates,  an  Illyrian 
clan  belonging  to  the  Conventus  or  administrative  district  of  Narona,  and  whose 
stronghold,  according  to  the  mileage  given,  must  be  sought  somewhere  on  the 
Upper  Drina,  towards  the  Moesian  and  Dalmatian  confines.  This  latter  line  may 
very  well  be  that  represented  in  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana  as  leading  from  Salonae 
to  Argentaria,  a  name  which  seems  to  connect  itself  with  the  silver-bearing 
ranges  lying  on  the  uncertain  boundary  of  the  ancient  Dalmatia  and  Dardania, 
and  which,  from  its  mineral  riches,  was  still  known  in  the  Middle  Ages  as  Monte, 
Argentaro. 

a  Dardania,  under  the  earlier  Empire  a  part  of  Upper  Mcesia,  forms  from  the  end  of  the  third 
century  a  separate  Province. 

"  C.  I.  L.  iii.  3198  (and  cf.  3199). 
"  C.  I.  L.  iii.  3201. 


6  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

I  shall  have  occasion  to  describe  a  succession  of  important  Roman  sites  along 
this  route,  coupled  with  other  traces,  which  tend  to  show  that  an  avenue  of  com- 
nmnication  was  opened  out  on  this  side  by  Roman  engineering  between  the 
Dalmatian  cities  and  the  central  Dardanian  plains,  and  which  finally,  through  the 
pass  of  KaCanik,  brought  them  into  connexion  with  the  Macedonian  road-system. 
Meanwhile  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  the  great  economic  importance  of  the  high- 
road connecting  the  Dalmatian  capital  with  the  chief  mineral  centres  of  the 
interior,  not  only  to  Salona?  itself  but  to  the  Roman  World. 

The  Illyrian  highlanders,  and  notably  the  Southern  tribe  of  the  Pirustse,  had 
shown  themselves  skilful  miners  in  their  own  Alps  before  the  Roman  Conquest. 
Augustus,  on  the  reduction  of  the  Dalmatae,  the  race  whose  valour  finally  trans- 
ferred their  name  to  a  large  part  of  the  original  Illyrian  area,  "compelled,"  we 
are  told,  "  this  savage  race  to  dig  mines  and  extract  gold  from  the  veins  of  the 
rock."  a  But  it  was  only  the  comprehensive  scheme  of  road-making  carried  into 
effect  by  Tiberius'  enterprising  Legate  that  could  have  paved  the  way  for  the  vast 
development  of  gold  production  that  took  place  in  the  succeeding  Age,  and  which 
for  a  time  made  Dalmatia  the  Eldorado  of  the  Empire.  By  Nero's  time  Pliny 
informs  us  that  fifty  pounds  weight  of  gold  was  daily  extracted  from  the  Dalmatian 
mines,  representing  an  annual  sum  of  between  eight  and  nine  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  our  money.  From  Pliny's  statement  it  woiild  appear  that  this  Dalmatian 
gold  was  in  his  day  largely  obtained  from  the  surface  of  the  ground,1"  and  the 
cost  of  collection  was  no  doubt  diminished,  as  in  Dacia  °  and  elsewhere,  by  the  large 
employment  of  slave  labour.  It  is  probable,  moreover,  that  a  good  deal  was 
gathered  by  independent  gold-washers,  or  auri  leguli,  who  afterwards  handed  in 
the  proceeds  of  their  toil  to  the  local  officers  of  mines,  and  were  remunerated  on  a 
regulation  scale :  an  arrangement  still  in  force  in  Transylvania,  where  the  gipsies 
pursue  this  ancient  industry  on  the  sites  of  the  Daco-Roman  gold- works.  Modern 

a  Florus,  iv.  12. 

b  Pliny,  H.  N.  xxxiii.  21.  "Aurum  ....  invenitur  aliquando  in  summa  tellure  protinus,  rara 
felicitate :  ut  nuper  in  Dalmatia,  principatu  Neronis,  singulis  diebus  etiam  quinquagenas  libras 
fundens." 

0  Dr.  Julius  Jung,  Earner  und  Bomanen,  p.  34  seqq.  has  collected  the  existing  records  of  the 
Roman  administration  of  Mines  in  Dacia,  from  which  we  may  supplement  our  knowledge  of  the 
same  administration  in  Dalmatia.  The  chief  control  was  in  the  hands  of  a  Procurator  Aurariarum. 
Under  him  were  various  officers,  such  as  tabularii,  or  treasurers,  dispensatores,  paymasters,  and  others. 
The  exploitation  was  conducted  by  slaves  condemned  ad  metalla,  of  whom  there  may  have  been 
20,000,  and  by  independent  leguli  aurariarum.  Cf.  Karl  Gooss,  Innerverhaltnisse  des  Trajanischen 
Daciens,  Excurs.  I. — Die  GoldbergwerJce. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  7 

critics,  indeed,  have  accused  Pliny  of  exaggerating  the  amount  obtained  from 
these  Dalmatian  gold-fields.*  But  it  is  probable  that  writers  who  appeal  to  the 
short-comings  of  ancient  mechanical  skill,  have  neither  taken  into  adequate 
account  the  cheapness  of  such  labour  as  was  supplied,  for  instance,  by  the  forty 
thousand  slaves  in  the  mines  of  Carthagena,  nor  realised  the  resources  of  Roman 
enterprise,  which,  as  we  know  in  Spain  and  elsewhere,  undermined  whole 
mountain  sides"  in  order  to  expose  the  auriferous  strata,  and  conducted  streams 
by  artificial  channels  a  hundred  miles  in  length  for  the  purpose  of  washing 
the  gold  ore.  It  would  appear  that  in  Dalmatia,  besides  the  surface  workings 
alluded  to,  the  other  gold-mining  processes  described  by  Pliny  of  digging 
shafts0  and  excavating  vast  underground  galleries  were  largely  resorted  to.  The 
poet  Statius,  writing  in  Domitian's  time,  deplores  the  long  tarrying  of  his  friend 
Junius  Maximus  among  the  Dalmatian  mountains,  where  the  miner  penetrates  to 
the  Nether  World,  "  and  with  visions  of  Dis  upon  him  returns  as  pale  and  jaundiced 
as  the  gold  he  has  dragged  forth.'"1  Nothing  indeed  in  the  experience  of  modern 
pitmen  can  approach  the  horrors  of  those  ancient  gold  mines,6  where,  by  the 

*  To  Fetter,  for  instance  (Dalmazien,  B.  i.  p.  24  note),  it  is  incomprehensible  that  the  annual  gold 
production  of  Roman  Dalmatia  should  have  been  six  times  as  great  as  that  of  modern  Hungary,  and 
that  it  should  have  rivalled  in  amount  that  of  the  South  American  goldfields.  "  Bedenkt  man  ferner 
dass  der  Bergbau  zu  den  Romerzeiten  noch  auf  den  untersten  Stufen  stand,  da  den  Romem  alle 
Hilfsmittel  der  Jetztzeit  wie  z.  B.  Schiesspulver,  hydraulische  Maschinen,  Dampfmaschinen,  u.  8.  w. 
unbekannt  war  en." 

b  "  Moiis  fractus  cadit  ab  sese  longe,  fragore  qui  concipi  humana  mente  non  possit.  .  .  .  Spectant 
victores  ruinam  natures  ....  Alius  par  labor,  ac  vel  majoris  impendii,  flumina  ad  lavandam  hanc 
ruinam  jugis  montium  ducere  obiter  a  centesimo  plerumque  lapide.  Corrugos  vocant,  a  corrivatione 
credo."  (Pliny,  xxxiii.  21.)  The  word  ruina,  in  the  sense  of  "  landslip"  or  "  talus,"  has  been  preserved 
in  the  form  Riifein  among  the  Germanized  "  Ladine  "  population  of  the  ancient  Rsetia.  The  local 
names  Runovic,  Runic,  associated  in  several  cases  with  Roman  sites  in  Slavonic  Illyria,  may  suggest 
a  comparison. 

c  Loc.  cit.  "  Alio  modo  puteorum  scrobibus  effoditur  .  .  .  vagantur  venarum  canales  per  latem 
puteorum  ;  tellusque  ligneis  columnis  suspenditur." 

d  Silrarum,  1.  iv.  c.  7.     Ad  Maximum  Junium : 

"  Quando  te  dulci  Latio  remittent 
Dalmatse  montes,  ubi,  Dite  vise, 
Pallidus  fossorredit,  erutoque 
Concolor  auro  ?" 

The  idea  has  been  borrowed  by  Silius  Italicus  (1.  i.  231)  and  by  Claudian,  who  applies  the  epithet 
*'  Pallentes  "  to  the  Bessian  miners. 

c  "  Cuniculis  per  magna  spatia  actis  cavantur  montes  ad  lucernarum  lumina.  Eadem  mensura 
vigiliarum  est,  multisque  mensibus  non  cemitur  dies."  Pliny,  loc.  cit.  who  proceeds  to  describe  the 


8  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

light  of  open  iron  lamps  (the  Eoman  shape,  material,  and  name  of  which  are 
still  preserved  in  the  Dalmatian  Alps),*  the  slave-gangs  worked  for  months  at  a 
time  without  seeing  the  light  of  day.  Even  were  there  not  preserved  to  us  the 
definite  statements  of  ancient  writers  as  to  the  magnitude  of  the  Roman  gold-mining 
operations  in  the  ancient  Dalmatia,  the  fact  might  be  sufficiently  inferred  by  the 
existing  traces  of  some  of  the  works,  and  by  the  ruins  of  flourishing  cities  in  the 
wild  Bosnian  interior,  which,  like  those  that  sprung  up  amidst  the  most  sterile 
Sierras  of  Eoman  Spain,  must  have  owed  their  rise  and  fortunes  in  a  great  degree 
to  the  exploitation  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  province. 

Of  this  golden  harvest  Salonae  now  became  the  principal  garner.  It  was  not 
without  reason  that  Martial  congratulates  his  friend  Macer,  transferred  as 
Governor  from  Spain  to  Dalmatia,  on  his  approaching  arrival  at  "  long-shored 
Salonas  "  and  the  Land  of  Gold. 

"  Ibis  litoreas  Macer  Salonas. 
•         «•*<* 
Felix  aurifera  colone  terrse."b 

To  this  City  the  proceeds  of  the  gold-fields  of  the  Dalmatian  interior  were 
transported  by  the  newly-opened  roads.  It  was  here  that  the  imperial  officers 
resided  whose  function  it  was  to  direct  the  working  of  the  provincial  gold  mines, 
and  amongst  whom  a  Commentariensis  Aurariarum  Dalmatarum  and  Dispensator 
or  paymaster  are  mentioned  in  an  inscription  from  this  site.0  At  the  time  when 
the  Notitia  Dignitatum  was  drawn  up  Salonae  appears  as  the  seat  of  an  Imperial 
Treasury/  and  the  abundant  supply  of  the  "  Dalmatian  ore  "  seems  to  have 

risks  which  the  miners  ran  from  falls  of  rock  and  explosions  of  fire-damp.  The  ore  was  passed  on 
from  one  gang  to  another,  whole  days  and  nights  being  consumed  in  the  mere  process  of  transmis- 
sion :  only  the  last  lot  of  workmen  saw  the  light. 

a  In  the  mountains  of  Montenegro  and  the  adjoining  Herzegovinian  and  South  Dalmatian  high- 
lands I  have  observed  iron  lamps  known  as  Lukijernar  (=  lucernarius)  of  a  form  precisely  similar  to 
that  found  in  Roman  mines.  The  shape  has  survived  in  other  European  countries,  but  the  remark- 
able thing  here  is  that  both  shape  and  name  should  have  been  preserved  amongst  a  Slav-speaking 
population.  In  the  Eagusan  dialect  the  name  Lukijernar  has  also  survived,  but  the  lamps  have  lost 
the  characteristic  form  preserved  by  the  highlanders.  I  have  already  alluded  to  the  significance  of 
the  survival  of  the  "k"  sound  in  "Lukijernar"  and  other  similar  fragments  of  the  Dalmato- Roman 
provincial  dialect  among  the  present  inhabitants. 

"  Martial,  Ep.  lib.  x.  78. 

c  C.  I.  L.  iii.  1997. 

A  Not.  Occidents,  c.  x.  "  Prsepositus  Thesaurorum  Salonitarum  Dalmatiee."  Cf.  C.  I.  L.  1992, 
1993,  1994. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  9 

favoured  the  growth  of  a  native  artistic  industry,  the  traditions  of  which  may, 
indeed,  be  said  never  to  have  passed  away  from  the  East  Adriatic  shores.  Gold 
ornaments  found  at  Salonse  and  other  Illyrian  sites  rank  among  the  treasures  of 
the  Antiken  Kabinet  at  Vienna,  some  of  which  are  executed  in  a  peculiar  style  of 
filigree  work,  which,  when,  compared  with  other  specimens  from  this  site  (one  of 
which  I  have  been  enabled  to  lay  before  this  Society),  indicate  the  existence  of  a 
Salonitan  speciality  of  gold  filigree-work.  In  their  prevailing  features,  the  con- 
ventional amorini  and  filigree  rosettes,  these  Salonitan  jewels  greatly  resemble 
many  similar  ornaments  from  Southern  Italy  and  elsewhere  ;  but,  from  the 
frequency  of  their  occurrence  on  the  site  of  the  great  Dalmatian  city,  and  from 
certain  barbaresque  nuances  of  style,  and,  notably,  a  tendency  to  diverge  from 
natural  forms  into  ornamental  developments,  we  may  be  allowed  to  claim  for  them 
a  local  origin. 

Statius  uses  the  "  Dalmatian  ore  "  as  a  poetic  equivalent  for  gold  itself  ,a  but 
the  mineral  exploitation  of  the  province  was  not  by  any  means  confined  to  the 
gold  workings.  The  Station  Argentaria  on  the  Tabula  speaks  for  itself  as  regards 
silver  mines,  and  the  iron  ore,  which  occurs  in  great  abundance  in  the  Dinaric 
ranges  of  the  interior,  formed  another  fertile  source  of  Dalmatian  prosperity.  A 
late  Roman  geographer  mentions  the  large  export  of  iron  from  Dalmatia;b  and  in 
the  sixth  century  we  find  the  Ostrogothic  King  Theodoric  entrusting  a  fiscal 
official  in  Dalmatia  with  a  special  commission  to  inspect  the  iron  mines  of  the 
province  and  develope  their  working.0  It  was,  perhaps,  to  pay  the  auri  leguli  and 
that  part  of  the  workmen  who  were  not  slaves,  and  generally  to  facilitate  the 
petty  traffic  amongst  the  large  mining  population  which  this  manifold  exploitation 
of  mineral  wealth  in  Dalmatia  and  its  borderlands  called  into  being,  that,  under 
Trajan  and  Hadrian,  and  apparently  Marcus  Aurelius,  an  issue  of  small  bronze 

0  Statius,  Sylvarum,  1.  2 ;  Epithalamium  Stella}  et  Violantillce,  v.  154  (referring  to  the  Chamber 
of  Venus)  : — 

"  Robora  Dalmatico  lucent  satiata  metallo." 
b  Expositio  totius  mundi.     (Geog.  Lat.  Min.  ed.  Riese,  p.  119.) 

"  Dalmatia  .  .  .  ferrum  habundans  emittit." 

c  Cassiodorus,  Variarum,  lib.  iii.  Ep.  25 ;  Simeoni  V.  I.  Comiti,  Theodoricus  Bex "  Prseterea 

ferrarias  venas  predict®  Dalmatiee  cuniculo  te  veritatis  jubemus  inquirere,  ubi  rigorem  f erri  parturit 
terrena  mollicies,  et  igni  decoquitur,  ut  in  duritiem  transferatur.  Hinc,  auxiliante  Deo,  defensio 
patriffi  venit:  hinc  agrorum  utilitas  procuratur,  et  in  usus  humanse  vitee  multiplici  commoditate  porri- 
gitur.  Auro  ipsi  imperat  et  servire  cogit  loeupletes  constanter  armatis.  Convenit  itaque  hanc 
speciem  diligenti  indagatione  rimari,  per  quam  et  nobis  lucra  generantur  et  hostibus  procurantur 
exitia."  Cf.  Ep.  26.  Osuni,  V.  I.  Gomiti,  Theodoricus  Bex. 
VOL.  XLIX.  C 


10  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricit/m. 

pieces  was  struck  with  legends  referring  to  the  mines  of  this  and  the  adjoining 
Illyrian  provinces.81  These  pieces,  if  not,  as  has  been  sometimes  advanced,  struck 
in  the  provincial  mines  themselves,"  were  at  least  coined  of  metal  derived  from 
the  sources  indicated,  and  their  material  may  be  taken  as  proof  that  the  Dinaric 
ranges  were  as  productive  in  Roman  hands  of  the  elements  of  bronze  as  of  iron, 
gold,  and  silver.  Those  of  Trajan — struck  between  the  years  104-110 — present 
on  their  reverse  a  figure  of  Equity  and  the  legend  METALLI  VLPIANI  DELMafoa.0 
Those  of  Hadrian  read  METAL.  DELM,a  sometimes  accompanied  with  a  stag,  emblem- 
atic of  the  Dalmatian  forest-mountain,  and  of  the  patron  divinity  of  the  last  of 
the  native  dynasts,6  sometimes  by  a  breastplate,  an  apparent  allusion  to  the  skill 
of  provincial  armourers.  That  this  branch  of  native  industry  flourished  in 
Roman  Dalmatia  there  is  other  conclusive  evidence.  At  Salonae,  as  in  the  more 
northern  Illyrian  cities  that  owed  their  principal  industry  to  the  Noric  iron 
mines/  was  established  an  imperial  Arsenal,  the  existence  of  which  is  attested  by 
the  Notitia  Dignitatum,s  and  by  a  monument  of  fourth-century  date,  referring  to 
one  of  the  armourers.11 

Connected  with  the  abundance  of  the  precious,  as  well  as  the  useful,  metals 
at  Salonae  is  the  prominence  among  its  epigraphic  records  of  a  guild  of  artificers, 

a  Eckhel,  D.  N.  vi.  p.  445,  remarks  of  these  coins  :  "  Sunt  omnes  tenei,  III.  formae,  etsi  certum 
sit  fodinas  in  his  numis  memoratas  nobiliora  etiam  metalla  fudisse.  Ex  qno  argui  potest  istud 
monetffi  genus  in  eorum  stipeiidium  qui  ad  opus  in  metallis  faciundum  destinati  fuere  percussum 
esse." 

b  Cf.  Neumann,  Populorum  Numismata,  ii.  152.     Basche,  Lex.  Rei  Numarice,  s.  v.  MET.  NOB. 

c  Cohen,  Medailles  Imperiales  (2me  edition).  Trajan,  No.  183.  There  are  other  similar  coins  of 
Trajan  with  the  legend  METALLI  VLPIANI,  METALLI  VLPIANI  PANN.,  and  METALLI  PANNONICI.  Another, 
representing  on  the  reverse  a  female  figure  raising  her  robe  and  holding  ears  of  corn,  reads  DARDANICI. 

d  Cohen,  op.  cit.  Hadrian,  Nos.  1516,  1517.  That  with  a  stag  is  engraved  in  the  Pembroke 
Catalogue,  p.  iii.  t.  91.  Another,  reading  DARDANICI,  and  with  the  reverse  similar  to  the  coin  of 
Trajan,  has  on  its  obverse  the  head  of  Rome  and  the  legend  ROMA  (Coh.  No.  1514).  Cohen  omits  to 
mention  another  type  of  this  Emperor,  of  which  I  have  a  specimen,  with  MET.  NOR.  in  an  oak-wreath 
on  the  reverse,  for  METALLI  NORICI.  (Cf.  Rasche,  loc.  cit.  and  Pembroke  Catalogue,  p.  iii.  t.  91.)  Other 
coins  of  uncertain  attribution  read  METAL.  AVRELIANIS.  These,  like  some  of  those  reading  METAL. 
DELM.  present  on  the  obverse  a  youthful  head,  perhaps  of  M.  Aurelius,  but  without  legend. 

"  Artemis  is  represented  on  the  coins  of  the  Illyrian  Prince  Ballaeos  and  his  successors  struck  at 
Pharia  and  Rhizon. 

f  Laureacum,  where  was  a  fabrica  Scutaria  ;  Carnuntum,  which,  though  within  the  Pannonian 
border,  must  have  depended  on  Noric  mines  for  the  same  industry,  and  Sirmium  the  seat  of  a 
"  Fabrica  Scutorum  Scordiscorum  et  armorum." 

»  Not.  Dign.  Occidentis,  c.  8.     Fabrica  Salonitana  "Armorum." 

h  C.  I.  L.  iii.  2043.     The  tomb  of  a  certain  Maurentius  FABRICENSIS. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  11 

the  Collegium  Fabrum  Veneris.  A  whole  series  of  inscriptions  illustrates  the 
important  part  played  by  this  worshipful  company  in  the  Roman  city."  On  these 
we  find  mention  of  its  noble  Patrons  and  benefactors,  amongst  whom  the  Emperor 
Constans  figures,6  its  Prgefects  and  Decurions,  and  the  corporation  seems  to  have 
claimed  a  special  jurisdiction  in  what  concerned  its  members.0  One  inscription 
commemorates  the  erection  of  a  bronze  statue  by  the  Collegium  to  T.  Flavius 
Agricola,  Praafect  and  Patron  of  the  guild,  who  combined  the  highest  municipal 
dignities  of  Salonae  itself  and  the  two  cities  of  ^Equum"  and  of  Riditas,6  with 
the  more  fiscal  office  of  Curator  of  the  Republic  of  Splonistas/  The  city  of 
Splonum,  which  lay  in  the  heart  of  the  Dinaric  Alps,  appears  to  have  been  one  of 
the  great  mining  centres  of  the  interior ;  and  from  a  Dacian  inscription  we  learn 
that  a  Dalmatian  Prince  of  this  Municipium  received  an  imperial  commission 
to  direct  the  gold  mines  of  Alburnus.8  This  record  of  the  fiscal  functions 
performed  by  the  Praefect  of  the  Salonitan  Collegium  at  Splonum  supplies  an 
interesting  connecting  link  between  that  flourishing  guild  and  the  mining,  in  all 
probability  the  gold- working  industry  of  the  interior  of  the  province.  When  it  is 
further  remembered  that  at  Apulum  and  Sarmizegetusa — official  centres  of  the 
Dacian  gold-fields — monumental  records  have  been  preserved  of  similar  Collegia 
fabrum  of  equal  local  prominence  with  that  of  Salonse,  we  may  be  allowed  to 
connect  the  guild  in  a  special  manner  with  the  craft  of  the  fabri  Aurarii,  to  whose 
handiwork  attention  has  been  already  called.  The  dedication  of  the  guild  to 
Venus,  the  lady  of  the  golden  necklace,  the  natural  patroness  of  the  jewellers' 

a  Cf.  C.  I.  L.  iii.  1981,  2026,  2087,  2107,  2108. 

b  FL  .  CONSTAN||TI  .  NOBILISSI||MO  .  AC  BEATIS||SIMO  CAESAEI  ||  COLL  .  FABEVM  ||  VENERIS.  C.  I.  L.  iii. 
1981.  (A.D.  333-7.) 

c  An  inscription  on  the  tomb  of  a  Decurio  Collegii  Fabrum  found  at  Salonse  (C.  I.  L.  iii.  2107) 
concludes  :  si  QVIS  AEAM  AECAM  APEEIBE  VO(LV)ERIT  INFEEET  DECVEIAE  MEAE*XXV.  Here  the  Decuria  is 
evidently  that  of  the  Guild.  In  other  instances  we  find  a  similar  fine  claimed  by  the  Respublica 
Salonitana;  at  a  later  period  by  the  Ecclesia  Salonitana. 

d  Near  Sinj.     We  are  almost  tempted  to  connect  the  figure  of  Equity  on  the  Dalmatian  Mine- 
Coinage  with  this  COLONIA  AEQVITATIS.     Vide  infra. 
e  Near  Sebenico. 

T  .  FLAVIO  ||  T  .  FIL  .  TROmentina  \\  AGEICOLJE  ||  oscurio  .  COLom'ce  .  SA.LonitancB\\ 
AEDi'Zi  IIVIEO  .  IVEE  ||  mcundo  .  DKCurio  .  coionice  .  AEQVI||TATIS  .  IIVIEO  . 
QuinQuennali  .  msvensatori  .  ||  MVNICIPI  .  EIDITAEVM  .  ||  pEAEFecfo  .  ET  . 

PATEONO  .  COLLegii  ||  FABEwm  .  OB  MEEITA  EIVS  COLLeg^'ttTO  ||  FABEVM  . 
EX  AEKE  CONLATO  ||  CVEATOEI  EEIPVBZlCOB  .  SPLONIS  ||  STAEVM  . 

TEIBVNVS  .  Lvaionis  x  .  Gemince  .  pice  videlis.  .  .  .  (C.  I.  L.  iii.  2026.) 

B  C.  I.  L.  iii.  1322  :  and  cf.  Mommsen's  observations  (p.  305),  s.  c.  ALBUENUS  MAJOE.  The  inscrip- 
tion itself  was  found  at  Zalatna  in  Transylvania,  the  ancient  Ampelum. 

c2 


12  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

art,  certainly  points  to  this  connexion,  nor  do  we  need  the  constantly  recurring 
amorini  of  the  Salonitan  goldwork  to  remind  us  how  intimately  this  craft  was 
associated  with  that  of  the  "Mater  sceva  Cupidinum."  It  is,  however,  only 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  various  classes  of  Salonitan  artificers  were  enrolled  in 
the  Collegium ;  and  how,  indeed,  in  the  later  days  of  the  "Western  Empire  was  it 
possible  to  separate  the  callings  of  armourer  and  goldsmith?  The  connexion 
between  Venus  and  Vulcan  was  of  old  standing;  and  "  Venus  Victrix,"  the  special 
personality  under  which  the  Goddess  was  worshipped  from  the  second  century 
onwards,  was  certainly  as  well  qualified  to  preside  over  forgers  of  weapons  as  over 
moulders  of  ornaments.  The  frequent  appearance  of  the  Goddess  under  this 
aspect  on  Salonitan  monuments  is  not  without  significance  in  its  connexion  with 
the  Collegium  Veneris.  In  the  museum  at  Spalato  is  to  be  seen  a  marble  statue  of 
the  Goddess  in  this  character,  of  some  merit ;  and  gems — notably  green  plasmas 
and  red  jaspers — representing  the  Armed  Venus,  are  of  specially  plentiful  occur- 
rence on  the  prolific  site  of  the  ancient  Salonge. 

The  mining-town  of  Splonum  referred  to  in  the  above  inscriptions  has  been 
identified  with  the  Dalmatian  stronghold  of  Splaunum,  mentioned  as  a  strongly 
fortified  and  populous  city  by  Dion,"  in  his  account  of  Germanicus'  campaign  against 
the  North  Dalmatian  tribe  of  the  Maz^ei.  It  appears  to  have  been  situated  in  what 
is  at  present  the  Bosnian  Kraina,  probably  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Stari  Maidan" 
("  the  Old  Mine  "),  where  iron  is  still  worked.  The  surrounding  district  is  known 
at  the  present  day  to  be  rich  in  minerals,  including  gold  and  silver,  though  the 
precious  metals  are  found  in  inconsiderable  quantities.0  In  the  ranges  of  more 
central  Bosnia  the  engineer  Conrad3  has  recently  discovered  some  remarkable 
traces  of  ancient  mining  operations.  On  Mount  Rosinj,  the  limestone  steeps  of 
which  overlay  veins  of  quartz  and  greenstone,  are  numerous  heaps  of  washings, 
the  largest  80  feet  high,  150  broad,  and  400  long,  containing  tailings  of  quartz  and 

a  Hist.  Horn.  lib.  Ivi.  C.  11  :  rtp/taviicbt;  Si  iv  TovTip  aXXa  TC  xwpia  AeX/inn/cd  eIXe  rai  2ir\avvor,  Kaimp  rj  T( 
<f,v<rei  lax'ipov  ov,  <cai  rolf  niytaiv  tv  irffpa-jf/ievov,  rovg  re  afivvofikvovf  Trapit\i)8iie  ?x01'-  Germanicus,  starting  from 

Siscia,  as  a  base,  took  Splaunum  on  his  way  to  Rsetinium,  the  position  of  which  is  probably  to  be 
identified  with  the  site  of  the  newly-discovered  Municipium  near  Bihac. 

b  Cf.  Tomaschek,  Die  vorslawische  Topographic  der  Bosna,  &c.  p.  12. 

0  It  appears  from  two  Bosnian  documents  of  the  years  1339  and  1422,  that  gold  was  exported 
from  the  country  in  the  Middle  Ages ;  and  the  Venetian  geographer  Negri,  writing  at  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  mentions  the  auri  ramenta  of  the  river  Verbas.  Gold- washings  existed  on  the  upper 
LaSva  near  Travnik  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Cf .  Jirecek,  Die  Handelsstrassen  und  Bergwerke  von 
Serbien  und  Bosnien  wcihrend  des  Mittelalters.  Prag,  1879,  p.  42. 

d  Bosnien  in  Bezug  auf  seine  Mineralschatze  (Mitth.  d.  k.  k.  geogr.  Ges.  in  Wien,  1870,  p.  214 
seqq.) 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  13 

iron-ore,  mixed  with  red  earth,"  which  gives  to  this  heap  the  name  of  Crvena 
Zemlja,  or  "  the  bloody  plot."  Another  of  these  is  still  more  appropriately  known  as 
"  Zlatna  G-uvna,"  or  "  the  golden  threshing-floor."  The  position  of  these  artificial 
mounds  shows  the  direction  of  the  quartz -veins,  and  indicates  a  prodigious  gold- 
digging  activity  in  past  times. b  It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  no  epigraphic  or 
other  remains  indicating  the  former  existence  of  a  Roman  Municipium  have  been 
found  near  these  ancient  works. 

The  chief  centre  of  the  gold- working  activity  in  ancient  Dalmatia  appears,  how- 
ever, to  have  been  the  country  of  the  Pirustae,  a  branch  of  the  great  Dassaretian 
clan  who  inhabited  the  inaccessible  Alpine  extremities  of  the  province  towards  the 
Dardanian  and  Epirote  confines,  and  who  appear  to  have  had  the  Dsesidiatas  as  their 
northern  borderers.0  The  mining  aptitudes  of  this  race  were  utilized  by  the 
Romans  at  a  later  date  in  developing  the  resources  of  their  Dacian  gold-fields ; 
and  the  waxen  tablets  discovered  in  the  Transylvanian  mines  have  revealed  the 
existence  of  a  Dalmatian  settlement  near  the  Dacian  city  of  Alburnus  Major,  known 
as  the  Vicus  Pirustarum*  These  Dacian  tablets  are  indeed  a  striking  witness  of 

a  "  Aus  den  Ueberresten  dieses  Bergbaues  ersieht  man  deutlich  dass  das  gediegene  Gold  in  den 
Zersetzungs-produkten,  namlich  aus  dem  Schwefelkies  enstandenen  Brauneisenstein  (Brauneisenerz) 
und  in  den  Ablagerungen  enthalten  war,  welche  aus  den  zerstriimmerten  und  durch  die  Flut 
weggeschwemmten  Gebirgsmassen  gebildet  haben."  (Op.  cit.  p.  221). 

b  The  present  inhabitants  have  a  superstition  against  continuing  the  search  for  gold,  though  the 
tradition  of  its  existence  is  preserved  by  the  local  proverb : 
"  Vol  se  6ese  o  zlatni  stog  a  ljudi  ne  vide." 
(The  ox  rubs  himself  against  the  golden  sheaf  but  folks  see  it  not.) 

c  Ptolemy,  Geog.  lib.  ii.  c.  16,  places  the  Pirustee  after  the  Dokleates  (whose  territory  roughly 
answered  to  the  modern  Montenegro),  and  before  the  Skirtones,  described  by  him  as  7rp6s  ry  JAaneSovlf. 
From  Livy's  notice  (lib.  xlv.  c.  26)  we  may  infer  that  they  lay  inland  from  the  Rhizonic  Gulf. 
Velleius  Paterculus  (lib.  ii.  c.  115)  speaks  of  their  inaccessible  position.  Although,  as  their  names 
show,  Illyrian  among  the  Illyrians,  they  are  placed  by  Strabo  (lib.  vii.  c.  5)  in  a  Pannonian  connexion 
along  with  their  Daasidiate  kinsmen  :  and  it  is  to  be  observed  that  Bato,  the  Deesidiate  chief,  took  the 
lead  in  the  great  Dalmato-Pannonian  outbreak.  We  may  therefore  infer  that  there  was  some  avenue 
of  communication  between  the  Deesidiates  and  Pirustee  of  South-East  Dalmatia  and  the  Pannonian 
lands  of  the  Save :  an  avenue  naturally  supplied  by  the  Drina  Valley.  From  the  fact  that  the  Salona 
milestone  places  the  Castellum  of  the  Deesidiates  156  miles  distant  we  should  be  led  to  look  for  it  on 
the  Upper  Drina.  The  Pirustee,  who  as  borderers  of  the  Dokleates  lay  beyond  the  Deesidiates,  must 
therefore  be  sought  in  the  mountain  district  beyond  the  Upper  Drina.  (See  p.  38  seqq.) 

d  Cf.  the  deed  of  sale  to  "Andveia  Batonis,"  of  half  a  house,  "  que  est  Alburno  Majori  Vico 
Pirustarum."  (Tabellce  Ceratce,  viii. ;  C.  I.  L.  iii.  p.  944.)  Another  deed  records  the  purchase  by 
Maximus,  the  son  of  Bato,  of  a  female  slave  from  Dasius,  the  son  of  Verso, — "Pirusta  ex  Kavieretio." 
(Tab.  Oer.  vi. ;  C.  I.  L.  iii.  p.  936.) 


14  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

the  extent  to  which  the  gold-mining  industry  in  that  province  had  fallen  into 
Dalmatian  hands.  They  supply  a  whole  treasury  of  Dalmatian  names,a  amongst 
which  that  of  the  national  hero,  Bato,  occurs  repeatedly.  The  military  indebted- 
ness of  Rome  to  these  mountaineers  is  siifficiently  attested  by  the  imperial  name  of 
Nerva.b 

Thus  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  Roman  highway  leading  into  the  Dalmatian 
interior  from  Salonae  to  the  Castellum  of  the  Daesidiates  referred  to  on  the  mil- 
liary  column,  and  that  marked  on  the  Tabula  as  leading  from  the  same  place  in 
the  same  south-easterly  direction,  towards  "  Argentaria  "  and  the  silver-bearing 
ranges  of  the  old  Dalmatian-Dardanian  border  country,  have  a  peculiar  interest  in 
their  connexion  with  the  ancient  centres  of  mining  activity  in  the  Province.  It  is 
probable,  as  we  have  said,  that,  in  the  main,  both  routes  are  one  and  the  same : 
the  prolongation  to  "  Argentaria,"  marked  on  the  Tabula,  being  a  continuation  of 
the  more  ancient  road,  which  originally  extended,  as  the  Salonitan  inscription 
indicates,  only  156  miles,  to  the  Dsesidiate  borders. 

From  Salonas  the  road  marked  in  the  Tabula  runs  to  Tilurio  (Grardun  near 
Trilj)  on  the  Cettina,  by  the  route  already  described  as  forming  a  part  of  the  line 
Salonge-Narona.  At  this  point  the  road  branches  off  from  the  Dalmatian- 
Epirote  line  and  pursues  a  more  inland  course,  across  the  Prolog  range.  This 
part  of  the  road  is  still  clearly  traceable,  and  has  been  followed  by  the  engineer 
Moiza  along  the  northern  margin  of  the  plain  of  Livno,  where,  at  the  village  of 
Vidosi,0  ancient  fragments  and  an  inscription  have  been  found,  to  Grad  Buzanin, 
where  are  some  uncertain  remains.  This  site  has  been  identified,  on  the  strength 
of  the  name,3  with  the  station  in  Monte  Bulsinio,  placed  on  the  Tabula  thirty  miles 
distant  from  "  Tilurio." 

a  E.  </.,  Anduenna  Batonis  (cf.  Andveia  above),  Andesis  Andunocnetis,  Bato  Annsei,  Ac.,  Bradua 
Beusantis,  Cerdo  Dasas  Loni,  Dasius  (or  Dassius)  Breuci,  Epicadus  Plarentis  qui  et  Mico,  Liccaius 
Epicadi  Marciniesus  (cf.  the  Preonian  King,  Lyeceius),  Lupus  Carentis  (from  Cares),  Masurius 
Messi,  Planius  Verzonis  Sclaies,  Plares  (Plarentis),  Plator  Venetus,  Veranes,  Verzo  (cf.  the 
Dalmatian  chief  "  Versus  "). 

b  There  is  an  extant  diploma  of  Vespasian  (C.  I.  L.  iii.  p.  849),  NEEVAE  .  LAID:  .  F  .  DESIDIATI.  The 
name  occurs  on  a  Salonitan  inscription  (2390)  and  may  be  compared  with  other  Dalmatian  forms  in 
-erva,  such  as  Derva,  Anderva. 

c  Here  was  probably  the  station  Ad  Libros  marked  on  the  Tabula  as  22  miles  distant  from 
Tilurio.  There  was  an  alternative  way  into  the  plain  of  Livno  from  Salonse  via  ./Equum  (near  Sinj). 
"While  making  the  road  from  Sinj  to  Livno,  Moiza  found  traces  of  the  Eoman  way,  and,  cut  on  a  rock 
at  the  top  of  the  pass  over  Mount  Prolog,  the  inscription  "  FLAVIVS  MAXIMUS  FECIT." 

4  Tomaschek,   Vorslawische   Topographic  der  Bosna,  &c.  p.  22.     The  greatest  caution,  however,  is 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  15 

From  this  spot  the  course  of  the  road  is  uncertain.1  On  the  one  hand  it  is 
possible  that  it  made  a  northern  bend,  so  as  to  approach  the  ancient  ore-washing 
basins  already  described  on  the  flanks  of  Mount  Rosinj ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  arduousness  of  the  country  to  be  traversed  rather  suggests  the  alternative 
route,  by  one  of  the  lateral  valleys,  into  the  defile  of  the  Narenta,  and  thence  by 
the  pass  that  leads  from  Konjica  to  the  plain  of  Serajevo.  This  has  been,  in  all 
historic  ages,  the  main  avenue  of  communication  between  the  inland  districts  of 
what  is  now  Bosnia  and  the  Adriatic  coastlands,  and  the  frequent  discovery  of 
Roman  coins  at  Konjica,  as  well  as  the  existence  of  a  Roman  monument  in  the 
pass  itself,  are  certainly  indications  that  the  road  followed  this  route. 

"We  are  now  on  more  certain  ground.  The  "  Serajevsko  Polje,"  or  plain  of 
Serajevo,  is  the  natural,  we  may  say  the  inevitable,  crossing-point  of  all  the  main- 
lines of  communication  through  the  interior  of  the  country.  It  is  here  that  the 
river  Bosna,  which  has  given  its  name  to  the  whole  country,  wells  in  full  volume 
from  the  rock.  Here,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  was  the  Slavonic  stronghold  and  market 
of  Vrchbosna,b  chosen  by  the  Turks,  on  the  conquest  of  Bosnia,  as  the  seat  of  their 

necessary  in  accepting  identifications  of  sites  based  on  merely  verbal  coincidences.  Prof.  Tomaschek's 
ingenuity  in  this  regard  at  times  outruns  his  discretion.  Thus,  for  example,  he  observes  of 
Torine,  a  village  near  Travnik,  "  Der  nahe  Ort  Torine  ist  unslawisch  und  enspricht  einem  alien  Tarona." 
So  far  from  being  "  un-Slavonic  "  the  word  Torine  is  of  universal  use  in  Bosnia,  and  simply  means  a 
"  sheep-fold  "  ;  a  slender  foundation  on  which  to  construct  an  ancient  city.  Again,  heedless  of  the 
fact  that  "  Bystrica"  is  the  universal  Slavonic  name  for  clear  streams  (Old  SI.  Bystrii,  Serb.  Bistar, 
cf.  Miklosich,  Die  Slavischen  Ortsnamen,  s.  v.),  the  same  writer  goes  out  of  his  way  to  seek  for  the 
Pannonian  river  Bustricius,  mentioned  by  Ravennas,  an  Albanian-Illyrian  origin  from  BuStre  =  bitch 
(Hiindin). 

a  The  stations  and  mileage  given  by  the  Tabula  after  "  in  Monte  Bulsinio  "  are — "  vi  Bistue 
Vetus— xxv  Ad  Matricem— xx  Bistue  Nova— xxim  Stanecli  "  ;  after  which  follows  " Argentaria  " 
without  any  numerical  indication.  From  evidence  supplied  by  an  inscription  found  at  Eogatica 
(see  p.  18),  Bistue  Nova  appears  to  have  been  in  the  neighbourhood  of  that  town,  and  Ad  Matricem 
near  the  source  of  the  Bosna.  Hence  we  must  seek  for  the  position  of  Bistue  Vetus  about  Konjica 
on  the  Upper  Narenta,  and  it  becomes  evident  that  a  deficiency  must  be  supplied  either  in  the  names 
or  mileage  of  the  earlier  stations  of  the  Tabula. 

One  of  the  Bistues,  probably  Bistue  Vetus  as  being  nearer  to  the  maritime  tract,  seems  to  have 
been  still  flourishing  in  the  sixth  century.  An  "Andreas,  Bpiscopus  Ecclesiee  Bestoensis"  is  mentioned 
in  the  Act  of  the  Provincial  Council  of  Salona  of  530  and  532  (Farlati,  Illyricum  Sacrum,  t.  ii.  p.  173). 

b  Cf.  Jirecek,  Die  Handelsstrassen  und  Bergwerke  von  Serbien  und  Bosnien  wahrend  des  MitteL- 
alters  (Prag,  1879),  p.  85.  The  plain  of  Serajevo  was  known  as  the  Zupa  Vrchbosna,  but  the  strong- 
hold was  on  the  site  of  the  present  citadel  of  Serajevo,  not  at  the  actual  source  of  the  Bosna  as  has 
sometimes  been  asserted.  As  early  as  1436  we  find  a  Turkish  Voivode  placed  here  to  control  the 
tributary  Christian  dynasts  of  Bosnia. 


16 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm. 


provincial  governor,  and  better  known  under  its  later  name  of  Bosna  Seraj,  or 
Serajevo.  A  position  which  has  given  birth  to  the  modern  capital  of  the  province 
was  not  neglected  by  the  Romans,  and  during  my  journey  through  Bosnia  in  1875 
I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  come  upon  the  first  trace  of  the  Roman  predecessor  of 
Serajevo.*  At  Blazui,  in  the  western  angle  of  the  Sarajevsko  Polje,  I  found  a 
Roman  bas-relief  of  Eros  or  the  Genius  of  Death,  leaning  on  an  extinguished 
torch ;  and,  near  it,  numerous  other  antique  fragments  built  into  the  remains  of  a 
stone  fountain,  and  a  Turkish  "  Han."  Dr.  Hoernes,  on  subsequently  visiting  the 
spot,b  discovered  a  bas-relief  of  a  good  style,  representing  a  Masnad,  or  Bacchante, 
the  panther  skin  flung  round  her  shoulders,  but  otherwise  nude ;  a  thyrsus  leaning 
against  her  left  arm,  her  right  stretched  forward,  and  her  head  thrown  back  in  orgi- 
astic rapture.  Walled  into  the  neighbouring  bridge  over  the  Bosna  he  observed  a 

G-enius  with  reversed  torch,  somewhat  similar 
to  the  first,  but  which,  from  its  Phrygian  cap, 
had  probably,  a  Mithraic  signification. 

In  1880  I  had  the  opportunity  of  renewing 
my  explorations  about  this  site.  I  was  able  to 
copy  a  small  fragment  from  Blazui,c  repre- 
senting the  lower  part  of  a  figure  of  Diana 
standing  before  her  doe,  beneath  which  was  an 
inscription,  showing  that  it  was  part  of  a 
votive  monument  erected  to  the  goddess  by  a 
votary  of  the  appropriate  name  of  Silvia. 
Another  inscription  from  Blazui  has  since  been 
communicated  by  the  Pravoslav  Metropolitan 
to  the  Serajevo  Gazette,  but,  unfortunately,  in 
an  unsatisfactory  shape. 

On  the  left  bank  of  the  small  stream  that  flows  past  Blazui  rises  the  brush- 
wood-covered height  of  Crkvica,4  whilst  examining  which  I  came  upon  remains 

a  Through  Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina,  &c.  1876,  p.  237  (2nd  ed.  p.  237). 

b  Arch.  Epigr.  Mitth.  cms  Osterr.  iv.  44. 

c  For  this  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  M.  Moreau,  the  French  Consul  at  Serajevo,  in  whose 
hands  the  fragment  now  is.  It  is  six  inches  in  height.  From  Vitina,  near  Ljubuski,  in  Herzegovina 
(cf.  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6365,  6368 ;  Hcernes,  op.  cit.  p.  41),  the  same  gentleman  had  obtained  a  finger  of  a 
colossal  marble  statue,  and  a  tile  with  the  inscription  LEG  vm  AVG. 

1  The  name  is  equivalent  to  "  church-land."  A  part  of  it  is  still  used  as  a  cemetery,  and  several 
medieval  tombs  of  the  usual  kind  are  to  be  seen,  indicating  the  former  existence  of  a  church  (crkva). 


SILVIAVoT 


Fig.  1. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  17 

that  seem  to  indicate  that  here  was  the  Acropolis  of  the  ancient  town ;  perhaps  the 
original  Illyrian  stronghold  that  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Roman  Municipium. 
Here  I  found  a  part  of  a  cornice  with  antique  mouldings,  and  two  Roman  sepul- 
chral slabs,  the  inscription  of  which,  however,  had  been  utterly  obliterated  by 
atmospheric  agencies.  On  one  of  these,  above  the  sunken  field  which  formerly 
contained  the  epitaph,  are  two  full-face  busts  of  the  rudest  workmanship,  accom- 
panied with  equally  rude  degenerations  of  the  rose  and  acanthus  ornament.  The 
monument,  however,  has  a  peculiar  interest  in  the  resemblance  it  bears  to  the 
Illyro-Roman  sepulchral  slabs  on  the  height  of  Sveti  Ilija  above  Plevlje,  which  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  describe,"  and  confirms  the  hypothesis  that  here  was  the 
original  Illyrian  quarter.1" 

Besides  the  general  suitableness  of  the  position  already  indicated,  the  Romans 
in  selecting  this  site  were  doubtless  influenced  by  local  advantages  of  a  more 
special  kind.  Situated  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  plain,  the  Roman  town 
commanded  the  entrance  to  the  pass  which  was  most  indispensable  to  it  as  forming 
its  avenue  of  communication  with  maritime  Dalmatia ;  just  as  the  present  city  of 
Serajevo,  lying  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  plain,  derived  much  of  its  im- 
portance in  Turkish  eyes  from  its  holding  the  key  to  the  defile  that  secured  its 
communications  with  Stamboul.  The  abundant  source  of  the  Bosna,  hard  by,  sup- 
plied the  first  essential  of  Roman  municipal  requirements ;  while  the  hardly  less 
abundant  hot  springs  of  Illidze  on  the  neighbouring  banks  of  the  Zelesnica,  known 
here  as  elsewhere  in  the  Illyrian  wilds  by  the  name  of  Banja,  a  corruption  as  we 
have  seen  °  of  the  Roman  Balnea,  must  have  given  the  situation  a  peculiar  value  in 
the  eyes  of  colonists  and  soldiers  from  the  warmer  Mediterranean  climes  doomed 
to  adapt  themselves  to  Illyrian  Alpine  winters. 

a  See  p.  31  seqq. 

b  More  recently  Heir  DumiCio  has  discovered  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Lepenica  near  Kisseljak,  and  not  far  from  the  confluence  of  the  Fojnicka  Rjeka,  the  following- 
inscription  : 

C.  MANLIVS 

C    L 

HONESIMVS 
ANN  1 1  || 

The  cippus  on  which  this  was  inscribed  lay  amongst  hewn  stones  and  other  ancient  fragments  on  a 
steep  rock  called  Crkvice,  to  the  north  of  which  is  a  sloping  terrace.  (Arch.  Epi.gr.  Mittheilungen 
am  Oesterreich,  1883,  p.  130.)  A  fragmentary  sepulchral  inscription  has  also  been  discovered  by 
Captain  Von  Handel  at  Divjak  in  the  LaSva  valley  south  of  Travnik. 

c  See  Arch&ologia  XLVIII.  p.  66. 
VOL.  XLIX.  D 


18  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwn. 

There  is  moreover  the  strongest  presumption  that  the  fortunes  of  the  Roman 
city  on  this  site  were  intimately  bound  up  with  the  copious  existence  of  ore-bearing 
strata  in  the  surrounding  ranges.  The  neighbouring  defiles  of  Foinica  and  Kresevo 
are  still  reckoned  the  principal  centres  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  modern  Bosnia ; 
and  both  these  places  in  the  Middle  Ages  were  frequented  by  a  mining  colony  of 
Saxons  and  Eagusans."  Besides  iron,  copper,  lead,  and  quicksilver  in  abundance, 
the  more  precious  metals  are  not  wanting.  The  silver  mines  of  Foinica b  are 
repeatedly  referred  to  in  the  Eagusan  archives.  Gold  is  known  to  occur  in  the 
same  neighbourhood ;  it  is  to  be  detected  in  small  quantities  in  the  sand  of  the 
Foinica  stream,"  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  here  as  in  the  not  distant  ranges 
about  Vares  it  was  also  exploited.  I  have  myself  observed  on  the  flanks  of  the 
mountains  about  Foinica  huge  scars  and  traces  of  ancient  excavations/  and  have  found 
the  surface  in  places  covered  with  fragments  of  quartz  containing  various  ores,  and 
accompanied,  as  in  the  case  of  the  tailings  described  by  the  engineer  Conrad  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  same  range,  with  hsematitic  iron  ore  and  ochreous  earth. 
It  is  to  be  observed  that  Blazui  stands  at  the  point  where  these  metalliferous 
denies  open  out  into  the  broad  and  fertile  Serajevsko  Polje.  The  neighbouring 
village  of  Eudnik  owes  its  name  to  mining  industry,6  and  it  appears  to  me  highly 
probable  that  the  name  of  the  Eoman  city,  the  site  of  which  we  have  been  ex- 
ploring, was  derived  from  the  same  source. 

From  an  inscription  existing  at  Eogatica  referring  to  a  Dec(urio)  C(ivitatis) 
Bis(tuensis)/  it  appears  that  there,  or  rather  perhaps  on  the  neighbouring  site  of 
Oorazda,  stood  the  Bistue  Nova  of  the  Tabula  and  Itineraries.  From  this  we  may 

a  Jirecek,  op,  cit.  p.  49.  Foinica  or  Chvojnica  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Ragusan  archives 
of  the  fifteenth  century  as  the  seat  of  a  mining  colony  of  the  Republic  which  numbered  amongst  its 
members  scions  of  the  patrician  houses  of  Bonda,  Bucchia,  and  Gozze. 

b  Herr  Dumi6i6  of  Kisseljak  showed  me  specimens  of  ore  from  this  neighbourhood  containing  as 
much  as  thirty  per  cent,  of  silver. 

c  Accompanied  by  grains  of  silver,  cinnabar,  and  globules  of  quicksilver. 

d  Through  Bosnia,  &c.  p.  210,  227,  seqq. 

e  Budnik  is  derived  from  the  Old  Slavonic  Euda  =  Metallum.  Cf.  Miklosich,  Die  Slavischen 
Ortsnamen  aus  Appellativen,  s.  v. 

*  The  first  describers  of  this  inscription,  Dr.  Blau  and  M.  de  Ste  Marie,  differed  as  to  their 
reading.  Dr.  Blau  reading  DEC  .  C  .  RIS  completed  by  Mommsen  (C.  I.  L.  iii.  2766  b)  Dec(uriq) 
G(witatis)  Eis(ini)  :  (Itineraires  de  I' Herzegovine)  ;  M.  de  Ste  Marie  reading  DEC  .  c  .  BIS  to  be 
completed  Dec(urio)  Cfivitatis)  Bisftuae)  or  Bistttensis.  Dr.  Hoernes  on  first  examining  the  stone 
accepted  Dr.  Blau's  version,  though  with  the  remark  that  "  das  unten  beschadigte  R  einem  B  ahnlich 
sieht  "  (Arch.  Epigr.  Mitth.  iv.  p.  45) ;  but  on  a  second  examination  of  the  stone  in  1880  he  convinced 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  19 

infer  that  the  important  station  that  precedes  it  on  the  road  from  Salonae, 
Ad  Matricem,  marked  in  the  Tabula  with  lofty  towers  and  a  central  pinnacle, — more 
prominently  indeed  than  any  other  Dalmatian  city, — is  to  be  identified  with  the 
Municipium  that  formerly  existed  at  Blazui,  and  which  was  in  fact  the  Roman 
predecessor  of  Serajevo.  Dr.  Hoernes,  who  accepts  this  view,  sees  in  the  name  an 
allusion  to  the  source  of  the  Bosna,a  but  I  should  prefer  to  trace  in  it  rather  an 
allusion  to  the  sources  of  mineral  wealth.  In  both  the  Dacian  and  Mcesian  mining 
districts  have  been  found  frequent  Roman  dedications,  TERRAE  MATRi,b  to  Mother 
Earth,  who  was  naturally  invoked  in  such  districts  as  the  goddess  from  whose 
matrix  all  mineral  treasures  were  brought  forth.  At  Rudnik,  in  the  centre  of  the 
old  silver  mining  country,  of  what  is  at  present  the  kingdom  of  Serbia,  there  were 
discovered  the  remains  of  a  temple  of  TERRA  MATER,  with  an  inscription  recording  its 
restoration  by  the  Emperor  Septimius  Severus,c  and  from  an  altar  found  at  Karls- 
burg  in  Transylvania,  the  ancient  Apulum,  it  would  appear  that  this  goddess 
was  regarded  as  the  peculiar  patroness  of  the  Dacian  Eldorado. d  In  this  case 
Ad  Matricem  would  simply  mean  the  town  near  the  matrix,  or  load,  of  mineral 
deposits,  and  would  correspond  to  the  present  name  of  the  neighbouring  village  of 
Rudnik. 

From  the  neighbourhood  of  the  small  mud  craters,  formed  by  an  old  source  of 
the  hot  springs  on  the  right  bank  of  the  2elesnica  stream,  an  ancient  paved  way, 
which  in  part  of  its  course  appears  to  me  to  represent  a  Roman  road  line,  leads  in 
the  direction  of  Serajevo.  This  road  traversed  the  Dobrinja  stream  by  a  bridge 
the  lower  part  of  which  is  apparently  composed  of  Roman  blocks  ;  and  a  portion  of 
a  rounded  column  imbedded  at  one  point  in  the  pavement  of  the  road  itself  bore  a 
suspicious  resemblance  to  a  fragment  of  a  Roman  mile-stone.  It  leads  towards 
the  village  of  Svrakinsko  Selo,  where  was  found  a  votive  altar  dedicated  to  Jupiter 

himself  that  the  true  reading  was  BIS.  Identifying  the  "  Mun(icipium)  S."  on  the  site  of  Plevlje 
with  the  Stanecle  of  the  Tabula,  he  observes  that  it  must  be  the  Bistue  Nova,  which  is  to  be  sought  at 
Rogatica  or  Gorazda,  and  adds  the  obvious  corollary,  "  Dann  ist  aber  auch  die  Lage  von  ad  Matricem 
bestimmt  und  wir  miissen  diese  wichtige  Station  in  das  Quellbecken  der  Bosna  veiiegen  "  (Alterthumer 
der  Hercegovina,  ii.  139.) 

a  Tomaschek  compares  the  Pannonian  and  Galatian  "  Matrica "  and  the  "  Mediomatrici "  of 
Metz  and  seeks  a  Celtic  origin.  It  is  always  possible  that  the  Latin  name  was  due  to  some  adaptation 
of  an  earlier  indigenous  form. 

b  Cf.  C.  I.  L.  iii.  996,  1152,  1284,  1285,  1364,  1555,  1599,  6313. 

c  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6313.  The  remains  of  the  temple  and  the  inscription  were  discovered  in  1865  by 
Dr.  Janko  Safarik,  and  are  described  in  Glasnik,  31,  217 — 236. 

''  C.  I.  L.  iii.  996. 

D2 


20  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwn. 

Tonitrator,"  at  present  existing  in  the  garden  of  the  French  Consulate  at  Serajevo. 
In  this  village  I  noticed  the  cornice  of  another  Roman  monument. 

On  the  northern  margin  of  the  plain,  near  the  village  of  Hreljevo,  is  a  bridge 
over  the  Bosna,  the  stone  piers  of  which  appear  to  be  formed  of  Roman  blocks. 
Great  caution,  however,  is  requisite  in  this  country  before  deciding  too  confidently 
on  the  Roman  origin  of  bridges  such  as  this.  In  general  the  Turkish  masons " 
show  a  tendency  to  cut  their  building  stone  into  smaller  and  more  cubical  blocks 
than  was  usual  with  the  Romans ;  but  in  this  part  of  Bosnia,  owing  doubtless  to 
some  peculiarity  in  the  strata,  the  blocks  are  larger  and  of  more  oblong  shape. 
This  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  case  with  the  bridges  over  the  Miljaska  at 
Serajevo,  known  from  the  inscriptions  they  bear  to  date  from  Turkish  times ;  so 
that,  in  the  absence  of  other  evidence,  the  shape  of  the  blocks  cannot  be  taken  to 
decide  their  origin.  Nor  can  their  colossal  size  in  the  case  of  the  Hreljevo  piers 
and  some  other  examples  be  regarded  as  by  itself  conclusive  of  Roman  handiwork, 
when  we  remember  the  prevalent  old  Bosnian  and  Serbian  custom  of  cutting  huge 
monolithic  blocks  for  sepulchral  monuments.  The  purely  Roman  character  of  so 
many  modern  arts  and  buildings  is  continually  striking  antiquarian  eyes  in  the 
Balkan  peninsula.  From  this  point  of  view  the  Turkish  conquest  of  Bosnia  and 
other  parts  of  Western  Illyria  may  almost  be  regarded  as  a  re-conquest  of  old 
Rome.  While  the  influence  of  Roman  arts  in  the  West  is  often  less  superficially 
visible,  simply  because  they  have  transformed  themselves  by  a  living  continuity  of 
developement,  the  Turks  have  preserved  and  fossilized  what  Byzantine  con- 
servatism handed  on  to  the  Arabs  or  to  themselves.  The  hamams  still  visibly 
recall  the  ancient  baths ;  the  woodwork  of  the  bridges  might  be  copied  from 
Trajan's  column ;  the  mosques,  with  their  colonnades  and  porches,  approach  nearer 
to  Justinian's  churches  than  their  Christian  descendants  ;  the  arrangement  of  tiles 
and  bricks  in  the  walls  of  buildings,  with  their  broad  interstices  of  mortar  or 
cement,  transport  us  to  Constantinople  and  Thessalonica  ;  and,  to  take  one  instance 
out  of  the  many,  a  low  stone  archway  of  the  Turkish  Bezestan  at  Serajevo,  with 
its  blocks  dovetailed  into  one  another,  is  almost  an  exact  representation  of  a  flat 
arch  of  the  Porta  Aurea  of  Diocletian's  Palace-Castle  at  Spalato. 

Among  minor  monuments  of  antiquity  from  this  central  Bosnian  district  I 
have  obtained  some  engraved  gems  of  considerable  interest.     One  from  Serajevo 

a  C.  I.  L.  iii.  2766a. 

b  We  may  include  in  the  same  category  the  Ragusan  and  Italian   architects,  known  in  several 
instances  to  have  been  employed  hy  the  Turkish  Pashas  in  Bosnia,  &c.  to  build  bridges.     Of.  p.  24. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Iltyricum.  21 

itself  is  a  very  beautiful  late-Greek  engraving  on  a  sard,  representing  a  Faun 
pouring  wine  from  an  amphora  which  he  holds  on  his  shoulders.     Another,  of 
dull-brown  chalcedony,  displays  characteristics  of  a  truly  remarkable  kind.     It 
represents  a  rude  image  of  a  boar  accompanied  by  a  legend,  the 
first  line  of  which,  as  seen  in  the  impression,  reads  from  right  to 
left,  the  remaining  two  lines  from  left  to  right.      The  letters  are 
Roman,   but  the  legend,   to  be  read  apparently  wio  10  FVLLIS, 
forms  a  combination  which  is  as  decidedly  un-Roman.     It  is  to 
be  observed  that  the  first  part  of  the  inscription  presents  some 
analogy  to  the  name  vocoio,  which  appears  on  the  Celtic  coins  Fig- 2> 

found  in  Noricum  and  Pannonia ;  and  this  analogy  is  supported 
by  the  style  of  the  intaglio  itself.  The  character  of  the  boar  itself,  and  notably 
the  conventional  representation  of  the  bristles  on  its  hind  quarters  by  a  line 
of  pellets,  as  well  as  the  three  pellets  introduced  under  the  hind  legs  of  the 
animal,  and  again  at  the  end  of  the  inscription,  are  familiar  features  on  the 
Celtic  coinage  from  Britain  to  the  Lower  Danube.  That  the  Grasco-Romau 
art  of  gem-engraving  was  occasionally  imitated  by  Celtic  hands  can,  I  think, 
be  shown  by  examples  from  our  own  island ;  and  notably  by  a  carnelian  intaglio, 
found  on  the  Roman  Wall,  representing  a  man  on  horseback,  which  might 
almost  have  been  copied  from  an  ancient  British  coin.  The  relations  between 
the  Dalmatian  tribes  of  the  interior  and  their  Celtic  neighbours  to  the  North 
were  of  the  most  intimate  kind,  as  is  shown  by  their  combined  revolt  against 
Rome  under  the  Batos.  It  is,  moreover,  certain  that  at  one  period  there  was 
a  considerable  Celtic  extension  in  the  interior  of  the  Illyrian  peninsula,  and  I 
have  myself  obtained  Celtic  coins  very  similar  to  those  of  Pannonia  and  Noricum 
in  the  central  plateau  of  Dardania.  The  interior  Dalmatian  tribes,  including  the 
Mazasi  and  Dassitiates  of  Northern  and  Central  Bosnia,  are  reckoned  by  Strabo 
as  Pannonians;a  nor  is  it  possible  to  lay  down  any  rigid  ethnographic  line 
between  the  Celtic  and  Illyrian  area  on  this  side.  Considering  the  extraordinary 
spread  of  Roman  arts  and  culture  among  the  Pannonian  tribes  in  the  age  of 
Augustus,  it  need  not  surprise  us  that  the  Roman  fashion  of  wearing  engraved 
stones  on  signet-rings  was  already  making  its  way  among  these  people  before  the 
days  of  their  final  subjugation.  Vellejus  Paterculus  informs  us  that  when  the 
indigenous  races  between  the  Middle  Danube  and  the  Adriatic  rose  in  their  final 
effort  to  shake  off  the  Roman  yoke,  a  knowledge  not  only  of  the  drill  but  of  the 

a  Strabo,  Geogr.  lib.  vii. 


22 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  lUi/ricum. 


language  of  Home  was  general  throughout  these  regions,  whilst  many  were  familiar 

with  letters,  and  themselves  devoted  to  literary  pursuits.* 

Another  engraved  gem  in  my  collection  from  the  Serajevo  district  is  of  the 
highest  interest,  as  supplying  a  record  of  the  Ostrogothic 
dominion  in  the  Alpine  interior  of  Roman  Dalmatia.  It 
is  a  small  carbuncle  or  garnet  with  bevelled  circumference, 
presenting  a  monogram  which  appears  to  have  belonged 
to  an  official  of  the  Ostrogothic  King  Theodoric.  There 
are  several  slightly  variant  forms  of  Theodoric's  mono- 
gram on  his  coins,  and  the  general  agreement  of  these  with 
the  monogram  on  the  present  gem  is  so  close b  that  there 
can,  I  think,  be  no  doubt  as  to  its  identity.  It  must  be 

remembered,    as   accounting   for   the    absence    of    the    small   s    usual    (but    not 

universal)    on    Theodoric's    coins,    that   on   an   official  signet   we    should  expect 


Pig.  3. 
(Enlarged  3  diams.) 


Fig.  5. 

the  form  D.  N.  THEODORICI,C  while  the  natural  style  on  coins  is  in  the  nomi- 
native, D.  N.  THEODOKICYS.  "What  is  conclusive  as  to  the  royal  or  imperial  character 
of  the  commission  held  by  the  possessor  of  the  present  signet  is  the  presence 
of  the  D.  N.  in  ligature,  standing  for  the  supreme  late -Roman  title  DOMINVS 
NOSTEE,  and  adopted  under  the  same  monogrammatic  form  on  the  coins  of  the 
Ostrogoths,  of  the  Vandals  in  Africa,  and  of  the  Emperors  Justin  and  Justinian. 
The  signet  with  the  royal  monogram  may  have  been  entrusted  to  high  officials  in 
the  provinces  for  purposes  of  state,  and  the  discovery  of  this  gem  in  the  old 

a  Veil.  Paterculus,  lib.  ii.  c.  110.  "In  omnibus  autem  Pannoniis  non  discipline  tantummodo 
sed  linguae  quoque  notitia  Romanes :  plerisque  etiam  literarum  usus  et  f  amiliaris  animorum  erat 
exercitatio." 

b  The  only  discrepancy  that  suggests  itself  is  the  non-prolongation  of  the  cross-line  of  the  H  to 
the  perpendicular  line  of  the  D.  A  parallel  instance  however  may  be  found  on  coins  of  Athalaric, 
and  it  appears  that  in  both  cases  the  H  was  an  approach  to  the  so-called  "  Lombardic  "  h .  We 
should  thus  read  DN  T  JjEeDoRici. 

c  On  the  King's  own  seal,  doubtless,  THEODOKICI  EEGIS.  The  signet  ring  of  Childeric  had  the 
inscription  CHILDIBICI  EEGIS  (Chifflet,  Anastasis  Ghilderid  Regis,  p.  97,  Antwerp,  1655).  The  insertion 
of  the  D.N.  shows  that  the  present  gem  belonged  to  an  official  and  not  to  the  king  himself. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  23 

Dalmatian  interior  serves  to  remind  us  of  the  importance  attached  by  Theodoric  to 
the  iron-mines  of  the  province,  and  his  special  despatch  of  a  commissioner  of  mines 
to  inquire  into  their  •working."  The  present  signet  gem,  by  showing  the  character 
of  Theodoric's  official  signature,  may  help  to  confute,  whilst  at  the  same  time 
explaining,  the  vulgar  calumny  of  the  Anonymus  Valesianus  that  the  Gothic 
king,  whose  perpetual  aim  was  to  preserve  Roman  civilization,  and  who  had  him- 
self received  his  education  in  New  Rome,  was  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
letters  to  write  his  own  name.  This  Catholic,  and  therefore  hostile,  chronicler 
informs  us  that  Theodoric  for  this  reason  had  recourse  to  a  stencil-plate  of  gold, 
in  which  he  traced  the  first  letters  of  his  name,  THEOD.b  When,  however,  we  find 
that  on  his  official  signets,  as  so  often  on  his  coins,  Theodoric  had  recourse  to  this 
complicated  monogram,  we  can  well  understand  that  for  his  own  convenience  he 
made  use  of  a  stencil-plate  to  affix  his  signature. 

From  the  Eastern  angle  of  the  plain  where  Serajevo  now  stands,  the  Roman 
road  in  its  course  towards  the  Drina  must  have  followed  much  the  same  route  as 
that  taken  by  the  present  road  to  Gorazda.  Ascending  the  river  pass,  past  the  old 
Bosnian  stronghold  of  Starigrad,  overlooked  by  the  "Eagle  Crags"  of  the  Romanja 
Planina — a  name  which  seems  to  mark  this  table-headed  range  as  a  former  pro- 
montory of  Byzantine  dominions, — the  way  descends  into  the  fertile  valley  of  Praca, 
in  the  Middle  Ages  one  of  the  principal  commercial  staples  of  the  country  and  the 
seat  of  a  Ragusan  colony.  This  neighbourhood  abounds  in  mediaeval  sepulchral 
blocks  and  the  ruins  of  legendary  castles,  but  I  searched  in  vain  for  Roman  monu- 
ments. From  Prada  there  diverge  two  ancient  routes  across  the  forest-mountain, 
one  to  Rogatica  and  the  other  to  Grorazda  on  the  Drina,  at  both  of  which  places 
Roman  remains  are  forthcoming. 

At  Gorazda  I  discovered,  besides  other  relics  of  antiquity,  the  two  inscrip- 
tions already  mentioned  °  in  my  previous  paper ;  one  of  them  referring  to  the 
Andarvani,  and  indicating,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  that  there  was  a  point  of 
junction  with  a  Southern  road-line  bringing  the  Upper  Valley  of  the  Drina  into 
communication  with  the  Plain  of  Niksid  and  the  South  Dalmatian  coast-cities, 
Epitaurum  and  Risinium.  The  Roman  predecessor  of  Gorazda  (not  improbably 

a  Cassiodorus,  Variarum,  lib.  iii.  Ep.  25.     See  p.  9. 

b  Anon.  Valesianus,  c.  79.  "  Igitur  rex  Theodoricus  illiterates  erat,  et  sic  obruto  sensu,  ut  in 
decem  annos  regni  sui  quatuor  litteras  subscriptionis  edicti  sui  discere  nullatenus  potuisset.  De  qua 
re  laminam  auream  jussit  interrasilem  fieri  quatuor  litteras  regis  habentem  THEOE.  ut,  si  scribere 
voluisset,  posita  lamina  super  chartam,  per  earn  penna  duceret,et  subscriptio  ejus  tantum  videretur." 

'  See  Archceologia  XLVIII.  p.  90,  91. 


24  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

the  Bistue  Nova  of  the  Tabula)  ,a  must,  like  its  modern  representative,  have  been 
an  important  bridge-station.  The  existing  bridge  which  here  spans  the  Drina 
(when  I  saw  it  in  1881  in  course  of  restoration  by  the  Austrians)  was  constructed 
in  1568  by  Ragusan  architects  and  masons  at  the  expense  of  Mustapha  Pasha,  of 
Buda,  whose  almsgiving  took  this  practical  form.b  Previous  to  this,  in  Slavonic 
times,  there  had  only  been  a  ferry,  but  the  relief  of  a  Roman  eagle  and  other  ancient 
fragments  which  I  observed  on  the  Drina  bank  not  far  from  the  present  bridge 
may  be  taken  as  indications  that  the  Drina  had  been  already  spanned  at  this  point 
in  Roman  times. 

Prom  G-orazda  the  road,  after  crossing  the  Drina  and  traversing  the  glen  of 
Cajnica,  ascends  the  steeps  of  Mount  Kovac,  still  covered  with  a  primaeval  forest 
growth  of  gigantic  firs  and  beeches.  On  this  range  I  came  upon  one  of  the  most 
striking  ethnological  phenomena  anywhere  to  be  found  in  the  Balkan  lands.  The 
peasant  women,  whose  attire  through  this  and  the  adjoining  Serbian  provinces  is 
as  exclusively  Slavonic  as  their  language,  have  here  preserved  a  distinctively 
Illyrian  element  in  their  dress.  They  wear,  in  fact,  over  and  above  the  Slavonic 
apron,  an  Albanian  f ustanella ; c  and,  though  their  language  is  pure  Serb,  their 
longer  and  more  finely-cut  faces  and  the  expression  of  their  eyes,  as  much  as  their 
characteristic  skirts,  proclaim  their  kinship  with  the  aboriginal  people  of  Illyricum. 
We  are  reminded  that  this  Kova6  range  lies  on  the  borders  of  a  central  Alpine 
region  known  as  Stari  Ylah  or  "  Old  "Wallachia,"  a  name  which  by  itself  affords 
sufficient  indication  that  these  inaccessible  highlands  continued  to  be  a  stronghold 
of  the  Romanized  indigenous  element  long  after  the  Slavs  had  ousted  them  from 
the  more  open-lying  parts  of  the  country.  In  these  fustanella'd  peasants  we  may 
venture  to  see  the  actual  descendants  of  Illyrian  clansmen. 

a  See  p.  18. 

b  A  letter  of  the  Ragusan  Government  to  their  ambassador  at  Constantinople,  dated  Sept.  19, 
1568  (given  by  Jirecek,  op.  cit.  p.  86),  refers  to  the  construction  of  this  bridge.  "  Dovete  sapere  che 
nelli  mesi  passati  fummo  ricercati  dall  111.  Signer  Mustaffa  Bassa  di  Buda  che  li  dovessemo  mandare 
marangoni,  muratori,  fabri  et  molte  cose  necessarie  perche  sua  Signoria  dovea  fabricare  per  fare 
elemosina  un  ponte  in  Ghorasda  al  quale  habbiamo  servito  volentieri."  This  Ragusan  bridge  was  of 
five  arches  of  woodwork,  resting  on  piers  of  deftly-hewn  stone  blocks,  oblong  in  shape  but  not  so 
thick  as  Roman  blocks.  The  woodwork  was  so  constructed  that  the  middle  of  the  bridge  was 
greatly  elevated. 

B  The  male  peasants — less  conservative  in  dress  than  their  womankind — (except  in  Albania,  an 
almost  universal  rule  in  the  Ottoman  dominions  in  Europe)  have  adopted  the  Oriental  and  Slavonic 
attire  of  the  surrounding  populations.  In  parts  of  North  Albania  the  fustanella  is  common  to  both 
sexes. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  25 

Beyond  Mount  Kovad  opens  the  plain  of  Plevlje,  the  Turkish  Tashlidja,  con- 
taining relics  of  antiquity  which  mark  it  as  a  principal  centre  of  Illyro-Roman 
civic  life.  This  plain  is  the  only  large  open  space  to  be  found  in  the  mountains 
for  two  days'  journey  on  either  side,  and  at  the  same  time  is  the  natural  crossing- 
point  of  the  highways  of  communication  between  the  Adriatic  coastland  and  the 
Moesian  and  Dardanian  staples,  of  which  Scupi  (Skopia)  and  Naissus,  the  modern 
Nish,  may  be  taken  as  representatives.  On  these  accounts  the  site  on  which  Plevlje 
stands  has  never  ceased  to  play  a  leading  part  in  the  internal  economy  of  this  part 
of  the  ancient  Illyricum.  The  mediaeval  importance  of  Plevlje  (formerly  known  as 
Breznice,"  from  the  little  river  that  flows  through  its  midst)  is  still  attested  by  the 
Orthodox  monastery  in  a  neighbouring  gorge,  with  its  ancient  church,  resplendent 
with  frescoes  in  Byzantine  style,  representing  old  Serbian  Kings  and  Czars.  Its 
military  value  was  also  considerable ;  and  it  was  here  that,  in  1463,  the  Turks 
gained  the  victory  over  Stephen,  Duke  of  St.  Sava,  which  placed  Herzegovina  at 
their  mercy.  The  Ragusan  and  Venetian  caravans  passed  through  Plevlje  on  their 
way  to  Nish  and  Constantinople ;  and  the  Venetian  traveller  Ramberti,  writing  in 
1541,  describes  the  town  as  "  large  and  well-favoured,  according  to  the  country," 
though  the  surrounding  mountains  were  at  that  time  the  haunt  of  robbers,  who,  a 
few  years  previously,  had  plundered  a  Venetian  caravan  of  about  a  hundred  horses, 
and  slain  two  nobles  of  the  Serene  Republic,  a  Nani  and  a  Capello.b  The  trade 
connexion  with  Ragusa  has  never  been  entirely  lost,  and  the  traveller c  is  still 
astonished,  on  inquiring  the  direction  of  the  southern  road,  to  hear  the  name  of  the 
old  commercial  Republic  of  the  eastern  Adriatic  shore  when  he  expected  merely 
to  be  told  the  name  of  some  neighbouring  village  or  insignificant  Turkish  town. 

To  this  abiding  connexion  between  Plevlje  and  the  Dalmatian  civic  Republic, 
which  in  the  Middle  Ages  succeeded  to  the  place  of  Salonse  as  the  maritime  empo- 
rium of  these  Illyrian  midlands,  was  due  the  first  discovery  at  this  spot  of  the 
remains  of  a  considerable  Roman  city.  In  1792  the  Ragusan  ambassadors,  passing 
through  Plevlje  on  their  way  to  Constantinople  observed  there  numerous  Roman 
antiquities,  the  base  of  a  statue,  marble  columns,  and  inscriptions ;  and,  in  answer 
to  their  inquiries,  were  informed  that  about  an  hour  distant  were  to  be  seen  other 


a  Of.  JireiSek,  op.  cit.  p.  73. 

b  Delle  Gose  de  Turchi,  p.  6.     (In  Vinegia,  1541.)     Ramberti  groups  "  Plevie  "  with  Prijepolje  as 
"  secondo  il  paese  assai  grand!  e  buoni." 

c  Cf .   Blau,  Monatsbericht  d.  k.  Preuss.  Akad.  1866,  p.  840.      He  adds,  "  Noch   jetzt  wird  von 
Plevlje  iiber  Gatzko  und  Trebinje  ein  namhafter  Handel  mit  Ragusa  getrieben." 
VOL.  XLIX.  E 


26 


•Antiquarian  Eesearches  in  Illyricwn. 


splendid  monuments.*  One  of  the  two  inscriptions  copied  by  them  on  this  occa- 
sion referred  to  an  Bques  Romanus,  who  was  a  decurion  of  the  local  municipium; 
but,  unfortunately,  of  the  name  itself  only  the  initial  letter  S  is  given.  The 
notice  of  the  Roman  antiquities  at  Plevlje,  contained  in  the  journal  of  the 
Bagusan  envoys,  has  been  in  recent  years  much  augmented  by  Dr.  Blau,  formerly 
Prussian  consul  at  Serajevo,  who,  at  the  request  of  Professor  Mommsen,  paid  a  visit 
to  this  spot,  and  copied  a  whole  series  of  fresh  inscriptions.6  Fresh  contributions 
have  recently  been  made  to  our  knowledge  by  Herr  Miiller,  the  Austrian  consul  at 
Plevlje,  and  by  Dr.  Hoernes,  who  visited  this  locality  in  1880.°  My  own  investi- 
gations on  this  interesting  site  may  serve  to  supplement,  and  in  part  perhaps  to 
rectify,  these  observations  of  fellow-explorers. 

The  existing  remains  are  distributed  over  three  principal  sites — the  modern 
town  of  Plevlje ;  a  side  valley  about  two  miles  distant,  still  known  as  Old  Plevlje ; 

and  the  hill  of  Sveti  Ilija,  lying  about  half  an  hour  distant 
on  the  south-western  margin  of  the  plain.  Plevlje  itself, 
at  present  in  mixed  Turkish  and  Austrian  occupation,  is 
a  busy  market-town  containing  a  population  of  about  8,000 
Serbs,  Mahometan  and  Orthodox.  It  enjoys  the  luxury  of 
fine  mountain  air  and  innumerable  springs  of  the  purest 
water ;  but,  excepting  one  or  two  stately  mosques,  there 
is  little  to  remark  in  the  present  town  beyond  the  ancient 
remains  transported  hither  from  the  older  site.  These 
remains  lie  mostly  on  the  western  side  of  the  town.  In 
the  bazaar  street  are  two  fountains  built  entirely  of  Roman 
blocks,  amongst  which  is  still  to  be  seen  the  elegant 
sepulchral  monument  which  arrested  the  attention  of  the 
Ragusan  ambassadors.  The  inscription  is  interesting,  as 
presenting,  in  a  peculiar  style  of  lettering  and  abbrevia- 
tion, the  neo-Latin  name-forms  Amavilis  for  Amabilis  and  Masimile  for  Maximillce. 
The  foundations  of  several  of  the  Plevlje  mosques  are  built  almost  entirely  of 
ancient  blocks.  The  Podstrazica  Mosque  contains  four  inscriptions  walled,  face 


JDMS 

EX  TEH 


"  Giornale  del  Viaggio  a  Constantinopoli  fatto  dagli  Ambasciatori  della  Bepubblica  di  Bagusa  alia, 
Sublime  Porta  VAnno  1792.  (In  Engel.  Geschichte  des  Freystaates  Bagusa,  Wien,  1807,  p.  312,  seqq.) 

b  Monatsbericht  der  k.  Preuss.  Akademie  der  Wissenschaftm,  1866,  p.  838,  seqq.  The  inscriptions 
copied  by  Dr.  Blau  are  given  in  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6339-6357. 

c  ArcMologisch-Epigraphische  Mittheilungen  aus  Oesterreich,  1880. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyrieum.  27 

outwards,  into  its  minaret,  and  seven  more,  some  however  no  longer  legible,  in 
its  basement/  One  of  these  commemorates  a  Duumvir  Quinquennalis  and  a  sacral 
functionary;6  another  records  a  decree  of  the  local  Senate  giving  a  site  for  a 
monument  to  some  deceased  municipal  worthy.0  In  the  yard  opposite  the  mosque 
was  an  altar  turned  upside  down  and  half  buried  in  the  earth,  upon  which  Dr. 
Hoernes a  thought  that  letters  could  be  detected.  I  had  it  dug  out,  but  satisfied 
myself  that  ho  trace  of  an  inscription  was  now  visible.  Outside  the  Musluk 
mosque  was  another  similar  altar,  with  the  remarkable  inscription  : 

I.  0.  N.e 

The  omission  of  the  title  of  M(aximus)  after  O(ptimus)  is  rare,  but  not  altogether 
unexampled/  on  monuments  of  Jove ;  and  we  may  perhaps  assume  that  the  altar 
was  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Nundinarius,  the  patron  of  markets,  a  dedication 
eminently  appropriate  to  the  commercial  position  of  the  town.  Amongst  all  the 
inscriptions  existing  at  Plevlje  itself  that  referring  to  the  Municipium  S.  must 
command  the  highest  interest.  It  is  still  to  be  seen  on  an  imposing  block  oppo- 
site the  Hussein  Pasha  mosque,  as  the  Ragusans  found  it ;  but  for  presuming  to 
copy  it  I  narrowly  escaped  stoning  at  the  hands  of  the  Mahometan  rabble  of  the 
place,  who  seemed  to  imagine  that  the  stone  contained  secrets  only  to  be  revealed 
to  true  believers.  The  inscription  is  of  clear-cut  letters  of  a  good  period.  It 
records  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  T.  Aurelius  Sextianus,  "  Eques  Eomanus, 
Decurio  Municipii  S.  .  .  .  ,"  by  his  father,  and  the  public  gift  of  the  ground  to 
erect  it  on  by  a  decree  of  the  Decurions.8 

The  two  examples,  of  which  representations  are  given  below  (figs.  8  and  9),h 
may  afford  an  idea  of  the  prevalent  style  of  sepulchral  monument  at  this  locality:— 

a  The  inscriptions  in  the  PodstraZica  Mosque  are  given  by  Dr.  Blau  (cf.  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6344,  &c.) 

b  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6344.  c  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6345. 

d  Op.  cit.  p.  7.  "  Im  Hof  derselben  Moschee  ist  eine  etwa  Mannshohe  Stele  bis  an  den  Fuss  in 
die  Erde  vergraben.  Ich  konnte  sie  nur  ein  paar  Fuss  tief  blosslegen  und  ueberzeugte  mich,  dass 
die  Vorderseite  eine  romische  Inschrift  tragt,  deren  letzte  Zeile  die  Buchstaben  (M)ONTM(entom) 

enthalt." 

•  Not,  as  erroneously  given  by  Blau  (C.  I.  L.  iii.  6339),  I  .  0  .  M.  The  N  is  perfectly  clear,  and 
cannot  be  regarded  as  an  imperfect  M. 

1  Cf.  I  .  0  .  BESSVMAEVS.      C.  I.  L.  iii.  1053. 

8  It  is  given  in  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6343.     The  punctuation,  line  2,  is  however  .  E  .  Q  .  R. 

h  Fig.  8  is  from  the  PodstraZica  mosque.  Fig.  9  from  the  konak  of  Sali  Beg.  The  inscriptions 
are  incorrectly  given  by  Dr.  Blau  (C.  I.  L.  iii.  6346,  6349).  My  copies  agree  with  Dr.  Hoarnes' 
collations. 

E2 


28 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricim. 


Fig.  9. 


The  way  from  the  modern  town  of  Plevlje  to  the  actual  site  of  the  Roman 
Municipium  runs  across  the  Cehotina  stream  by  the  Avdovina  bridge,  opposite 
which,  on  the  left  bank,  is  another  fountain  composed  of  ancient  fragments,  where 
I  noticed  part  of  an  unpublished  inscription  (fig.  11). 

Following  the  left  bank  of  the  stream,  about  a  mile  and  a-half  further,  more 
monuments  and  two  inscriptions  will  be  found  in  a  cottage a  near  the  confluence  of 

1  The  place  is  called  Badosavac.  The  inscriptions  are  accurately  described  by  Dr.  Hoernes  and 
need  not  be  repeated  here. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm. 


29 


the    Oehotina  and  Vezeznica.     At  this  point  opens  a  beautiful   undulating  glen 
watered  by  the  Vezeznica  stream,    where  unquestionably  the  ancient  city  lay.a 


Fig.  10. 
Sketch  plan  of  Plevlje  and  neighbourhood,  app.  scale  £  inch  to  mile. 

Ancient  remains  and  foundations  occur  all  along  the  slopes  that  overhang  the 
Vezeznica  to  the  West.     By  the  hamlet  of  Vidre  and  up  the  little  torrent  called  the 

a  My  own  impressions  regarding  the  site  will  be  found  to  agree  generally  with  those  of  Herr 
Miiller  and  Dr.  Hoernes  as  given  by  the  latter  in  Arch.  Ep.  Mittheilungen,  loc.  cit.  I  differ,  however, 
from  my  fellow-explorers  in  considering  that  the  ancient  site  extended  also  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Vezeznica.  I  may  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  my  obligations  to  Herr  Miiller  for  his  valuable 
advice,  although  he  was  unfortunately  absent'  from  Plevlje  at  the  time  of  my  visit. 


30 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


"1 


BabiS  Potok a  the  foundations  of  walls  and  buildings  are  specially  distinguishable. 
Here,  in  the  country-house  of  a  Selmanovic  Beg,  is  an  altar  to  Jove,"  and  a 
sepulchral  monument  representing  two  heads  in  relief ;  and  at  Koruga  in  the  same 
neighbourhood,  a  house  almost  entirely  composed  of  fine  Roman  blocks  and  monu- 
ments, and  with  a  hopelessly  effaced  inscription  in  the  stall  below.  Many  of  the 
blocks  and  monuments  here  and  elsewhere  on  this  site  are  of  a  peculiar  black  and 

white  marble,  others  of  a  red  marble,  the 
same  material  as  that  of  the  Eagle  relief 
described  at  Glorazda.  The  remains  extend 
to  the  left  bank  of  the  Vezeznica,  where  are 
to  be  seen  traces  of  what  was  apparently  a 
Roman  fountain,  the  sockets  for  the  clamps 
of  the  stone- work  being  cut  out  of  the  solid 
rock  above  an  abundant  source.  Near  here, 
in  the  mud  at  the  bottom  of  the  stream  itself, 
was  observable  the  well-cut  cornice  of  a  large 
squared  block,  which  with  the  aid  of  four  men 
and  with  considerable  difficulty  I  succeeded  in 
dredging  from  the  depths.  It  proved  to  be  an 
altar  to  Silvanus  (fig.  12)  raised  by  a  certain 
M.^Emilius  Antonius,  apparently  the  Duumvir 
of  that  name,  who  dedicated  an  altar  to 
Jupiter  Fulgurator  at  present  existing  oppo- 
site the  Curkovac  mosque  in  Plevlje  itself.0 
The  third  principal  site  besides  Plevlje  itself  and  the  glen  of  the  Vezeznica, 
where  the  ancient  remains  occur,  is  that  of  the  hill  of  Sveti  Ilija,  lying  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  to  the  South-Bast  of  the  last-named  locality.  A  consideration  of 
these  remains  brings  us  to  a  very  curious  part  of  our  subject.  The  monuments  at 
the  spot  already  described  are  of  characteristic  Roman  execution.  The  letters  are 
often  elegantly  and  boldly  cut,  and  the  ornamentation,  if  conventional,  comes  up  to 
the  usual  municipal  standard.  The  inscriptions  refer  to  the  civic  officers,  priests, 


fTLEVPlA 

f 

M 


Fig.  11. 


a  Near  here  Dr.  Hoernes  found  a  fragment  of  an  inscription  reading  L ||  CAMBJRIANVS  || 

L  .  p. ;  apparently  in  situ — "  Wahrscheinlich  noch  unverriickt  an  seiner  urspriinglichen  Stelle." 

b  This  reads  I  .  0  .  M  .  ||  STATITS  ||  VICTOR  .  BRI||ZIDIA  .  v  .  L  .  TA.  The  last  line  is  not  quite 
correctly  given  by  Dr.  Hoernes,  who  gives  v  .  L  .  p. 

c  It  reads  i  .  o  .  M  .  F  II  M  .  AEMIL  II  ANTONIVK  II  n  .  VIR  II  L  .  p. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Iltyricum. 


31 


S1LVANO 

AVG  SACy- 
MAEMIJA/S 
ANTONIVS 


legionaries,  citizens,  for  the  most  part  with  Roman  names.     A  frequency  of 
and  Aurelius  inclines  us  to  believe  that  the  Municipium  was  founded  in  Hadrian's 
time,   and   enlarged   by  a  fresh   settlement   of 
veterans  in  the  age  of  the  Antonines. 

The  remains  on  the  height  of  Sveti  Ilija  are 
generally  speaking  of  a  very  different  character. 
The  inscriptions  are  less  boldly  cut  and  the 
most  important  of  them  refers  to  the  Populus 
and  not  the  Decuriones.  The  monuments  are  of 
a  decidedly  ruder  and  more  barbaric  style,  and 
a  strikingly  large  proportion  of  the  names  are 
native  Illyrian.  There  is  in  fact  just  that  con- 
trast which  we  have  already  noted  in  the  case  of 
the  remains  at  Blazui  between  the  hill  site  and 
the  valley  site.  The  names,  the  style  of  the 
monuments,  the  position  itself,  proclaim  this  to 
have  been  the  original  Illyrian  centre,  and  the 
discovery  at  this  site  of  silver  coins  of  Dyrrha- 
chium,  one  or  two  examples  of  which  I  saw, 
dating  from  about  the  year  200  B.C.  affords  by 
itself  sufficient  indication  that  an  Illyrian  staple 
existed  here  long  before  the  Roman  conquest  of 
this  remote  part  of  the  interior. 

The  present  nucleus  of  these  remains  is  the 
little  Orthodox  church  of  Sveti  Ilija  or  St.  Blias, 
which  gives  its  name  to  the  steep  isolated  height 
on  which  it  stands.  This  is  a  small  Byzantine 
building,  dating  from  the  days  of  the  old  Serbian 
kingdom.  Like  the  church  of  Milesevo,  built  by  King  Vladislav  about  the  year 
1225,  it  had  two  stone  lions  with  plaited  manes  on  either  side  of  the  tympanum  of 
the  inner  of  its  two  portals  ; a  and  there  were  remains  of  frescoes  within,  strongly 
resembling  those  in  a  ruined  church  near  Trebinje,  in  Herzegovina."  This  Old 

a  One  of  these  had  been  knocked  away  by  the  Turks,  who  recently  gutted  the  church  and  burned 
the  priest's  house.  I  found  it  in  the  yard  of  a  cottage  at  Grevo,  below  the  hill  of  St.  Ilija,  with  some 
other  ancient  fragments. 

b  At  the  village  of  Gomiljani  the  treatment  of  the  drapery  was  curiously  similar. 


Fig.  12. 


32  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricim,. 

Serbian  church  appears  to  have  been  a  successor  of  a  still  earlier  foundation,  as  1 
noticed,  built  into  its  western  fa?ade,  an  open-work  carving  of  the  Christian 
monogram  of  the  same  form  and  style  as  those  to  be  seen  in  the  Eski  Dzamia  at 
Salonica,  a  church  dating  from  the  time  of  Justinian.  The  continuous  habitation 
of  the  spot  in  Byzantine  times  is  shown  by  the  not  unfrequent  occurrence  here  of 
coins  of  the  Eastern  Empire;  amongst  those  that  I  have  seen  was  a  silver 
miliaresion  of  Heraclius  and  Heraclius  Constantine  (A.D.  613 — 641),  with  the  legend 
beus  AbmtA  RoCE>ANis,a  and  a  besant  of  Manuel  Comnenos  (1143 — 1180).  Con- 
sidering, indeed,  the  survival  already  noted  of  the  indigenous  Illyrian  population, 
blended  with  the  Slavonic,  in  the  surrounding  ranges,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
sanctity  of  the  spot  has  been  handed  down  from  prehistoric  times.  "  Saint 
Elijah,"  Sveti  Ilija,  to  whom  the  church  was  dedicated  in  the  Old  Serbian  days, 
is  well  known  to  have  taken  over  most  of  his  fiery  attributes  from  Perun,  the 
Thunder-God  of  the  pagan  Slavs.  "Within  the  church,  by  an  almost  startling 
coincidence,  an  altar  of  Jove  has  been  converted  to  the  purposes  of  Christian 
sacrifice,  and,  on  a  spot  so  early  hallowed,  Jupiter  himself  must  not  improbably 
yield  precedence  of  worship  to  a  ruder  Illyrian  forerunner,  the  coeval  of  the 
Dodongean  Zeus.b 

That  the  spot  had  been  used  for  purposes  of  interment  from  pre-historic 
times,  appears  from  the  remains  in  its  neighbourhood  of  gomilas  or  stone 
barrows,  of  a  kind  common  throughout  these  regions,  and  dating,  as  their  con- 
tents show,  from  the  Illyrian  bronze  age.  From  one  of  these  lately  destroyed  in 
building  a  house  near  Gorazda  was  found  a  remarkable  bronze  "  kettle- wagon," 
a  probable  indication  of  an  old  commercial  connexion  between  the  aboriginal 
staples  of  this  part  of  the  Illyrian  interior  and  the  Illyrian  Colonies  beyond  the 
Adriatic.  The  sepulture  thus  early  begun  was  continued  at  this  spot  after  the 
Roman  conquest.  The  southern  end  of  the  hill  of  St.  Ilija  is  literally  undermined 
with  graves,  and  the  recurrence  of  native  names  on  the  sepulchral  slabs  of  Roman 
date  that  have  been  discovered  shows  that  those  who  under  the  Empire  continued 
to  bury  their  dead  here  were  essentially  of  the  same  indigenous  race  as  the 
barrow -builders  who  had  gone  before  them.  The  remains  were  for  the  most  part 
originally  encased  in  pinewood  coffins,  traces  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen ;  and 

a  Sabatier,  Monnaies  byzantiiies,  i.  276,  No.  59. 

b  A  head  of  Zeus  appears  on  some  autonomous  Illyrian  coins  of  Scodra  and  Rhizon. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  33 

these  again  were  enclosed  in  rude  stone  cists,  the  direct  descendants  of  the  more 
massive  cists  to  be  found  inside  the  "gomilas."  In  some  cases  the  skeletons 
actually  occur  in  a  contracted  posture,  a  primitive  usage  characteristic  of  the 
earliest  Stone-Age  interments,  and  representing  the  natural  attitude  of  sleep 
among  savages.*  I  obtained  from  one  of  these  Illyro-Koman  graves  sufficient  por- 
tions of  a  skull  to  establish  the  fact  that  it  was  brachycephalic,  and  with  a  rather 
narrow  face,  characteristics  shared  by  modern  Albanian  heads.  A  plot  to  the 
South-Bast  of  the  little  church  of  Sveti  Ilija  is  still  used  for  burial  by  the  Serbian 
rayahs  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  some  of  the  graves  of  these  Slavonized  indigenes 
date  back  to  mediaeval  times. 

The  walls  and  pavement  of  the  little  church  itself  are  largely  composed  of 
ancient  monuments,  amongst  which  Illyro-Roman  sepulchral  slabs  predominate. 
Amongst  these  the  style  of  workmanship  and  decoration  is  rude  almost  to  gro- 
tesqueness,  of  which  the  annexed  specimen  (fig.  13)  may  give  some  idea.  The 
upper  part  of  the  stone  containing  the  busts  is  bedded  into  the  pavement  of  the 
atrium ;  the  lower  part  with  the  inscription,  which  owing  to  its  abraded  state 
has  been  hitherto  imperfectly  decyphered,b  is  bedded  into  the  pavement  of  the 
church  itself. 

In  this  and  other  examples  I  was  struck  with  the  extraordinary  way  in  which 
the  characteristic  ornamentation  corresponds  to  that  reproduced  in  the  Middle 
Ages  by  the  later  inhabitants  of  these  Alps  for  the  same  sepulchral  purposes. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  they  simply  took  on  the  traditional  style 
from  their  Illyro-Roman  predecessors.  The  arch  and  spiral  columns,  the  rose, 
the  vine  and  tendril  border  of  the  above  monument, — the  trefoil,  the  zigzag  and 
rope  moulding,  and  the  wreaths  characteristic  of  the  ancient  monuments  of  this 
site, — are  all  alike  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  sculptors  of  the  later  "  Old  Serbian  " 
monoliths,  of  which  so  many  are  to  be  found  scattered  throughout  these  regions. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  these  Old  Serbian  monuments  do  not  present  nearly 
the  same  resemblance  in  characteristic  decoration  to  the  more  artistic  monuments 
of  the  cities  of  the  Dalmatian  littoral,  or  even  to  the  better  class  of  Roman  monu- 
ments to  be  seen  at  Plevlje  itself,  as  they  do  to  the  barbaric  modifications  of 
Roman  forms  existing  on  this  old  Illyrian  hill-site.  It  would  almost  seem  as  if  an 
unbroken  continuity  of  indigenous  sepulchral  art  had  been  preserved  here  through 

a  This  explanation  of  the  practice  of  depositing  the  body  in  a  contracted  position  has  been 
suggested  by  my  father  in  his  Ancient  Stone  Implements  fyc.,  of  Great  Britain,  p.  135. 

b  In  C.  I.  L.  iii.  6347,  Dr.  Hoernes  read  •  Ami,  '  A,  and  considered  that  it  contained  the  name 

FADILLA. 

VOL.  XLIX.  F 


34 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm. 


the  days  of  Slavonic  conquest  and  dominion,  to  receive  a  new  development  in  the 
palmy  days  of  the  Serbian  kingdom  and  czardom.     It  may,  at  least,  be  safely  said 


Fig.  13. 

that  the  monuments  of  the  Illyro-Roman  cemetery  at  Sveti  Ilija  throw  as  much  light 
on  the  later  monuments  of  the  country  as  the  classic  models  of  a  more  famous 
Campo  Santo  do  on  mediaeval  Tuscan  art. 

Opposite  the  west  door  of  the  church  stands  a  huge  sepulchral  block  of  cubical 
form  with  a  gabled  top  (fig.  14),  which,  in  bulk  at  least,  is  the  apt  precursor 
of  some  of  the  later  mediaeval  monoliths  of  the  country,  and  which,  from  an  inscrip- 
tion on  one  side  in  Cyrillian  characters,  appears  to  have  been  actually  adopted  for 
sepulchral  purposes  by  one  of  the  later  inhabitants  of  the  land.  Its  front  face 
contains  the  half-length  figures  of  a  man  and  his  wife,  of  barbarous  execution  and 
of  late  character ;  while  on  the  sides  are  carved  two  Genii,  one  with  a  raised,  the 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


35 


other  with  a  lowered  torch,  and  wearing  Phrygian  caps  like  the  same  torch-bearing 
Genii  which  so  constantly  appear  on  Mithraic  reliefs.     It  is  probable  that  here,  too, 


Fig.  14. 

they  are  to  be  taken  in  a  Mithraic  connexion  as  representing  the  ascending  and 
descending  soul,  rather  than  as  merely  symbolical  of  grief  or  the  extinction  of 
life. 

The  inscriptions  are  of  considerable  interest  as  presenting  a  variety  of  indige- 
nous Illyrian  names,  both  male  and  female,  with  the  characteristic  ending  in  — o, 
as  Vendo,  Panto,  Apo  or  Appo,  Tritano,  Titto.  It  would  appear  that,  in  some 
cases  at  least,  these  forms  are  diminutives  of  longer  names ;  thus  from  Panes, 
gen.  Panentis  (of  which  the  Pinnes  of  history,  the  son  of  Queen  Teuta,  represents 
only  another  form),  is  derived  Panto ;  from  Aples,  apparently,  Apo.  To  any  one 
acquainted  with  the  modern  inhabitants  of  the  country  a  parallel  must  at  once 
suggest  itself  in  the  Serbian  diminitive  name-forms  of  a  precisely  similar  kind.a 
Thus,  Panteleon  becomes  "Panto";  G-juragj  (George),  "  Gjuro  ";  Nikola,  "Mko"; 
Simeon,  "  Simo  ";  and  so  forth  :  of  female  names,  Maria  becomes  "  Maro,"  and 
Fatima,  "  Fato."  That  this  peculiarity  was  taken  over  by  the  Slav  occupants  of 

"  This  parallel  has  been  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Otto  Blau  (Reisen  in  Bosnien,  p.  64),  who  gives 
many  examples. 


36 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Iltyricum. 


ANTONINO 


Illyricum  from  the  native  elements  absorbed  by  them  appears  probable  from 
its  reappearance  amongst  the  Albanians,*  the  true  modern  representatives  of  the 
Illyrians. 

Below  the  church,  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  hill,  are  the  remains  of  the 
pope's  house,  recently  burnt  by  the  Turks,  in  the  foundation  of  which  are  several 
ancient  monuments.  One  of  the  stone  posts  of  the  stable-door  contains  a  dedica- 
tion to  the  Caesar,  Diadumenian,  A.D.  217 — 218,  the  shallow  lettering  of  which  is  at 
present  so  weatherworn  as  to  be  almost  invisible  to  the  eye,  except  in  a  very 
advantageous  light  (fig.  15). b  It  is  possible  that  this  monument,  though  not  of 

the  usual  rounded  form,  is  of  a  milliary  character;  and 
that  it  would,  if  complete,  record  the  restoration  of 
roads  and  bridges  in  Dalmatia  by  Macrinus  and  his 
son.  In  the  neighbouring  provinces  of  Pannonia  and 
Noricum  several  milestones  have  been  discovered  with 
the  titles  of  these  Emperors.0 

The  monuments  and  inscriptions  on  the  hill  of 
Sveti  Ilija  are  for  the  most  part  of  late  date.  While 
among  the  remains  at  Plevlje  and  Old  Plevlje,  from 
the  actual  site  of  the  Municipium  S.  there  are  many 
inscriptions  of  a  good  period,  some  dating,  probably, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  of  our  era, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  single  out  an  inscription  on  the 
hill-site  of  earlier  than  third-century  date.  Yet,  as 
we  have  seen,  there  are  various  indications  that  the 
site  itself  was  in  native  occupation  in  times  anterior 
to  the  Eoman  conquest.  We  may  infer  that  Roman 
arts  and  letters,  which  had  reached  the  indigenous 
populations  of  the  Save-lands  by  the  time  of  Augustus, 
and  those  of  the  Adriatic  coast  at  a  still  earlier  date, 
were  of  much  slower  infiltration  into  these  remote 

Alpine  centres.  On  the  hill-site  of  Sveti  Ilija,  the  first  monuments  of  this  influence 
date,  apparently,  from  the  age  of  Severus.  Yet  the  very  memorials  that  indicate  the 

tt  Blau  (loc.  cit.)  cites  among  female  Albanian  names  of  this  kind,  Laljo,  Liljo,  Kondo,  Drano,  &c. 
b  Not  in  C.  I.  L.     The  inscription  is  given  by  Dr.  Hoemes,  loc.  cit.  p.  9.     My  own  copy  is  some- 
what fuller. 

e  C.  I.  L.  iii.  3720,  3724,  3725,  3726,  5708,  5736,  5737,  6467. 


\R 


Fig.  15. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


37 


operation  of  this  Eojnanizing  process  show  us  how  much  of  the  aboriginal  element 
remained.  This  survival  of  the  indigenous  names  in  a  Latin  guise,  the  semi- 
barbarous  renderings  of  Roman  sculpture  and  ornament,  represent  alike,  in  lan- 
guage and  art,  the  beginnings  of  a  rude  Illyrian  "Romance"  and  Romanesque.  The 
mediaeval  monuments  of  the  country  are  direct  descendants  of  these  Illyro-Roman 
slabs.  The  names  of  "Stari  Vlah,"  or  "Old  Wallachia,"  still  applied  to  the 
bordering  mountain  districts,  show  us  that  the  descendants  of  the  Romanized 
natives,  who  buried  their  dead  on  the  hill  of  Sveti  Ilija,  lived  on  in  their  ancient 
homes  under  Slavonic  and  Turkish  as  under  Roman  dominion.  Though  the 
numerous  Rouman  tribes  and  communities  of  these  inland  regions  which  we  learn 
to  know  from  the  Old  Serbian  chrysobulls  and  the  archives  of  Ragusa,  have  long 
since,  for  the  most  part,  become  merged  in  the  Slav-speaking  populations  around 
them,  a  scattered  Rouman  population  still  lives  on 
within  the  old  Dalmatian  limits  in  the  valley  of  the 
Spreca.  The  great  value  of  the  monuments  of  the 
hill-site  of  Sveti  Ilija  is  that  they  present  to  us  the 
meeting-point  of  the  Roman  and  the  indigenous  ele- 
ment, and  supply  us  with  the  first  records  of  the 
Illyro-Roman  race,  substantially  the  same  as  that  of 
the  Roumans  or  Wallachians  of  the  western  parts  of 
the  peninsula, — predominantly  Illyrian  in  pedigree,  but 
speaking  with  national  modifications  the  language  of 
their  Roman  conqueror. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  Sveti  Ilija  monu- 
ments has  yet  to  be  mentioned.  This  is  a  votive  altar 
(fig.  16)  dedicated  to  Jupiter,  apparently  for  the  health 
of  a  Procurator  Augustorum,  by  the  local  Populus. 
Since  it  was  first  observed,  the  right-hand  portion 
has  been  broken  off,  but  the  important  part  was 
happily  preserved  when  I  saw  it.  Dr.  Hoernes,  in 
his  endeavour  to  identify  the  Municipium  S.  with 
the  Stanecle  of  the  Itineraries,  believed  that  he 
detected  on  the  lowest  line  traces  of  an  inscription 
S/A////O///,  which  he  would  naturally  complete  STANECLOEVM;  he  admits,  however, 
that  only  an  uncertain  trace  of  the  S  is  to  be  found  on  his  squeeze.  After 
a  searching  and  repeated  examination  of  the  stone,  the  result  of  several  visits  to 


Fig.  16. 


38  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

the  spot  in  all  lights,  I  have  absolutely  satisfied  myself  that  the  only  letter  is  a 
well  defined  p  in  the  middle  of  the  pedestal.  It  is  certain  that  no  results  obtained 
from  a  squeeze  can  weigh  against  the  impression  immediately  produced  by  the 
monument  on  the  human  eye,  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  appearances  on  which 
Dr.  Hoernes  based  his  reading  were  due  to  some  slight  natural  irregularities  which 
exist  on  the  surface  of  the  stone. 

The  natural  inference  that  we  must  draw  is  that  the  p  standing  by  itself  at 
the  end  of  the  dedication  means  simply  "  POSVIT." 

The  great  predominance  of  native  Illyrian  names  on  the  hillside  of  Sveti 
Ilija  and  the  generally  barbaric  style  of  the  monuments  show  that  the  MVNICIPIVM 

s lay  on  the  borders  of  a  district  still  peopled  by  the  indigenous  race. 

To  what  Illyrian  tribe  did  this  Alpine  region  behind  Montenegro  belong  in  Roman 
Imperial  times  ?  The  tribe  inhabiting  the  central  valley  of  Montenegro  itself 
was  unquestionably  that  of  the  Dokleates,  who  at  a  later  date  passed  on  their  name 
to  the  Serbian  Dukljani.  From  Ptolemy's  list  of  Illyrian  tribes  it  appears  that  the 
northern  borderers  of  the  Dokleates  were  the  Pirustas,  beyond  whom  again  were 
the  Skirtones,  whose  name  seems  to  connect  itself  with  the  Scordus  or  Scardus 
range.6  The  famous  Illyrian  mining  race  of  the  Pirustae  was  originally  a  branch 
of  the  Dassaretes,b  who  inhabited  the  valley  of  the  Black  Drin  and  the  region 
of  which  Lychnidus  on  the  present  Lake  of  Ochrida  was  a  centre,  and  may  thxis 
have  early  exercised  their  mining  industry  in  the  neighbouring  silver-mining 
district  of  Damastion  and  Pelagia.0  From  Livy's  account  of  Anicius's  campaign 

a  Ptol.  Geog.  lib.  ii.  c.  16. 

b  Cf.  Livy,  lib.  xlv.  c.  25.  For  their  connexion  with  Lychnidus,  see  lib.  xliii.  c.  9.  "(Appius 
Claudius)  ad  Lychnidum  Dassaretiorum  consedit."  Lychnidus  was  a  central  station  of  the 
Egnatian  Way,  and  Pylon,  a  little  beyond  it  to  the  East,  was  reckoned  the  boundary  of  Illyricum  and 
Macedonia  (Strabo,  Geog.  lib.  vii.) 

c  The  silver  coins  of  Damastion  throw  an  interesting  light  on  ancient  Illyrian  and  Epirote 
mining  industry.  On  the  reverse  of  some  of  them  are  represented  hammers,  picks,  the  symbol  of  fire, 
and  an  object  which  Professor  Gardiner,  with  great  probability,  considers  to  be  bellows.  The  exact 
site  of  Damastion  remains  to  be  identified,  but  Dr.  Imhoof-Bluruer,  in  his  interesting  account  of  some 
of  the  coins  in  the  Zeitschrif  t  fur  Numismatik  (B.  i.  p.  99,  seqq.),  calls  attention  to  the  village  name  of 
Damesi,  near  Tepelen,  where  silver  mines  appear  to  have  anciently  existed.  Closely  allied  to  these 
coins  of  Damastion  are  those  of  Pelagia  and  others  with  the  legend  2APNOATQN.  The  attempt  of  Dr. 
Imhoof-Blumer  to  identify  the  name  Pelagia  with  Belagrita,  an  older  form  of  the  Albanian  Berat, 
cannot  be  accepted,  it  being  simply  an  Albanian  corruption  of  a  Slavonic  Belgrad ;  Tomaschek's 
comparison  with  Pljage  is  more  hopeful.  With  regard  to  the  attribution  of  both  these  places,  how- 
ever, I  shall  venture  some  new  suggestions.  (See  p.  89.) 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm.  39 

against  the  Illyrian  King  Grenthios "  we  may  infer  that  the  territory  of  the  Pirustse 
lay  to  the  north  of  that  of  the  Dassaretes  proper  and  bordered  on  the  lake-lands 
of  Skodra.  We  are  told  that  they  seized  the  occasion  of  the  Roman  invasion  to 
throw  off  their  allegiance  to  King  Genthios,  and,  from  the  context,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  they  played  an  important  part  in  the  native  revolt,  to  suppress 
which  the  King's  brother  was  called  off  at  the  critical  juncture  into  the  mountain- 
ous region  to  the  East  of  the  Lake.  All  this,  coupled  with  the  indication  supplied 
by  Ptolemy,  points  to  their  occupying  the  Alpine  tract  between  the  united  Drin 
and  the  upper  valley  of  the  Lim,b  where  lay  the  rich  silver  veins  that  in  the 
Middle  Ages  gave  birth  to  the  Serbian  mining  town  and  prolific  mint  of  Brskovo,0 
the  counterfeit  Venetian  grossi  of  which  brought  down  the  anathema  of  Dante 
on  the  Rascian  king.  The  evidence  of  Strabo,  again,  strongly  coroborates 
the  view  that  the  race  of  the  Pirustae  extended  into  the  valley  of  the  Lim. 
He  expressly  classes  this  Illyrian  clan  along  with  the  Mazasi  and  Dassitiates  d— 
tribes  well  within  the  modern  Bosnian  limits — as  of  Pannonian  kin,  and  the 
appearance  of  the  Pirustas  as  mining  colonists  in  Dacia  might  by  itself  be 
taken  to  show  a  certain  geographical  inclination  towards  the  Danubian  system. 

The  names,  again,  on  the  wax  tablets  from  the  Dacian  Vicus  Pirustarumc 
seem  to  be  characteristic  of  a  race  which  formed  a  kind  of  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  northern  and  southern  Illyrian  clans ;  some,  like  Liccaius  and  Epicadus, 
pointing  rather  to  Peeonian  and  Epirote  kinship ;  others,  like  that  of  Verzo  and 
the  oft-recurring  name  of  Bato,  being  as  distinctively  Dalmato-Pannonian.  The 
territory  of  the  Daasitiates,  with  whom  the  Pirustaa  are  associated  by  Strabo,  lay 
in  Southern  Bosnia,  and  from  the  milestone  already  referred  to/  which  places  the 
Castellum  Dcesitiatum  156  miles  from  Salonas,  we  should  be  led  to  seek  for  the 
stronghold  of  the  tribe  at  least  no  further  to  the  South-East  than  Rogatica  or 

a  Hist.  xliv.  c.  31,  and  xlv.  c.  43.     Polybios,  xxx.  19. 

b  The  scene  of  the  campaign  of  King  Genthios'  brother  against  the  native  rebels  is  indicated  by 
his  subsequent  capture  by  the  Roman  general  at  Medeon  to  be  identified  with  the  hill-fortress  of 
Medun,  in  Montenegro.  This  district  was  then  occupied  by  the  tribe  of  the  Dokleates,  whose  civic 
centre  Doklea  still  survives  in  the  modern  Montenegrin  village  of  Dukle.  See  Archaeologia,  vol. 
XLVIII.  p.  84. 

c  Prof.  Stojan  Novakovic"  (Ead.  xxxvii.  (1876),  1-18)  believes  to  have  identified  the  site  of  this 
important  old  Serbian  staple  with  the  site  of  Plava,  in  the  vale  of  Gusinje,  where  according  to 
Hecquard  are  remains  of  a  more  ancient  city.  It  is  certain  that  Brskovo,  the  Brescova  of  the 
Ragusans,  lay  somewhere  on  the  Upper  Lim.  (See  Jirec'ek,  op.  cit.  p.  69.) 

*   Geogr.  lib.  vii.     "EOvrj  $'  tori  rSiv  Ilavvoviwv  .  .  .  Tleipovarat  Kai  MoJaToi  eat  Aattrtnarat. 

e  See  p.  14.  '  P. 


40 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Iltyricum. 


Gorazda.  It  is  possible  that  the  Drina  acted  as  a  southern  boundary  between 
them  and  the  Pirustae ;  in  any  case,  in  view  of  Strabo's  statement  as  to  the  Pan- 
nonian  kinship  of  the  latter,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  in  the  age  of  Augustus 
the  Pirustan  border  was  far  removed  from  the  river  which  opens  a  natural  avenue 
of  communication  between  the  ore-bearing  ranges  of  the  central  Illyrian  district 
and  the  Pannonian  lands  of  the  Save  basin.  In  considering  the  obscure  question 
of  the  boundaries  of  the  Illyrian  tribes  considerable  shifting  and  variations  of 
area a  at  various  epochs,  due  to  wars  and  migrations,  must  always  be  taken  into 
account ;  and,  although  from  the  Dassaretian  connexion  of  the  Pirustas  we  should 
be  inclined  to  seek  their  more  ancient  homes  nearer  the  Epirote  border,  the  dis- 
covery and  exploitation  of  new  sources  of  mineral  wealth  in  Dalmatia,  consequent 
on  the  Roman  conquest,  may  itself  have  tempted  this  race  of  miners  to  extend  their 
field  of  operations  further  to  the  North- West  of  their  original  area.  That  this 
should  have  occurred  will  appear  all  the  more  probable  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  three  important  tribes  of  the  Autariata3,D8esitiates,  and  Daorsi,  or  Daversi, 
who  once  held  an  extensive  dominion  in  this  part  of  Illyricum,  had  been  reduced 
to  very  straitened  circumstances  by  the  Roman  invader .b 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  an  accidental  incident  that  Livy,°  in  describing  the  settle- 
ment of  Illyricum  after  King  Grenthios'  defeat,  in  his  list  of  peoples  who  had 
earned  immunity  from  tribute  by  their  timely  defection  from  the  native  dynast, 
mentions  the  Pirustae  immediately  before  the  inhabitants  of  Rhizon,  an  Illyrian 
maritime  emporium  connected,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  ancient  sites  of  this  part 
of  the  interior  by  a  line  of  Roman  road,  which,  in  all  probability,  followed  the 
course  of  an  earlier  native  line  of  intercourse.  The  name  of  the  modern  town  of 


a  Strabo,  for  example  (lib.  vii.),  mentions  that  the  Romans  had  driven  the  once  piratic  race  of 
the  Ardiasi  away  from  the  sea  to  a  sterile  tract  of  the  interior  where  in  the  impossibility  of  obtaining 
sustenance  the  whole  race  had  almost  died  out.  He  adds  as  similar  examples  the  case  of  the 
Autariataa  and  Dardanii,  the  Gallic  Boii  and  Scordisci,  and  the  Thracian  Boii. 

b  Velleius  Paterculus,  lib.  ii.  c.  115.  "  Quippe  Daorisi  et  Dsesitiates  Dalmatae,  situ  locorum  ac 
montium,  ingeniorum  ferocia,  mira  etiam  pugnandi  scientia  et  prascipue  angustiis  saltuum  pcene 
inexpugnabiles,  non  jam  ductu,  sed  manibus  atque  armis  ipsius  Csesaris,  turn  demum  pacati  snnt  cum 
pcene  funditus  eversi  forent."  The  Daorisi,  Daorsi,  or  Daversi  had,  like  the  Ardiasi,  been  a  maritime 
people,  and,  as  is  proved  by  their  coins  representing  a  galley  with  the  legend  AAOP2QN,  had  shown 
themselves  receptive  of  Greek  culture.  Their  original  area  lay  to  the  South  of  the  Narenta  mouth. 
For  the  Autariatee  see  Strabo,  loc.  cit. 

0  Hist.  lib.  xlv.  c.  26. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  41 

Perasto,  near  the  site  of  Rhizon  or  Risinium,  might  by  itself  suggest  a  suspicion 
that  its  origin  was  not  unconnected  with  the  famous  mining  race  of  the  interior,8 
and  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Rhizon,  as  in  that  of  the  Dacian  city  of  Alburnus 
Major,  there  had  sprung  up  a  Vicus  Pirustarum.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Plevlje 
scope  could  be  found  for  the  mining  industry  of  the  race.  I  have  myself  seen 
specimens  of  silver  and  iron  ore  from  the  neighbouring  mountains,  and  in  making 
the  new  road  there  was  discovered  below  the  present  surface  the  stumps  of  a 
mighty  oak  forest,  which  had  been  felled  at  a  remote  period,  a  circumstance 
thoroughly  consistent  with  the  former  existence  of  extensive  smelting- works. 
Here  again  the  name  Rudnice  shows  conclusively  that  mining  operations  were 
carried  on  in  this  vicinity  in  Slavonic  times. 

At  Sveti  Ilija  I  noticed  two  Roman  tiles  with  the  following  stamps. 


Fig.  17.  Fig.  18. 

At  Rogatac,  a  small  hamlet  in  the  Vezeznica  valley,  about  an  hour's  distance 
to  the  North  of  the  Municipium  S.,  Herr  Miiller  had  observed  a  sepulchral  slab 
without  inscription,  but  containing  a  relief  of  a  Genius  leaning  on  an  extinguished 
torch.  Hearing  of  other  ancient  monuments  at  Podpec,  about  an  hour  further  up 
the  valley  in  the  same  northerly  direction,  I  resolved  to  visit  the  spot.  As  a 
sample  of  the  difficulties  which  the  explorer  has  at  present  to  contend  with  in  this 
part  of  the  Ottoman  dominions,  I  may  mention  that  on  my  applying  to  the  Pasha 
at  Plevlje  for  an  escort  to  this  village  he  refused  point  blank,  on  the  ground  that  no 
escort  he  could  give  me  would  be  sufficient  to  guarantee  my  safety, — and  that  in  a 
village  distant  less  than  three  hours  from  his  seat  of  government !  I  had,  there- 

a  I  observe  that  the  same  etymology  has  occurred  independently  to  Dr.  Simo  Rutar,  Starine 
Bokokotorske  ("  Antiquities  of  the  Bocche  di  Cattaro,"  in  Program  c.  Jc.  realnog  i  velikog  Gimnazija  u 
Kotoru,  1880).  "  Pri  brojenju  ovih  slobodnih  obdina  spominje  Livij  Pirustas  odmah  prije  Risna.  I 
dandanaSnji  imamo  grad  odmah  pred  Risnom,  kojega  ime,  skoro  do  slova,  jednako  glasi  kao  Pirustcu, 

t.  j.  Perast od  koga  znamo  da  je  prestari  grad  i  da  narod  izvadja  njegov  izvor  ved  iz  doba 

rimskih  careva."  ("  In  enumerating  these  free  communities  Livy  mentions  the  Pirustaa  immediately 
before  Rhizon  (Risano).  At  the  present  day  too  we  have  a  town  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
Risano  the  name  of  which  corresponds  almost  to  a  letter  with  that  of  the  Pirustee,  namely  Perasto, 

.  of  which  we  know  that  it  is  a  town  of  great  antiquity,  the  origin  of  which  is  traced  back  by  the 
people  to  the  time  of  the  Roman  Emperors.") 

VOL.  XLIX.  G 


42 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


fore,  to  trust  entirely  to  my  own  resources,  but  by  adopting  the  disguise  and 
character  of  an  Effendi  from  Stamboul,  and  in  company  of  a  trustworthy  native 
Mahometan,  I  succeeded  in  visiting  Podpec  without  let  or  hindrance  from  the 
fanatics  on  the  spot.  The  hamlet  itself  lies  in  a  beautiful  undulating  valley, 
endowed  with  a  singularly  rich  soil,  and  overlooked  by  the  forest-covered  ranges 
of  Kolasine.  On  a  height  above  were  some  mediaeval  Serbian  monuments ;  a  little 
below  were  the  charred  remains  of  the  Orthodox  church  recently  burnt  by  the 
Turks  (who  murdered  the  last  priest),  and  around  it  a  ray  ah  cemetery,  where  I 
found  the  annexed  portion  of  an  Illyro-Roman  monument,  made  to  serve  the 
purpose  of  a  Christian  tombstone  (fig.  19).  Like  so  many  of  the  Sveti  Ilija  monu- 
ments, it  formed  a  record  of  piety  towards  female  members  of  the  family — in  this 
case  an  Amelia  Panto,  and  another,  Aurelia  Testo  (or  perhaps  Titto) — monumental 
records  which  sufficiently  attest  (what  indeed  we  may  partly  gather  from  historic 
sources)  the  prominence  of  women  in  the  primitive  Illyrian  communities. 


Jng.  19. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


On  the  same  slope  of  the  hill  I  observed  the  remains  of  an  ancient  fountain 
constructed  of  Roman  blocks  ;  and  it  seems  to  me  to  be  by  no  means  improbable, 
considering  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  valley,  that  a  Roman  station  existed  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Podped.  It  is  to  be  observed,  moreover,  that  the 
village  lies  on  an  old  line  of  communication  between  the  plain  on  which  Plevlje 
stands  and  Jezero  on  the  Upper  Tara,  a  place  abounding  in  monuments  of  at  least 
mediaeval  antiquity.  The  remains  of  an  old  Jcalderyn  or  paved  way  are  to  be 
traced  leading  up  to  Vezeznica  Valley  and  past  Podped  in  that  direction  ;  and  the 
occurrence  of  Roman  remains  along  this  road  at  Rogatac,  and  again  at  Poclpec, 
gives  us  some  grounds  for  supposing  that  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  cases,  the 
medieval  paved-way  follows  the  course  of  a  Roman  predecessor. 

It  would  appear  that  from  the  Municipium  that  existed  on  the  site  of  Old 
Plevlje  two  main  lines  of  Roman  Way  conducted  to  the  Bast  and  South-East. 
From  the  discovery  of  an  uninscribed  monument  and  some  other  Roman  frag- 
ments in  the  highland  glen  of  Obavde,  lying  between  Plevlje  and  Brdarevo  on  the 
Lim,  Herr  Miiller  was  inclined  to  believe  that  the  Roman  road  which  brought  the 
Municipium  S.  into  communication  with  the  important  Roman  site  near  Prijepolje 
took  a  bend  to  the  South,  instead  of  following  the  more  direct  course  of  the 
existing  road  between  Plevlje  and  Prijepolje.  The 
remains  at  Obavde,  however,  may  very  well  represent 
a  direct  line  of  communication  between  the  Roman 
predecessor  of  Plevlje  and  the  upper  valley  of  the  Lim, 
eventually  bringing  it  into  connexion  with  the  ancient 
city,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  appears  to  have  existed 
in  the  vale  of  Plava  and  the  district  where,  in  medieval 
days,  rose  the  Serbian  mint-town  of  Brskovo.  That,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  ancient  road  from  the  site  of  Plevlje 
to  that  of  Prijepolje  followed  the  same  direct  course  as 
that  actually  existing,  appears  to  me  to  be  established 
by  the  discovery  which  I  made  on  the  Cieia  Polje,  at 
the  top  of  the  pass  between  these  two  places  and  near 
the  present  road,  of  a  Roman  milestone  (fig.  20).  The 
stone,  which  presents  the  usual  oval  section,  was  un- 
fortunately much  mutilated  and  weather-worn,  so  that  only  a  few  of  the  letters 
can  at  present  be  decyphered. 

From  this  point  the  road  descends  somewhat  abruptly  to  the  fertile  gorge  of 

G2 


Kg.  20. 


44 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


the  Seljafinica  stream,  at  the  confluence  of  which  with  the  Lim,  at  a  hamlet 
called  Kolovrat,  about  half  an  hour's  distance  from  Prijepolje,  I  came  upon  a 
highly-interesting  Eoman  site,  recently  discovered  by  Yice-Consul  Miiller.  A  little 
above  the  road  to  the  left  of  the  stream  was  a  brushwood-covered  bank,  consisting 
entirely  of  ancient  fragments.  Cornices  and  bases,  altars,  sarcophagi,  sepulchral 
slabs,  and  lesser  fragments  innumerable  lay  about  in  wild  confusion,  and  in  the 
middle  a  broken  column,  and  the  base  of  another  stood  apparently  in  situ. 

Two  of  the  blocks  bear  inscriptions.  The  first,  an  altar  dedicated  to  Diana 
by  T.  Aur.  Saturninus,  Eques  Bomanus,  has  been  correctly  given  by  Dr.  Hoernes 
from  Herr  Miiller's  drawings.  It  contains  a  votive  address  to  the  Goddess,  of 
three  lines,  and  in  a  metre  that  recalls  a  Prudentian  hymn  : — 

DBA  VIRAGO  DELIA 
VOTVM  FAVENTI  NVMINE 
QVOD  [DEBEO]  FELIX  AGO. 

The  second  stone,  a  large  square  slab,  is  of  considerable  interest  as  containing 
a  reference  to  an  Illyrian  Clan  and  City. 


D  •  M  •    S 

f-AEL-PIADOME 


CIVITAfwi 
PRAEF 


PIENTISS/MIS-/ITIL 
TfTVSLVPVSETFIRMj 
NVS  H  P  C 

H  •  S  -  P 


Fig.  21. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  45 

In  spite  of  a  lacuna  on  the  stone  I  was  able  to  trace  the  first  letters  of  the  word 
AVRELI  in  monogram,  an  epithet  which  sufficiently  declares  that  the  Municipium 
with  whose  name  it  is  coupled  looked  back  with  gratitude  for  civic  benefits  to 
the  age  of  the  Antonines.  Herr  Von  Domaszewski "  would  complete  the  title 
"pRAEFeciws  \iure  mcundo  Mvm'cipn]  AVRELI  S(A)LO(NIANI)."  "  Saloniana  "  is  men- 
tioned by  Ptolemy  amongst  the  inland  cities  of  Dalmatia,  as  lying  in  the  same 
degree  of  latitude  as  JEquum,  near  Sinj,  a  district  far  removed  from  the  valley  of 
the  Lim.  Indeed,  if  we  are  to  seek  the  site  of  the  city  here  referred  to  as  far 
away  as  Northern  Dalmatia,  it  seems  to  me  preferable  to  trace  a  reference  to  the 
better-known  Dalmatian  city  of  Splonum  or  Splaunum.  This  city,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  one  of  the  principal  mining  centres  of  the  province,  and  a  native 
Princeps  belonging  to  it  was  of  service  to  the  Romans  in  exploiting  the  Dacian 
gold-fields.  In  this  case  the  reading  would  be  :  PRAEFecfats  lure  mcundo  wvmcipii 
AVRELI  s(p)io(Ntsfomtm).  Could  it  indeed  be  established  that  the  Municipium  of 
the  mining  community  of  the  Splonistse  was  otherwise  known  as  the  Municipium, 
Aurelium,  we  might  obtain  a  valuable  clue  to  the  hitherto  unexplained  legend 
METAL  .  AVRELIANI  upon  a  small  brass  issue,  resembling  in  every  particular  the 
coins  referring  to  the  Metalla  Dalmatica. 

Whether  the  title  in  the  third  and  fourth  line  of  the  inscription  should  be 
completed  PRAEFecfais  OIVITATIVM  (MELCO)M,  and  be  taken  to  conceal  a  reference  to 
the  Melcomani,  mentioned  by  Pliny  among  the  Illyrian  clans  represented  in  the 
Conventus  of  Narona,  must,  in  the  absence  of  further  evidence,  remain  uncertain. 
The  further  suggestion,  however,  of  Dr.  Domaszewski,  that  the  "  PIADOME  "  of  the 

first  line  contains  the  elements  of  two  cognomina  PIADO  ME and  that  CARVANIO 

stands  for  the  place  of  origin,  can  hardly  be  accepted  as  satisfactory.  PIADOME  .... 
I  should  prefer  to  complete  PIADOMENO,  and  see  in  it  a  slight  variation  of  the  well- 
known  Illyrian  name  PLADOMENVS,b  while  CARVANIO  as  closely  resembles  the  name  of 
King  G-enthios'  brother,  who  was  captured  by  the  Romans  at  Medeon,  in  the 
present  limits  of  Montenegro,  and  who  appears  in  Livy  as  Caravantius.  The 
wife's  name  on  line  7  is  "Panto,"  and  not  "  Testo." 

I  was  able  to  trace  a  succession  of  ancient  fragments  and  remains  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile's  distance  to  the  south,  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Lim.  In  places 

•  Arch.  Ep.  Mitth.  1880,  p.  14. 

b  Of.  C.  I.  L.  iii.  2787,  "  PLADOMENVS  .  HERA  .  TVRI  .  F  " ;  2797,  "  VENDO  TVDANIA  PLADOMENI  r  "  ; 
6410,  "(i)  .  0  .  M  APLV  .  DV////  MEVEETENS  .  PLaDOMENi  .  FILIV||."  All  from  Municipium  Riditarum.  The 
termination  do-menus  has  a  Celtic  sound,  e.  g.  Dumno-vellaunus,  Dumno-Rix,  Cogi-dubnus,  &c. 


46  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

were  heaps  of  Koman  masonry,  showing  that  the  Roman  city  which  here  existed 
must  have  covered  a  considerable  area.  At  one  spot  I  found  a  cornice  and  piece 
of  the  field  of  an  inscription,  but  learnt  that  the  inscription  itself  had  been  broken 
into  fragments  by  the  Turkish  landowner  in  hopes  of  discovering  gold  or  treasure 
inside  the  stone ;  a  superstition  unfortunately  widespread  in  these  regions. 

At  Prijepolje  the  present  road  to  the  South-Bast  crosses  the  Lim  by  a  wooden 
bridge  built  in  1550,  supported  on  pillars,  also  of  wood,  and  prowed  so  as  to  look 
like  a  row  of  vessels  breasting  the  current.  To  complete  the  illusion  of  antiquity 
the  bridge-head  of  this  old-world  construction  is  defended  by  a  wooden  tower. 
From  this  point  the  track  leads  up  the  valley  of  the  Mileseva  stream  to  the 
monastery  of  that  name  and  the  famous  shrine  of  St.  Sava,  the  Serbo-Byzantine 
frescoes  of  which  are  of  the  highest  interest  and  considerable  beauty.  About  an 
hour  beyond  the  ruined  peak  castle  of  Milesevac,"  a  stronghold  of  Serbian  Kings  and 
Emperors  which  protected  the  minster  below  and  completely  commands  the  defile, 
I  found  another  Roman  mile-stone.  The  stone  was,  unluckily,  even  more  weather- 
worn than  the  last,  insomuch  that  of  the  inscription  hardly  a  letter  was  to  be 
decyphered,  but  there  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  milliary  character  of  the  monu- 
ment, and  its  existence  may  be  taken  to  demonstrate  that  the  Roman  road  from 
the  Municipium  in  the  Lim  valley  to  the  south-east  took  substantially  the  same 
direction  as  the  present  track  from  Prijepolje  towards  Sijenica  and  Novipazar. 

The  forest-covered  range  between  Mileseva  and  Sijenica  over  which  this  ancient 
highway  runs  was  known  to  early  Venetian  travellers  as  the  Mountain  of  Morlac- 
chia  and  forms  a  part  of  the  larger  district  already  referred  to,  which  still  bears 
the  name  of  "  Stari  Vlah,"  or  "  Old  Wallachia."  Both  names  afford  interesting 
evidence  of  the  survival  of  the  Romance-speaking  Illyro-Roman  stock  in  this 
central  Alpine  region  on  the  old  Dalmatian  and  Dardanian  borders.  The  Morlachs 
were  not,  as  has  been  sometimes  supposed,  "dwellers  on  the  sea"  (in  Serb  Morjaci), 
but  MavpopXa-xoi,  or  Black  Vlachs,  an  etymology  borne  out  by  the  early  Dal- 
matian chronicler,  the  Presbyter  of  Dioclea,  who,  after  identifying  them  with  the 
descendants  of  the  Roman  Provincials,  translates  their  name  into  Nigri  Latini.0 

a  By  the  Turks  called  Hissardjik. 

b  Eamberti,  Viaggio  da  Venetia  a  Constantinopoli  (In  Vinegia,  1541),  p.  6,  "  Passammo  il 
castello  di  Millesevatz  ed  il  Monte  Molatscidi,  che  e  come  a  dire  Moncagna  di  Morlacco." 

c  Presbyteri  Diocleatis  Eegnum  Slavorum  (In  Lucius  de  Eegno  Dalmatice  et  Croatia  (Frankfort, 
666,  p.  288) : "  Vulgar!  (sc.  Bulgari)  post  heec  ceperunt  totam  provinciam  Latinorum  qui  illo  tempore 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


47 


In  the  upper  valley  of  the  Uvac,  which  washes  the  eastern  flanks  of  this 
"  Morlach  "  mountain,  the  village  of  Ursula  still  preserves  the  well-known  Rou- 
man  personal  name  of  Ursulu  = "  Ursus  ille"  "il  orso,"  finding  its  counterpart 
in  another  village  near  Vranja,  further  to  the  south-east  Surdule,  from  a  kindred 
Rouman  name  Surdulu.''  It  is  noteworthy  in  this  connexion  that  the  earliest 
treasury  of  Romance  as  opposed  to  classical  Latin  names  in  the  Illyrian  peninsula, 
relates  largely  to  the  Dardanian  province  on  the  confines  of  which  we  have  now 
arrived.  In  the  highly  interesting  list  which  Procopius  gives  us  of  Illyrian  for- 
tresses built  or  restored  by  the  Emperor  Justinian,"  we  find  (side  by  side  with 
names  which  attest  the  vitality  of  the  old  Thracian  race  and  language  in  the  eastern 
and  central  parts  of  the  peninsula,  and  with  others  that  connect  themselves  as 
conclusively  with  the  Illyrian  aborigines  and  the  Slavonic  new-comers)  a  whole 
catalogue  of  local  names  presenting  Romance,  and,  it  may  be  added,  distinctively 
Rouman  characteristics.0  There  is  no  mistaking  the  significance  of  names  like 


Romani  vocabantur  modo  vero  Morovlachi  hoc  est  Nigri  Latini  vocantur."  Opposed  to  these  Crni 
Vlahi,  or  black  "  Vlachs  "  as  they  were  also  known,  were  the  Bijeli  Vlahi,  or  white  "  Vlachs,"  but  on 
what  the  distinction  was  founded  is  uncertain.  At  a  later  period  Mavrovlachia  appears  as  the  equiva- 
lent of  Moldavia.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  Lucius  of  Trail  supplies  the  right  derivation  of  the  word 
Morlach ;  and  to  him  is  really  due  the  credit  of  having  in  his  masterly  chapter  de  Vlahis  exploded 
the  fallacy  of  their  Transdanubian  origin.  The  chief  arguments  adopted  by  Sulzer,  Roesler,  and 
other  writers  of  recent  times,  will  be  found  clearly  and  succinctly  stated  by  the  seventeenth-century 
Dalmatian  antiquary. 

a  Both  Surdulu  and  Ursulu  occur  among  the  Rouman  personal  names  in  the  foundation  charter 
of  the  church  of  the  Archangel  at  Prisren,  issued  by  the  Serbian  Emperor  Dusan  in  1348. 

b  Procopius  de  JEdificiis,  lib.  iv. 

0  These  names  are  of  peculiar  value,  as  giving  us  an  insight  into  the  nomenclature  of  the'country 
districts  of  Illyricum  in  the  sixth  century  of  our  era,  a  subject  on  which  historians  and  geographers 
are  for  the  most  part  silent.  The  ^powpm  of  Justinian  were  mostly  small  castles,  or  even  mere  block- 
houses, like  the  later  Turkish  karaulas,  for  the  protection  of  the  country-side.  The  age  of  castle- 
building  on  peaks  has  begun,  and  the  sixth-century  Castellum  was  doubtless  in  many  cases  the  local 
predecessor  of  the  "  Grad,"  or  central  stronghold  of  the  Slavonic  "Zupa."  The  Roman  or  Romance 
names  have  frequent  reference  to  mineral  and  other  natural  sources  of  revenue  which  it  was  desirable 
to  protect,  as  Mr  aria,  Ferraria,  Argentarias,  Lapidarias ;  in  many  cases  they  contain  an  honorary 
tribute  to  Emperors  and  Empresses,  who  reigned  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries,  e.  g.  Con- 
stantiana,  Justiniana,  Pulchra  Theodora,  Placidiana,  &c.  Names  like  Castelona,  Braiola,  Vindemiola, 
Lutzolo,  Casj/eZZa  have  a  decidedly  Italian  ring:  others  such  as  Ducepratum  (?Doucepre),  Lupofontana, 
Lucernarioburgus  show  us  that  the  neo-Latin  language  of  Illyricum  had  attained  a  Teutonic  facility 
for  forming  compounds.  In  some  instances,  as  "  Sabini-bries  "  and  "  Prwco-pera,"  Latin  and  Thracian 
elements  are  blended.  The  Thracian,  Illyrian,  Slavonic,  and  Gothic  name-forms  are  of  the  highest 
interest,  but  can  only  be  referred  to  here. 


48  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

"  Sceptecasas,"  "   "  Lupofontana,"  b    "  Marmorata,"    "  Capomalva,"    "  Tugurias," 
"  Stramentias,"    and    other   kindred   forms.      In    "Burgualtu"    and    "Gemello- 
muntes  "  we  detect  already  the  Illyro-Roman  preference  for  U  in  place  of  0.     In 
"  Maurovalle,"  the  dark  valley,  we  find  the  characteristic  mixture  of  Greek  and 
Latin;  and  the  pass  of  "Klisura,"  another  instance  of  the  same,  shows  us  the 
most  typical  of  all  Rouman  name-forms  already  existing  in  sixth-century  Illyri- 
cum.0    In  "Erculente,"  again,  we  have  the  earliest  example  of  the  Rouman  local 
suffix  "  -ente,"  of  which  we  have  already  noticed  an  example  in  the  Herzegovinian 
Turmente,  parallels  to  which  may  be  found  in  the  Cici  districts  of   Istria.      Not 
in    Dardania   alone,  but   from   the   Adriatic   to   the    Lower   Danube,    from    the 
southern  borders  of  Thessaly  to  the  northern  limits  of  Aurelian's  Dacia,  there 
existed  already,  in  Justinian's  days,   an    Illyrian   form  of   Romance  which,  for 
better  and  for  worse,  had  parted  company  from  its  western  sisters,  and  which, 
rendered  precocious  by  its  very  misfortunes,  displayed  already  features  which  we 
recognise  as  specifically  "Wallachian.     "When  in  the  succeeding  century  the  Danu- 
bian  Limes  was  finally  broken  down,  and  the  Dalmatian,  Moesian,  and  New  Dacian 
provinces  were  overwhelmed  with  a  Slavonic  and  Bulgarian  deluge,  we  may  well 
imagine  that  these  central  Dardanian  fastnesses  became  a  principal  refuge  and 
rallying  point  of  the  remnants  of  the  Romance-speaking  peasantry.     It  is  not  only 
in  "  Stari  Vlah  "  and  the  mountain  of  Morlacchia  that  they  have  left   abiding 
traces.     In  the  ranges  of  the  Shar  mountains  that  overlook  the  Dardanian  low- 
lands to  the  "West  these  traces,  as  I  shall  show,  are  not  less  apparent. 

Beyond  the  watershed  of  the  "  Montagna  di  Morlacco  "  the  pine-forest  gives 
way  to  bare  downs  of  a  schistose  formation,  rich  in  iron  ore,  from  which  the  road 
descends  into  the  grassy  plateau  of  Sijenica,  the  next  night-quarters  for  caravans 
after  leaving  Prijepolje.  Here  I  was  unable  to  discover  any  remains  of  Roman 
antiquity,  but  the  square  walls  of  the  "  Starigrad,"  or  old  town,  have  a  curiously 
old-world  aspect,  and  much  recall  those  of  Niksic."  From  this  place  the  road  to 
Novipazar  (ten  hours  distant)  leads  over  the  pass  of  Dugopoljana  into  the  fertile 
and  wooded  valley  of  the  Ljudska,  an  upper  branch  of  the  Raska.  In  this  glen, 
still  known  by  the  old  Rouman  term  of  Klissura,  about  two  and  a  half  hours 
distant  from  Novipazar,  I  observed  the  remains  of  an  ancient  paved  road  on  a 

•  Cf.  Wallachian,  septe  ==  7.  Accepting  Tomaschek's  emendation  of  another  name  in  Procopius' 
Catalogue,  "  tredecitilias  "  gives  us  already  the  Wallachian  tredeoi  =  30. 

5  This  compound  reminds  us  of  the  common  Slavo-Rouman  local  name  Lupoglava  =  wolf's  head. 
c  This  pass  led  from  Illyricum  into  Greece. 
d  See  Archaeologia,  vol.  XLVIII.  p.  86. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwn.  49 

stone  embankment  which  crosses  the  former  bed  of  the  river,  through  which  the 
stream  has  long  ceased  to  run,  by  an  arch  of  well-hewn  masonry,  known  as  Suhi 
Most,  or  "  the  dry  bridge."  It  is  difficult  to  resist  the  impression  that  this  bridge 
(the  character  of  which  will  be  seen  from  the  annexed  cut),  as  well  as  the  roadway 
it  supports,  are  of  Roman  origin.  In  that  case  we  have  here  the  continuation  of 
the  Koman  Way  which  brought  the  Municipia  already  described  on  the  Gorazda, 
Plevlje,  and  Prijepolje  sites  into  communication  with  the  Dardanian  and  Mcesian 
cities  to  the  South-East. 


Fig.  22. 

About  three  hours  further  down  the  valley,  and  three  miles  below  Novipazar, 
on  the  banks  of  a  tributary  brook  to  the  right  of  the  Raska,  is  a  domed,  octagonal 
bath-chamber,  built  over  a  thermal  source  of  the  highest  antiquarian  interest. 

Undoubtedly  the  greatest  caution  is  necessary  in  determining  the  age  of 
buildings  in  these  Turkish  regions,  however  Roman,  or  at  least  Byzantine,  may  be 
their  general  appearance.  In  the  case  of  the  buildings,  and  notably  the  aqueduct  of 
Skopia,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  illustrate  the  necessity  of  such  caution;  and  in  the 
present  instance  it  is  right  to  observe  that  the  ground  plan  and  general  form  of 
this  bath-chamber  do  not  essentially  differ  from  those  of  bath-buildings  of 
Turkish  date,  specimens  of  which  may  still  be  seen  at  Skopia  and  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Prisren.  On  the  other  hand,  in  all  these  parallel  instances,  so  far 
as  I  am  aware,  there  are  to  be  seen  distinctly  Oriental  features  in  the  form  of  the 
arches  and  the  decoration  of  the  interior,  features  which  are  here  conspicuous  by 

VOL.  XLIX.  H 


50 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Iltyricum. 


their  absence.     It  may,  therefore  be  preferable  to  regard  the  Turkish  buildings 
which  approach  this  form  as  imitations  or  restorations  of  pre-existing  Byzantine 

models. 

The  bath-buildings  of  Banja  consist  of  two  domed  chambers,  the  first  of 
which,  whether  built  on  ancient  foundations  or  not,  is  obviously  of  Turkish  con- 
struction. This  chamber  is  surrounded  by  eight  semi-circular  niches,  and  on 
either  side  is  a  raised  wooden  platform,  or  divan,  on  which  the  Slavonic  Maho- 
metans and  Albanians,  of  whom  the  bath-guests  are  composed,  lull  themselves 
to  their  "  siesta  "  to  the  somnolent  purring  of  their  narghilehs,  or  partake  of  a 
light  refection  of  coffee,  sherbet,  and  melons,  to  the  more  inspiriting  strains  of 
Albanian  lays,  sung  to  the  wild  accompaniment  of  the  national  tambura.  In 
the  centre  is  a  vase-shaped  marble  fountain  of  cold  water,  surrounded  by  an 
octagonal  basin,  and  the  whole  apartment  serves  at  once  as  a  frigidarium  and  an 
apodyterium. 


Fig.  23. 


From  this,  the  more  modern  part  of  the  establishment,  a  vaulted  passage  leads 
to  another  domed  chamber,  the  site  of  which  cannot  .fail  to  impress  the  spectator 
with  an  idea  of  its  great  antiquity.  In  the  centre  is  a  large  octagonal  basin,  into 
which  the  hot  sulphur-springs  flow,  and  where,  when  I  saw  it,  a  shaven  crew  of 
true-believers  were  disporting  themselves.  This  central  bath  is  tempered  to  tepid 
warmth  by  cold-water  jets  issuing  from  three  somewhat  altar-shaped  fountains,  set 
in  three  apse-like  recesses  behind  it  and  on  either  side.  These  side-niches  or  apses 
give  the  interior  a  cruciform  outline,  and,  taken  together  with  the  monumental 


Antiquarian  Hesearches  in  Illyricum.  51 

fountains  and  the  domed  vault  above,  call  up  a  reminiscence  of  Galla  Placidia's 
mausoleum  at  Ravenna.  The  level  of  their  pavement  is  raised  a  step  above  that 
of  the  central  octagonal  space  of  the  bath-chamber,  and  in  this,  as  well  as  the 
fountain  or  milliarium,  in  the  innermost  recess  of  each,  we  may  trace  an  interesting 
analogy  to  the  raised  side-niche  originally  containing  a  fountain,  of  apparently 
similar  form,  in  the  Roman  bath-chamber  already  described a  at  Bpitaurum. 


The  central  piscina  itself  descends  in  steps  constructed,  like  the  walls,  of  long 
narrow  bricks.  The  domed  vault  above  has  evidently  at  some  period  fallen  into 
a  ruinous  condition,  and  has  been  somewhat  rudely  restored,  the  upper  part  being 
eked  out  with  wood- work.  At  the  top  of  the  vault  is  a  round  opening,  canopied 
above,  out  of  which  the  sulphurous  and  steamy  exhalations  that  fill  the  whole 
chamber  gradually  find  their  way.  The  interior  walls  are  coated  with  a  sulphurous 

*  Archaeologia,  xlviii.  p.  11. 
H  2 


52 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


incrustation,   but,  where  this   has   broken   away,  narrow  brickwork   of   Roman 
character  is  distinctly  perceptible. 

In  the  four  angles  of  the  building  (the  exterior  outline  of  which  is  square), 
between  the  recesses  formed  by  the  entrance  arch  and  the  three  apselike  niches, 
are  four  small  chambers  set  apart  for  the  "  Sudatio  "  and  "  Calda  Lavatio."  Bach 
is  provided  with  a  square  marble  fountain,  from  which  issues  a  jet  of  thermal 
water,  the  temperature  of  which  is  so  high  that  I  could  hardly  bear  my  hand  in 
it ;  for  the  purposes  of  the  douche  it  has,  consequently,  to  be  tempered  with  water 
from  the  cold  source. 


^F.%~-         .mlF 


i  ^f^j^J. -^- '-*4TJUI-)?^-MP!;' 
IS  '«^,-^          .    '    "     -  _i-  .       -i— ~ 


Fig.  25. 

The  domed  vault  above  the  piscina  of  the  central  chamber  is  externally  contained 
in  a  low  octagonal  tower  rising  above  the  roof  of  the  lower  quadrangular  part  of 
the  building,  and  covered  itself  with  a  sloping  roof  which  conceals  its  interior 
dome.  This  octagonal  character  of  the  central  part  of  the  building,  as  well  as 
the  octagonal  bath,  the  side  niches,  and  the  dome  externally  concealed,  cannot  fail 
to  recall  the  characteristic  features  of  early-Christian  baptisteries  of  fourth,  fifth, 
and  sixth-century  date,  such  as  are  still  to  be  seen  at  Novara,  Ravenna,  Aquileja 
and  elsewhere.  The  octagonal  fans  baptisterii  of  these  early-Christian  buildings 
is  well  known  to  be  identical  in  shape,  as  well  as  name,  with  the  baptisterion  of 
Greco-Roman  baths ;  and  the  steps,  by  which  the  interior  of  the  present  bath 
descends,  afford  an  interesting  point  of  comparison  with  the  font  of  the  old 
baptistery  at  Aquileja.  It  is  a  natural  inference  that  the  Christian  baptisteries  of 
the  later  Roman  Empire  represented  in  their  general  form  a  then  prevalent  style 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


53 


of  bath-building.  Of  this,  indeed,  we  get  little  evidence  in  Vitruvius,  or  in 
existing  Roman  remains  in  Western  Europe.  The  small  sudatory  chamber  known 
as  the  "  Laconicum,"a  though  hemispherical  at  the  top,  can  hardly  have  been  the 
prototype  of  these  spacious  Christian  vaults.  On  the  other  hand,  we  learn  from 
Timarchos  that  the  Athenian  baths  were  domed  and  circular  inside,b  and  we  should 
be  naturally  inclined  to  seek  the  Christian  models  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  Empire. 
The  striking  points  of  resemblance  between  this  Dardanian  bath-chamber  and  the 
early-Christian  baptistery  go  far  to  show  that  the  Thermal  under  notice  present  to 
us  an  example  of  the  late-Roman  type  of  bath-building,  the  existence  of  which 
may  be  inferred  from  its  ecclesiastical  adaptation. 

I  learnt  that  two  "  Latin  "  inscriptions  had  been  in  recent  times  removed  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  baths  to  the  JconaJc  at  Novipazar ;  one  had  since  been 
broken  up  and  the  other  was  lost.  There  are,  however,  other  remains  of  at  least 
late-Roman  antiquity  with  which  the  Tliermce  seem  to  stand  in  a  special  connexion. 
On  a  height  that  rises  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Raska  stands  an  ancient  church 
known  as  the  Petrova  Grkva,  the  church  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  This  building 
has  been  considerably  restored  and  rebuilt  at  various  times,  and  in  so  piecemeal  a 
fashion  that  its  present  ground-plan  is  one  of  the  most  irregular  that  it  is  possible 
to  conceive.  Enough,  however,  of  the  original  church  remains  to  show  that  it  was 
once  of  circular  form  with  a  low  octagonal  tower  in  the  centre,  which  still  exists, 
concealing  a  cupola  under  its  low  tiled  roof,  and  supported  below  by  massive 
columns.0  It  was  in  fact  an  example  of  the  circular  mausoleal  churches,  dating 
from  Constantino's  time  onwards,  as  a  specimen  of  which  on  Illyrian  soil  we  may 
take  the  church  of  St.  Donato  at  Zara.  The  natives  have  a  tradition  that  it  was 
originally  a  temple  converted  to  Christian  uses  ;  an  antiquity  as  great  as  Justinian's 
time  may  however  be  claimed  for  it  with  more  reason.  At  present  it  is  used  as  a 
Turkish  magazine. 

It  is  indeed  by  no  means  improbable  that  both  the  bath-buildings  and  the 
church  owe  their  existence  to  the  architectural  activity  of  Justinian  in  his  native 
Dardanian  province  to  which  Procopius  bears  such  ample  testimony.  The  archi- 


a  The  Laconicum,  being  merely  a  steam-bath,  had  no  piscina,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  chamber  supposed  to  be  a  Laconicum  discovered  at  Pisa,  and  given  by  Robortelli 
(in  Scribonius  Largus,  ed.  Rhodius.  Patavii,  1655).  This  Pisan  example  is  a  domed  circular 
chamber  with  niches,  small  square  windows  round  the  vault,  and  an  opening  at  the  top. 

b  In  AtJien.  xi.  p.  561,  quoted  by  Marquardt,  Eijmische  Alter thiimer,  part  v.  p.  299. 

c  The  jealous  precautions  of  the  Turks  prevented  me  from  examining  the  interior. 


54 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


tectural  activity  of  Justinian  in  Illyricum  is  the  counterpart  to  that  of  Theodoric 
in  Italy,  and  the  restoration  of  bath  buildings  connected  with  thermal  springs  as 


Fig.  26. 

well  as  the  erection  of  Christian  temples  and  baptisteries  formed  part  of  the 
pious  work  alike  of  Gothic  King a  and  Roman  Emperor.  But  there  is,  I  venture 
to  believe,  in  the  present  instance  direct  evidence  connecting  the  name  of  Justinian 
in  his  capacity  of  builder  with  this  immediate  vicinity.  It  was  here  that  in  the 
early  Middle  Ages  stood  the  old  Serbian  town  and  royal  residence  of  Ra§a,  on  the 
river  of  the  same  name  (now  generally  known  as  the  Raska),  which  gave  its  name  to 
the  kingdom  of  Raska  or  Rascia.  Now,  remembering  that  the  Arsia  on  the  Istrian 
confines  has  been  Slavonized  into  Rasa,  we  have,  conversely,  a  priori  grounds  for 
assuming  that  here  too  the  original  form  of  this  Serbian  Rasa  was  also  Arsia  or 
Arsa  in  Roman  times.  When,  therefore,  we  find  the  Castellum  of  Arsa  mentioned 
among  the  Dardanian  strongholds  restored  by  Justinian,6  we  can  have  little 
difficulty  in  identifying  it  with  the  later  Ra§a. 

From    Constantine   Porphyrogenitus c  it  appears   that  in   the  tenth   century 
Rasa   was   a  frontier  stronghold   on   the  then  Bulgarian  and  Serbian  confines. 


*  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  know  far  the  bath-buildings  restored  by  Theodoric  over  the 
famous  hot  springs  of  Aponus,  near  Patavium  (Oassiodorus,  var.  ii.  Ep.  39),  were  the  counterpart  of 
S.  Giovanni  in  Ponte. 

b  Procopius,  De  ^Sdificiis. 

c  De  Adm.  Imp.  c.  32.  The  Bulgar  Prince  Blastimer,  captured  by  the  Serbs,  is  on  his  release 
uafely  re-conducted  pixf  ™v  <rw6p<av  ea>f  rijc  'Pd<ri)£. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm.  55 

Captured,  lost,  recaptured,  and  lost  again  by  the  Byzantines,8  it  early  became  an 
important  Serbian  centre,  giving  its  name  to  the  £upa  as  later  to  the  kingdom  of 
"  Rascia  "  itself.  The  bishopric  of  which  the  church  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul 
was  the  cathedral  church  is  mentioned  as  early  as  1020,  and  in  its  neighbourhood  b 
rose  the  royal  castle  and  the  grander  foundations  of  the  Neman j  as,  the  church  of 
G-jurgjevi  Stupovi,  the  ruins  of  which  are  to  be  seen  on  the  height  above,0  and  the 
monastery  of  Sopocani. 

The  commercial  importance  of  this  part  of  the  Raska  Valley  is  evidenced  by 
the  rise  of  the  mediaeval  Serbian  staple  of  Trgovisted  (literally  "Market-place  "), 
later  known  as  Novipazar.  It  was  at  this  point  that  the  caravan  route  from 
Ragusa  and  Bosnia  bifurcated  into  two  lines,  one  towards  the  plain  of  Kossovo, 
Skopia,  and  ultimately  Salonica;  the  other,  the  direct  line  to  Constantinople, 
taking  a  more  easterly  route  via  the  Toplica  Valley,  and  thence  to  Nish,  the  ancient 
Naissus,  where  it  struck  what  has  always  been  the  main  highway  of  communication 
between  Central  and  "Western  Europe  and  Eastern  Rome.  In  view  of  the  evidence 
that  I  have  already  adduced,  all  tending  to  show  that  the  mediasval  Ragusan  trade- 
route  to  the  South-East  followed  substantially  the  line  of  a  more  ancient  Roman 
highway,  we  are  led  to  conclude  that  in  Roman  as  in  mediaeval  times  the  branching 
point  of  important  lines  of  way  leading  from  Dalmatia  to  the  Dardanian  Plains, 
Scupi  and  Thessalonica  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  Naissus,  ultimately  to  Byzantium, 
on  the  other,  lay  in  the  neighbourhood  of  these  Rascian  Thermae. 

The  more  southerly  of  these  routes,  that  conducting  to  the  plain  of  Kossovo, 
has,  after  leaving  the  valley  in  which  Novipazar  and  the  baths  of  Banja  lie,  to 
traverse  the  ranges  of  Mount  Rogozna.  The  present  highway  first  emerges  on  the 
level  country  near  the  town  of  Mitrovica  and  the  historic  ruins  of  the  castle  of 
Svecani,  the  Byzantine  Sphentzanion.  About  three  hours  before  reaching  this  the 
route  passes  through  a  well-watered  gorge,  in  which  rise  the  hot-springs  of 
Ban  j  ska,  where  ancient  monuments  e  exist,  showing  that  it,  like  the  baths  of  the 

»  T6  Vaaov  <j>povpiov  in  Kinnamos  (Hist.  lib.  ii.)  taken  by  the  Serbs  from  the  Byzantines  (Hist. 
lib.  iii.)  ;  retaken  by  the  Emperor  Manuel.  Kinnamos  reckons  it  a  Dalmatian  stronghold. 

b  The  castle  of  the  2upans  and  later  Kings  is,  as  Jirecek  points  out  (Die  Handelsstrassen,  &c. 
p.  77),  to  be  sought  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  episcopal  church. 

c  A  description  of  the  remains  of  Gjurgjevi  Stupovi  will  be  found  in  Travels  in  the  Slavonic 
Provinces  of  Turkey-in-Europe,  by  G.  Muir  Mackenzie  and  A.  P.  Irby,  2nd  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  273. 

ll  Jirefiek,  op.  cit.  p.  77. 

e  Captain  Sterneck  of  the  Austrian  Survey  has  given  a  very  imperfect  copy  of  a  Roman 
sepulchral  inscription  from  Banjska  in  his  Qeographische  Verhaltnisse,  Communicationen,  und  das  Beisen 
in  Bosnien,  der  Herzegovina,  und  Nord  Montenegro,  PI.  IV.  (Vienna,  1877). 


56 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


Raska  Valley,  was  a  Roman  thermal  station.  At  KadiaSki  Han,  about  an  hour  to 
the  north-west  of  this,  I  came  upon  a  monument  which  indicates  the  existence  of 
a  Roman  civic  foundation  on  a  site  of  the  highest  economic  interest. 

At  Kadiacki  Han  Miss  A.  P.  Irby  had  observed  a  drinking-trough  believed  by 
her  to  be  a  Roman  sarcophagus,  and  she  and  her  companion  were  informed,  in 
answer  to  their  inquiries,  that  it  had  been  originally  transported  hither  from  the 
village  of  Socanica,  about  two  hours'  distant,  in  the  Ibar  valley."  The  stone-trough 
had,  in  fact,  been  observed  in  its  present  position  by  the  Ragusan  ambassadors, 
who  passed  this  way  in  1792,  and  it  was  recognised  by  them  to  be  of  Roman  work- 
manship.11 I  found  it  to  be,  as  these  travellers  had  stated,  a  Roman  sarcophagus, 
and  was  able  to  decypher  upon  it  the  following  inscription,  showing  that  the  village 
in  which  it  orginally  existed  had  been  formerly  the  site  of  a  Roman  Municipium. 


Fig.  27. 

It  is  impossible,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  to  give  the  full  name  of 
the  MVNICIPIVM  D.D.,  of  which  this  Felicianus  was  DBCVRIO.  The  village  of  Socanica, 
where  the  monument  originally  stood,  contains  a  variety  of  ancient  remains, 
including,  I  was  informed,  several  "written  stones."  Near  it  are  the  ruins  of  an 
old  Serbian  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Cyril  and  St.  Methodius,  the  Apostles  to  the 
Slavs.  What  makes  the  former  existence  of  a  Roman  civic  Commonwealth  in  this 
neighbourhood  of  peculiar  significance  is  the  character  of  the  mountain  mass 

which  here  overlooks  the  Ibar  valley.     This  range  is  known  to  its  present  Serbian 

• 

1  The  Slavonic  Provinces  of  Turkey-in-Europe,  by  G.  Muir  Mackenzie  and  A.  P.  Irby,  vol.  i. 
p.  262  (2nd  ed.) 

b  Oiornale  del  Viaggio  a  Constantinopoli  fatto  dagli  Ambasciatori  della  Bepublica  di  Bagusa  alia 
Sublime  Porta  VAnno  1792.  "  In  distanza  di  nn'  ora  del  sequente  alloggio  (Banjska)  trovarono 
una  fonte  che  scorreva  in  nn'  urna  antica  ben  lavorata,  ma  molto  patita,  coll'  izcrizione  latina  che  per 
troppo  fretta  non  ebber  commodo  di  leggere."  (In  Engel.  p.  320.) 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


57 


inhabitants  as  Kopaonik,  or  the  "  Mountain  of  Mines."  To  the  mediaeval  Ragusan 
and  Italian  travellers0  it  was  known  as  the  Montagna  delV  Argento,  or  Monte 
Argentaro,  names  which  it  is  difficult  not  to  bring  into  connexion  with  the 
"  Argentaria "  of  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana,  already  mentioned  as  the  extreme 
south-eastern  goal  of  a  main-line  of  Dalmatian  roadway  leading  inland  from 
Salonae.  The  successful  exploitation  of  the  rich  silver  veins  of  this  range  by  the 
Ragusan  and  Saxon  miners  gave  birth  in  the  early  Middle  Ages  to  the  important 
mining  town  of  Trep6e,  only  a  few  miles  distant  from  this  Roman  site,  and,  some- 
what further  to  the  South,  the  still  more  famous  city  of  Novobrdo — the  Nyeuberge 
or  Newburgh  of  the  Saxon  colonists — of  which  Dr.  Jirecek  justly  remarks,  that 
from  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  was  the 
most  important  civic  foundation  in  the  whole  interior  of  the  Balkan  peninsula.b 
Fabulous  reports  of  its  mineral  wealth  reached  foreign  countries,  and  a  Byzantine 
writer  goes  so  far  as  to  assert  that  gold  and  silver  were  literally  ploughed  out  of 
the  soil.  When  the  Burgundian  traveller,  La  Brocquiere,  passed  through  Serbia  in 
1433,  he  learnt  "from  well-informed  persons"  that  the  Despot  obtained  from  the 
mine  here  over  200,000  ducats  annually.0 

The  mineral  wealth  of  this  district,  and  its  economic  importance  in  mediaeval 
times,  makes  it  all  the  more  desirable  that  the  site  of  the  Roman  Municipium, 
proved  by  the  present  inscription  to  ha.ve  existed  on  or  near  the  slopes  of  the 
"  Silver  Mountain,"  should  be  thoroughly  explored.  Unfortunately  this  European 
terra  incognita  is  still  in  Asiatic  possession,  and  I  was  prevented  by  the  Turkish 
authorities  from  following  up  my  investigation  on  the  site  of  Socanica  itself. 

ft  E.  g.  Ramberti,  Delle  Cose  de  Turchi,  p.  7  (In  Vinegia,  1541)  :  "  Passamo  la  Montagna  dell' 
Argento  ...  si  chiama  dell'  Argento  perchio  che  continuamente  vi  stanno  huomini  in  essa  che 
cavano  argento." 

b  Die  Handelsstrassen  Serbiens,  &c.  p.  55.  "  Novo  Brdo  (Novaberda,  Novabarda,  in  Lat.  Urk.) 
Novus  Mons,  Novomonte  der  Italiener,  Nyeuberge  der  sachsischen  Bergleute,  No/JoTrupyoc,  TXo/ioirpodov 
der  Byzantiner,  war,  1350-1450,  die  grosste  und  beriihmteste  stadtische  Ansiedelung  des  ganzen 
Innern  der  Halbinsel.  Von  ihren  Schatzen  erzahlte  man  sicli  im  Auslande  ganz  fabelhafte 
Geschichten ;  der  Byzantiner  Kritobulos  schreibt  Gold  und  Silber  werde  hier  formlich  aus  dem 
Boden  hervorgeackerfc." 

0  Bertrandon  La  Brocquiere,  Counsellor  and  First  Esquire-Carver  to  Philip-le-Bon,  Duke  of 
Burgnndy,  Travels  to  Palestine  and  return  from  Jerusalem  overland  to  France  during  the  years  1432-1433. 
Translated  by  T.  Johues  at  the  Hafod  Press,  1807,  p.  274.  "  The  Despot  of  Servia  possesses  towards 
the  common  confines  of  Bulgaria,  Sclavonia,  Albania,  and  Bosnia,  a  town  called  Nyeuberge,  which 
had  a  mine  producing  both  gold  and  silver  at  the  same  time.  Each  year  it  pays  him  more  than  two 
hundred  thousand  ducats,  as  well-informed  persons  assured  me ;  without  this  he  would  be  soon 
driven  out  of  his  dominions." 

VOL.  XLIX.  1 


58  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

From  SoCanica  the  Ibar  valley  forms  a  natural  avenue  of  approach  to  the 
historic  plain  known  as  the  Kossovo  Polje,  or  "  Field  of  Thrushes,"  and  in  ancient 
times,  as  at  present,  two  lines  of  road,  the  Ibar  valley  line  and  that  which 
leads  more  directly  from  Novipazar,  past  the  Eoman  thermal  station  at  Banjska 
must  have  converged  about  the  actual  site  of  Mitrovica.  On  the  Kossovo  Polje 
itself ft  was  frmnd  a  Roman  sepulchral  slab,  described  by  the  Serbian  traveller, 
Milojevi6.b  In  the  centre  of  the  southern  part  of  this  plain  lies  the  village  of 
Lipljan,  which,  as  Dr.  Jirec'ek  has  pointed  out,  is  simply  the  Slavonized  form  of 
the  important  Dardanian  city  of  Ulpiana.0 

The  old  Byzantine  church  at  Lipljan,  to  which  I  will  return,  as  well  as  a  neigh- 
bouring cistern,  is  largely  composed  of  Eoman  fragments.  Outside  the  church  I 


*  Since  this  paper  was  communicated  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  a  copy  of  the  following 
interesting  inscription  found  at  Batus,  in  the  Kossovo  Polje,  has  been  sent  by  Signor  Paolo  Orsi  to  the 
Arch.  Epigr.  Mittheilungen  aus  Oesterreich  (1883,  heft  1.  p.  146),  the  ligatures  here  omitted : 


I  .  0  .  M  .  V  /  PP 
D  .  D  .  ET  .  GEN// 
STATION1S 
PRO  S  .  DN  .  IMP  . 
[SEVERI  .  ALE 
XANDEl]    AVG 
VALERIANVS 
SPECVL  .  LEG  .  IIII 
/L  .  S  .  A  .  V  .  S  .  L  .  M  .  AVG  . 
SEVERO  .  ALEXAND  .  AVG. 
//ET  AVFID  .  MARCELLO 


Which  is  there  read  : 

J(ow')  O(ptimo)  M(aa?imo) &(omtii)  d(ivince~)  et  Gen(io)  Stationis  pro  s(alute)  d(omtm') 

n(osin')  Severi  Alexandri  Aug(wsfo')  Valerianus  specul(aior)  Leg(tonis)  mi  (F)l(aOTce)  S(everiance) 
A.(lexandrianoi)  v(otum)  s(olvit)  l(ibens)  m(erito)  Aug(usta)  (sic)  Severo  Alexand(ro)  [n]  etAufid(io) 
Marcello  [n  Go(n)sQulibus].  The  D.D.  in  the  second  line  seems  to  connect  itself  with  the  Muni- 
cipium  D.D.  the  existence  of  which  I  have  now  established  in  this  neighbourhood.  Perhaps  the 
preceding  letters  should  be  read  R.P.,  i.  e.  Rei  Publics  D.D.  The  inscription  is  of  226  A.D. 

"  Putopis  Stare  Srbije,  pi.  i.  (since  published  by  Engelhardt,  Revue  Archeologique,  26  (1863),  141 ; 
Eph.  Ep.  ii.  500).  It  reads:  VLP  IONICE  HAVE  BENE  VALEAS  QVI  ME/SALVTAS/D  .  M/CLAVDIA  RVFINA/ 

VIXIT  .  ANNIS  .  XXX  /  VLPIVS  .  IONICIANUS  /  VIXIT  ANNIS  XXV  /  VLPIVS  EVFINVS  /  VIXIT  ANNIS  V  .  H  .  S  .  S  /  M  . 
Vr.P  .  IONIC VS  CO/IVGI  ET  FILIS  B  .  M  /  ET  SIBI  VIVVS  /  F  .  C. 

c  Handelsstrassen  und  Bergwerke  von  Serbien,  &c.  pp.  2,  68. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


59 


observed  a  fragmentary  inscription  (fig.  28),  and  the  altar  within  was  a  Roman 
sepulchral  monument  turned  upside  down  (fig.  29)  ,a 


D   M 


PROSALVTESVAET 
SVORW\EBVRNIAE 


A.  VICTORINA1  NV 
R  VS'I  CORN  'LVO- 
V'S OROR-  EX*  V'P 


Fig.  28. 


Fig.  29. 


About  a  third  of  a  mile  to  the  North-Bast  of  the  church  is  a  knoll  covered  with 
ancient  elms,  from  which  quantities  of  Roman  blocks,  including  three  containing 
inscriptions,  had  been  recently  excavated.  According  to  the  engineer,  who 
informed  me  of  this  fact,  the  inscriptions  had  been  sent  to  Constantinople.  Near 
this  spot  is  a  mill  entirely  composed  of  the  same  blocks.  The  knoll  is  known  as 
Gradina,  and  was  evidently  a  part  of  the  Roman  city.  The  clump  of  trees  which 
covers  it — the  Lipljanski  Dubovi,  as  they  are  called,  is  a  landmark  throughout  the 
whole  length  of  the  Kossovo  Polje,  and  is  visible  from  Mitrovica  at  the  far  end  of 
it.  The  Roman  town  appears  to  have  extended  some  distance  to  the  West  of  this 
spot,  and  to  have  covered  the  low  hilly  spur  below  which  lies  the  village  of  Grus- 
tarica.  According  to  the  peasants,  the  whole  of  this  hill  is  underlain  with  founda- 
tions of  houses,  while  the  fields  are  strewn  with  broken  tiles  and  pottery.  In  the 
Serbian  church  at  Lower  G-ustarica  I  found  an  altar  of  Jupiter,  considerably 
obliterated  (fig.  30),  and  by  the  roadside,  a  little  above  the  village,  was  a  fragment 
of  another  altar  to  the  same  God  (fig.  31). 

Further  up  the  valley  lies  the  little  town  of  Janjevo,  near  the  Latin  church,  of 

a  The  inscription  has  been  published  by  Hilferding  (Bosnia,  Herzegovina  i  Stareja  Serbia)  (Eph. 
Ep.  iv.  215)  in  an  incorrect  form. 

i2 


60 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm. 


which  is   an  inscription   already  described  by  Von   Hahn ;"  while,   outside   the 
mosque,  lies  a  fine  piece  of  a  Roman  cornice.     To  the  North- West  of  this,  on  the 


I-OM 


[\[LCELfV 

Ms 


\ 


TI5TATI 

\BRCVLV 

I  \/; ;  !.-•  _*• 


Fig.  30. 


Fig.  31. 


other  side  of  a  mountain  spur,  lies  the  old  Serbian  monastery  of  Gra6anica,  with 
its  noble  church,  the  foundation  of  King  Miljutin  and  his  wife  Simonida  Paleologa. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  Serbian  architect  of  this  church  has  laid  the  neighbouring 
ruins  of  Ulpiana  largely  under  contribution.  Many  Roman  fragments  are  to  be 
seen,  both  within  and  without  the  building,  and  in  the  Proavlion  lies  a  large 
sepulchral  block  with  an  inscription.b  An  intervening  range  of  hills  separates 
G-racanica  Minster  from  the  considerable  Turkish  town  of  Pristina,  the  seat  of  the 
Vali  of  Kossovo  and  the  true  representative  of  Ulpiana  in  the  modern  economy  of 
these  regions.  Here,  opposite  the  mosque  of  Sultan  Murad,  I  noticed  an  altar-like 
monument  (fig.  32),  which,  as  I  learned  from  a  native  Mahometan,  had  been 
brought,  about  fifty  years  back,  from  Lipljan,  and  placed  in  its  present  position. 
Every  letter  of  the  inscription  had  been  purposely  defaced  by  the  Turks.  From 


a  Beise  von  Belgrad  nock  Salonik,  p.  240.  C.  I.  L.  iii.  1691.  I  was  informed  by  the  monks  that 
this  inscription  had  originally  been  found  on  Mount  Veljetin  above  the  town,  where  there  are  said  to 
be  other  remains. 

b  C.  I.  L.  iii.  1695.     I  could  no  longer  see  1694. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  Q] 

the  few  words,  however,  still  decypherable,  it  appears  to  have  been  an  epitaph 
in  verse. 


PGS 

T* 


Near  to  the  same  mosque  was  a  fountain,  the  trough  of  which  had  been  formed 
out  of  a  Roman  sarcophagus,  containing  the  lower  part  of  an  inscription  (fig.  33). 


Fig.  33. 

A  noteworthy  feature  of  the  monuments  from  the  site  of  Ulpiana  is  their 
material,  in  many  cases  a  very  beautiful  kind  of  rose-veined  marble.  It  is  the 
same  stone  of  which  the  exquisite  old  Serbian  church  of  Decani  is  constructed, 
and  was  not  improbably  derived  from  the  same  inexhaustible  quarries  in  the 
eastern  gorges  of  the  Shar.  In  other  ways  the  immediate  neighbourhood  afforded 
a  natural  supply  of  building  material,  as  I  noticed  clay-pits  within  a  hundred  yards 
of  the  knoll  of  Gradina,  where  brick-making  of  a  rough  kind  was  being  carried  on 
by  the  modern  inhabitants  of  Lipljan. 

The  glen  which  leads  from  the  site  of  Ulpiana  to  the  little  town  of  Janjevo 


62  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

affords  interesting  evidence  as  to  the  industry  of  the  ancient  city.  In  places  it  is 
literally  strewn  with  iron  ore,  and  at  one  spot  was  pointed  out  to  me  an  opening 
in  the  mountain  side,  said  to  be  an  old  mine,  with  a  passage  leading  an  untold 
distance  into  the  earth.  At  Janjevo  itself  there  is  a  chalybeate  spring  and  the 
whole  district  abounds  in  mines.  Situated  in  one  of  the  southernmost  recesses  of 
the  Montagna  d'Argento,  not  far  from  Novobrdo,  it  was  already  in  the  Middle  Ages 
a  centre  of  mining  industry  and  the  seat  of  a  Ragusan  colony,8  and  the  present 
occupation  of  the  inhabitants,  as  well  as  the  predominance  of  Latin  Christianity 
among  them,  is  an  inheritance  from  prae-Turkish  times.  They  enjoy  a  special 
reputation  in  the  Peninsula  as  metal-workers,  and,  with  their  Vlachb  instinct  for 
itinerant  commerce,  sell  their  cheap  jewelry  and  church  ornaments  through  all 
the  countries  between  the  Black  Sea,  the  -iEgean,  and  the  Adriatic.  The  amount 
of  ancient  coins,  to  a  great  extent  from  this  neighbourhood,  in  the  possession  of 
these  Janjevo  silversmiths,  was  truly  astonishing,  and  shows  the  early  commercial 
importance  of  this  metalliferous  region.  Exclusive  of  the  Roman  and  Byzantine 
coins,  including  a  find  of  three  or  four  thousand  small  brass  pieces  of  the  age 
of  Valens  and  Valentinian,  and  another  smaller  find  in  which  coins  of  Claudius 
Gothicus  predominated,  I  observed  Macedonian  tetradrachms  of  Philip  III.  and 
Alexander,  with  Celtic  imitations  of  a  class  which  extends  to  Pannonia  and  the 
Lower  Danube,  and  silver  coins  of  Paeonia  and  Thasos. 

Standing  on  the  knoll  of  Gradina  at  Lipljan  it  is  not  difficult  to  realize  the 
importance  of  the  ancient  Ulpiana  in  Illyrian  geography.  A  watch-tower  built 
at  this  spot  would  command  the  whole  of  the  Kossovo  plain.  To  the  South  the 
Pass  of  Kacanik  affords  an  easy  access  to  Macedonia,  while  the  ranges  to  East  and 
West  dip  down  on  either  side  and  open  into  convenient  passes  towards  the  valleys 
of  the  Morava  and  Drin.  It  appears,  in  fact,  from  the  Tabula  and  the  Geographer 
of  Ravenna0  that  Ulpiana  lay  on  a  line  of  Roman  road  bringing  Naissus  (Nish)  into 
connexion  with  the  Adriatic  port  of  Lissus  (Alessio).  That  this  high-road  was 
not  always  an  unmixed  advantage  to  Ulpiana  appears  from  a  passage  of  the 
•Gothic  historian  Jordanes,  who  informs  us  that  Theodemir  the  Amalung  (the  father 
of  Theodoric),  having  possessed  himself  of  Naissus,  sent  forward  some  of  his 
"  Comites  "  by  this  route,  who,  passing  through  the  intermediate  station,  Castrum 

a  See  JireCek,  Die  Handelsstrassen,  Ac.  p.  57. 

Some  of  the  inhabitants  here  are  recognised  to  be  Roumans ;    most  understand  the  Rouman 
language.     Their  wanderings  sometimes  extend  beyond  the  Russian  frontier. 
c  In  Ravennas  the  name  appears  under  the  form  Ulciano. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  63 

Herculis,  captured  Ulpiana  and  took  considerable  booty.8  It  is  probable  that  IJlpiana 
suffered  from  the  great  barbarian  incursion  of  517  and  from  the  terrific  earthquake 
described  by  the  Illyrian  chronicler,  the  Comes  Marcellinus,  which  in  the  succeed- 
ing year  destroyed  twenty-four  Dardanian  strongholds."  When  Justinian  set  about 
his  work  of  restoration  in  his  native  province  the  walls  of  TJlpiana  were  in  a 
ruinous  condition."  The  Emperor,  not  content  with  rebuilding  the  walls  and 
generally  embellishing  the  town,  gave  it  the  new  and  honorary  name  of  Justiniana 
Secunda,  raising  it  thus  to  the  second  dignity  among  Illyrian  cities  after  his  more 
famous  metropolis  Justiniana  Prima. 

The  ecclesiastical  importance  of  Ulpiana  is  shown  by  the  mention  of  a  bishop 
from  this  place  at  the  Council  of  Serdica  in  347  and  again  in  the  (Ecumenic  Synod 
that  met  at  Constantinople  in  553  ;  and  it  is  to  be  observed,  as  showing  the  persist- 
ence of  the  earlier  name,  that,  although  the  city  is  officially  referred  to  in  the 
Acts  of  this  Synod  as  Justiniana  Secunda,  the  bishop,  Paulus,  signs  himself 
Episcopus  Ecdesice  Ulpianensis.  In  the  early  Martyrologies  and  the  Acta  Sanc- 
torum the  two  martyrs,  Laurus  and  Florus,  are  associated  with  this  ancient  City. 
According  to  the  legend,3  which  is  common  to  both  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Churches,  Florus  and  Laurus,  like  so  many  other  Illyrian  saints,  were  stone- 
masons by  profession,6  a  fact  not  without  interest  in  connection  with  the  quarries 
of  the  neighbouring  ranges  of  the  Shar,  the  exquisite  marble  from  which  forms 
such  an  ornamental  feature  amongst  the  existing  monuments  of  the  Roman  city. 
The  two  masons,  then  engaged  in  practising  their  craft  in  "  the  city  of  Ulpiana 
in  Dardania,"  were  employed  by  the  Emperor  Licinius  to  build  a  temple. 

»  Jordanes,  De  Getarum  sive  Gothorum  Origins,  c.  Ivi. :  "  in  villain  comites  per  Castrum  Herculis 
transmittit  Ulpiana."  The  name  is  used  in  both  its  singular  and  plural  form,  Ulpianum,  Ulpiana. 

Cf.  Schol.  ad  Ptolem.  iii.  9,6;  "T&  Ov\mavbv,  Oi>\iriava  ica\ovfievov  irapa  ro~if  /leraffrearipoif."    (CloSS.  ad  loC.) 

The  mention  of  Castrum  Herculis,  the  Ad  Herculem  of  the  Tabula,  the  first  station  on  the  line 
Naissus-Ulpiana,  fixes  the  route  followed. 

b  Marcellinus  Comes,  Chron.  sub  anno,  518.     See  p.  89. 

c  Procopius,  De  JE&.  iv.  1.  :  "  rfv  Si  nc  lv  Aapdavoif  tK  ira\awv  iroXig  ijirep  Ov\iriava  uvofiaaro ;  rav-nif 
TOV  irepiftoXov  Ka9e\uv  IK  TOV  lmir\iiaTov  (fjv  yap  O(j>a\epbf  ef  ra  fiaXiara  (cat  iiXwf  oxpeiof)  a\\a  re  avry  irafiir\ri6?t 
tyicaXXwmV^jara  iroir]aa/iivof,  if  re  rrjv  vuv  HfraBtfievof  (vKoafiiav,  afKovvSav  avr^v  '\ovnnviavfiv  liriavo/iaaev.  aexouvSav 

yap  r!jv  Sivripav  Aarlvoi  \eyovm.  He  built  another  city  near  it  which  he  named  Justinopolis,  in  honour 
of  his  uncle  Justinus,  an  indirect  piece  of  evidence  that  Procopius  is  right  in  making  Justinian's 
fatherland  Dardania.  (See  p.  137.) 

d  Acta  SS.  t.  35,  p.  522.  The  Martyrinm  chiefly  followed  in  the  Acta  88.  is  headed :  "Auctore 
Laurentio  Monacho  Rutiensi  in  Calabria,"  and  is  written  in  Greek.  The  chronology  is  obscure, 
the  account  being  divided  between  the  reigns  of  Hadrian  and  Licinius  ! 

e  rfiv  \i9oCowv  lieiraiStvovrat  Tt\vt}v.  They  had  been  originally  in  Constantinople  but  afterwards 
practised  their  craft  at  Ulpiana. 


64 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


Having  built  it,  however,  the  Saints  one  night  collected  a  great  number  of  poor 
people,  to  whom  they  were  in  the  habit  of  giving  alms,  and  in  their  presence 
pulled  down  the  idols  with  which  Licinius  had  filled  the  building,  whereupon  the 
Governor"  ordered  them  to  be  cast  down  a  deep  well. 

In  Justinian's  time,  the  peace  of  the  city  seems  to  have  been  disturbed 
by  ecclesiastical  factions.  Procopius  informs  us  that  a  force  that  was  being 
despatched  by  Justinian's  orders  to  aid  the  Lombards  against  the  Gepidas,  was 
tletained  at  Ulpiana  by  the  Emperor's  orders,  "  by  reason  of  an  outbreak  amongst 
the  inhabitants,  due,"  as  he  somewhat  ironically  expresses  it,  "  to  such  questions 
as  Christians  are  wont  to  dispute  about." 

The  old  Byzantine  church  of  Lipljan  is  a  very  interesting  memorial  of  the 
former  ecclesiastical  importance  of  the  place,  which  was  still  a  bishop's  seat  in 
the  days  of  the  Bulgarian  empire  and  recovered  Byzantine  dominion.6  Internally 


Fig.  34. 


"  See  the  chrysobull  of  Basil  II.  reorganising  the  Bulgarian  Church  (1020).     JireSek,  Gesch.  d. 
Hulrjaren,  p.  202. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


65 


VOL.   XLIX. 


K 


66  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricmn. 

the  church  shows  a  regular  Orthodox  arrangement,  the  roof  being  supported  by 
two  massive  piers  and  the  iconostasis  wall,  the  Proavlion,  however,  being  a  later 
addition.  In  external  form  it  resembles  a  small  basilica,  terminating  in  a  tri- 
lateral apse,  a  feature  which  it  shares  with  many  early  Byzantine  churches  at 
Thessalonica  and  elsewhere,  but  which  also  reappears  as  a  characteristic  of  the 
mediaeval  Slavonic  foundations  of  the  Skopia  district.  In  one  important  respect, 
however,  the  church  of  Lipljan  differs  from  all  the  Byzantine,  Serbian,  and  Bul- 
garian churches  of  the  interior  of  the  Peninsula  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  It 
is  entirely  devoid  of  cupola  or  dome.  Moreover,  in  the  construction  of  its  walls, 
it  combines  to  an  extraordinary  degree  the  characteristics  of  late-Eoman  work. 
The  alternating  layers  of  stones  and  narrow  bricks,  the  herring-bone  arrange- 
ment of  the  latter  and  the  exterior  arches,  inclosing  the  small  round-headed 
windows,  make  upon  one  the  impression  of  extreme  antiquity ;  and,  although  these 
features  are  reproduced  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  the  mediaeval  churches  of 
this  region,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  not  one  of  them  so  completely  transports 
the  spectator  to  prge-Slavonic  times  as  the  church  which  marks  the  site  and 
perpetuates  the  name  and  traditions  of  Eoman  Ulpiana. 

The  regions  that  lie  to  the  "West  of  Lipljan,  and  which  the  Roman  road  from 
Ulpiana  had  to  traverse  on  its  way  to  the  Adriatic  port  of  Lissus,  are  amongst 
the  wildest  and  most  inaccessible  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  and  are  peopled  for  the 
most  part  by  savage  and  fanatical  Albanian  mountaineers,  amongst  whom  the  work 
of  exploration  is  often  one  of  considerable  risk.  Hitherto  the  course  of  the  Eoman 
"Way  from  Lipljan  to  Alessio,  and  the  site  of  the  Eoman  settlements  in  the  inter- 
vening region,  have  not  far  advanced  beyond  the  stage  of  pure  conjecture.  The 
accepted  view,  however,  is  that  the  road  followed  much  the  same  route  as  that  at 
present  followed  to  Prisren,  and  thence  proceeded  along  the  existing  track  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  Spas  below  Mount  Krabi,  identified  with  the  Grevenum  of 
the  Tabula,  and  thence  to  Puka,  identified  with  Picaria*  Nothing,  however,  so 
far  as  I  am  aware,  beyond  a  certain  a  priori  probability  and  a  questionable  simi- 
larity of  names,  has  been  brought  forward  in  favour  of  this  hypothesis.  No 
portion  of  the  Eoman  road  itself  has  been  described. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  have  now  obtained  a  certain  amount  of  positive  evidence 
which  tends  to  show  that  the  original  Eoman  road-line  across  the  North  Albanian 
Alps  ran  considerably  to  the  North  of  the  route  hitherto  connected  with  it.  My 
friend  the  Padre  Superiore  of  the  Franciscans  at  Scutari  has  informed  me  of  a 
fine  piece  of  Eoman  road  running  broad  and  straight,  though  now  grass-grown, 

*  Cf.  Jiredek,  Die  Heertrasse  vvn  Belgrad  nach  Const antinopel,  p.  23. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


67 


along  stretches  of  the  mountain  from  Dusmani  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Drin, 
a  few  hours  to  the  north  of  Puka,  thence  to  Toplana  in  the  Shalla  Valley,  and  so 
on  to  Brizza  in  the  district  of  Merturi,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Nikai,  from 
which  it  can  be  traced  into  the  district  of  Krasnichi."  It  is  known  to  the 
Albanians  as  Drumi  Kaurit,  or  "  Giaour's  Way."b  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
this  fine  stretch  of  Roman  road  represents  a  section  of  the  line  from  Lissus  to 
Ulpiana,  and  the  fact  that  it  traverses  the  Krasnichi  country  prepares  us  to  find  it 
emerging  in  the  neighbourhood  rather  of  Djakova  than  of  Prisren. 

The  broad  open  country  in  which  Prisren,  Djakova,  and  Ipek  lie,  and  which  is 
known  by  the  general  name  of  Metochia,  has  in  all  mediaeval  times  played  an 
important  part  in  the  history  of  the  Peninsula.  Prisren 
itself  was  the  Czarigrad  or  Imperial  City  of  Czar 
Dusan.  At  Decani,  not  far  from  Djakova,  rose  the 
royal  Serbian  church  of  Stephen  Uros  III.,  the  noblest 
ecclesiastical  foundation  of  the  interior  of  the  Peninsula, 
while  at  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  the  plain  Ipek 
or  Pec  became  the  seat  of  the  Serbian  Patriarchs.  The 
physical  conditions  which  favoured  this  mediaeval  civic 
and  ecclesiastical  development  must  have  been  equally 
operative  in  Roman  times,  and  we  must  therefore  be 
prepared  to  find  that  considerable  Roman  municipia 
existed  in  Metochia.  The  abundance  of  ancient  coins 
discovered  throughout  this  district  is  at  least  note- 
worthy ;  they  include  Paeonian  and  Macedonian  pieces, 
coins  of  the  Illyrian  mining-cities  Damastion  and 
Pelagia,  Celtic  imitations  of  the  coins  of  Philip  of 
Macedon,  coins  of  Thasos,  and  quantities  of  the  silver 
pieces  from  Dyrrhachion  and  Apollonia,  all  tending  to 
prove  that  already  in  prae  -Roman  times  Metochia  was 
traversed  by  trade-routes  connecting  it  with  the 
Adriatic  and  ^Egean  and  intervening  countries. 
of  Roman  date  are  equally  abundant. 

At  Prisren  itself  the  only  Roman  monuments  that  I  was  able  to  discover  after 
a  long  investigation  were  on  the  extreme  outskirts  of  the  town  on  the  Djakova 

a  In  Krasnichi  is  a  ruin  known  as  Giutet  (Rouman,  Civtat,  Civetate  =  Latin,  Civitas),  but  the 
Latin  word  is  used  in  North  Albania  to  signify  any  ruined  castle. 
b  Drumi  =  SI.  Drum  =  Byz.  fyfyot. 

K2 


1 


D-M 

ANNA  FV 

R1AEGEG 
LlAESERto 

A/  N  IS  XXX 
PRISCAS° 

ROREIV5 
VIXANNXX 
FiRMVS  F 
ILIISPHS 

SIMISPOS 


Coins 


Fig.  36. 


68 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


D   M 
NANEAPRVD 
ENTISFIUA 

POSVITCO 

NIVGI  SV 


side,  and  consisted  of  two  sepulchral  blocks  outside  the  little  mosque  in  the  Jeni 
Mahala.  One  of  these  was  hopelessly  obliterated,  the  other  I  was  able  to  copy 
(fig.  36).  The  Roman  traces  in  the  Djakova  district  are  more  frequent,  but  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  exploration,  owing  to  the  fanatical  temper  of  the  popu- 
lation, are  at  present  almost  insuperable.  M.  Jastrebov,"  the  Russian  consul  at 
Prisren,  who  has  occupied  himself  with  the  Slavonic  antiquities  of  the  district, 

and  to  whose  assistance  I  was  much  indebted,  had  already 
discovered  two  Eoman  inscriptions  in  the  village  of 
Orahovac,  interesting  as  supplying  Illyrian  name-forms, 
and  one  of  them  affording  a  suggestive  indication  that 
the  predatory  habits  of  the  indigenes  are  of  no  modern 
growth.  M.  Jastrebov  further  informed  me  that  a  Roman 
inscription  existed  at  Skifiani,  between  Djakovo  and 
Decani,6  but  the  circumstances  of  the  times  did  not  admit 
of  it  being  copied.  About  an  hour's  distance  from 
Orahovac  is  the  fine  old  Turkish  bridge0  of  Svajan  across 
the  White  Drin,  immediately  below  a  hill  known  as  G-radis 
or  Grradic,  from  the  bastion-like  rocks  with  which  it  is 
£*rk  ^e  Present  bridge,  traditionally  known  as  King 
Milutin's  work,  may  be  the  successor  of  an  earlier  fabric. 
The  blue  waters  of  the  Drin  emerge  at  this  point  from  a 
narrow  rocky  defile  cut  by  them  through  an  island-like 
range  of  low  limestone  hills,  and  the  point  is  one  which 
an  engineer  would  naturally  seize  on  for  the  construction 
of  a  bridge.  I  was  at  least  successful  in  connecting  it 
with  Roman  remains.  In  the  neighbouring  village  of 
Dzerzan  I  observed,  and  was  able  to  copy,  an  interesting 
Roman  sepulchral  slab  with  an  inscription  of  a  naive  and 
informal  character  referring  to  a  soldier  of  the  Fourth  Legion  (fig.  37),  which 
the  inhabitants  informed  me  had  been  taken  out  of  the  Drin  by  the  bridge  of 
Svajan. 

11  Podatci  za  istoriju  Srpske  Crkve  (Contributions  to  the  History  of  the  Serbian  Church), 
Belgrade,  1879,  p.  65.  M.  Jastrebov  informed  me  that  he  believed  Roman  remains  to  exist  at 
Suharjeka,  on  the  present  route  from  Prisren  to  Lipljan.  He  had  not,  however,  discovered  any 
traces  of  a  Roman  line  of  way  taking  this  route. 

b  At  Decani  itself  I  could  find  no  Roman  monuments. 

c  Absurdly  described  as  "  Roman  "  by  Isambert. 


\ 


IK1TUEG 
lONIsQVA 
RTAE  VJX1T 

ANNOS  ^ 
AEiPAETO 


Fig.  37. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


69 


The  peculiar  interest  of  the  stone  is  that  it  is  to  my  knowledge  the  only 
monument  from  this  region  referring  to  the  Fourth  Legion ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  monuments  referring  to  the  Legio  VII.  Claudia  abound  (as  will  be  seen ")  in 
the  neighbouring  Dardanian  basins  of  the  Lepenac  and  Vardar.  The  headquarters 
of  the  Fourth  Legion  were  at  Singidunum  (Belgrade),  and  the  occurrence  of  a 
detachment  in  the  plain  of  Metochia  suggests  some  old  line  of  road  communication 
across  "Western  Serbia.b 

At  Pec  (Ipek)  itself  I  heard  of  a  Roman  sepulchral  monument  with  an  inscrip- 
tion, which  had  been  recently  found  on  the  hill  of  Jarina,  or  Jerina,  the  old  "  Grad  " 
or  castle  named  after  Ir6n6  Brankovic,  that  rises  above  the  town,  but  I  was  not 
able  to  copy  it.  About  three  hours  to  the  North  of  this  are  the  ruins  of  the  Old 
Serbian  church  and  monastery  of  Studenica ;  and  here,  a  few  years  since,  the 
Serbian  traveller,  Milojevid,0  found  several a  Roman  inscriptions.  Milosevic",  who 
appears  to  have  had  his  head  full  of  "  Czaritza  Militza"  and  "  Krai  Vlkasin," 
has  supplied,  it  is  true,  a  very  distorted  version  of  two  of  the  three  inscriptions 
that  he  copied.  I  append  them  here,  however,  as  his  discovery  seems  to  have 
been  entirely  overlooked  by  antiquaries.6  The  ruined  monastery,  where  these 
remains  exist,  was  formerly  the  seat  of  the  Old  Serbian  bishopric  of  Chvostno. 

At  the  village  of  Crnaluga,  a  little  to  the  South  of  this,  at  the  point  where  the 
road  from  Ipek  to  Mitrovica  crosses  the  "White  Drin,  about  an  hour  from  its  source, 
is  an  old  Turkish  cemetery  overlying  some  more  ancient  remains.  The  earth 
here  had  recently  fallen  in  near  one  of  the  graves,  and  revealed  an  underground 
vault  communicating  with  another ;  and  the  Arnaouts,  who  naturally  came  here  to 
look  for  treasure,  broke  into  another  not  far  from  the  first  discovered.  Descending 
into  the  first  by  a  hole  in  the  vaulting,  I  found  myself  in  a  low,  barrel-vaulted, 
rectangular  chamber,  constructed  of  small  roughly-hewn  blocks,  and  with  an 
aperture  opening  into  another  apparently  similar  chamber.  In  the  first  of  these, 
which  was  half  filled  with  rubble,  I  found  a  large  piece  of  a  Roman  cornice,  the 

*  See  succeeding  paper. 

b  The  discovery  of  an  inscription  on  the  Kossovo  Polje  referring  to  this  same  legion   (see  p.  58 
note  a),  now  adds  additional  probability  to  this  conclusion. 
c  Putopis  Stare  Srbije  (Travels  in  Old  Serbia),  p.  166. 
d  Milosevic  only  copied  the  three  that  appeared  to  him  most  perfect. 

c  1.  D  .  M/VELS  SADEAGI/TA  MAG  .  DOM  .  VIX/AN  XXXII  ET  SV/FIL  BLAZZIZA  V  .  /  .  .  .  PKOCVL  .  VIX  .... 
2.  MAECIVS  FLAV/ET  IVLIVS  SER/G  .  VIX  ANN  XXII.  3.  MEECVL  .  HAVE  .  BENEV/ALEA  .  .  .  /  SALVTAS  /  D  .  M  / 
MILIZZA  BOSSINA  /  VIXIT  ANNIS  XXII  YIPI/S  ....  CIA  VIX  ANNIS  XXV  /  VLPIVS  VVLCASSINVS  /  VIX  .  ANN  .  XXX  /  FLISB 

MEE  .  .  .  vivos  /  F  .  c.     For  the  formula  with  which  No.  3  begins  compare  that  on  the  inscription 
from  the  Kossovo  Polje  (p.  58),  VLP  IONICE  HAVE  BENE  VALEAS  QVI  ME  SALVTAS. 


70  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

underside  of  which  had  been  hollowed  out  apparently  to  form  a  mediaeval 
sarcophagus.  The  other  vault  into  which  I  descended  was  of  a  more  original 
kind,  oval  in  shape,  and  with  a  flattish  vaulting  of  rough  unhewn  stones.  It  was, 
however,  almost  choked  with  earth  and  rubble.  "Whatever  the  date  of  these  sub- 
terranean chambers — the  purpose  of  which  was  probably  sepulchral — the  Koman 
cornice  affords  certain  proof  of  the  vicinity  of  a  Roman  settlement ;  a  fact  which 
is  further  explained  by  the  existence  of  the  copious  hot  springs  of  Illidzi,  about 
half-an-hour  above  this  spot.  At  Banja  again,  a'  few  hours  distant  amcng  the 
hills  to  the  North-Bast  of  this,  is  another  thermal  source,"  used  as  a  bath,  and 
believed  to  have  great  healing  powers,  where  I  observed  broad  steps,  apparently 
of  ancient  date,  cut  in  the  rock. 

The  traces  of  the  former  existence  of  a  Eoman  civic  settlement  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Studenica  and  Crnaluga  derive  additional  interest  from  the  existence 
of  ancient  silver  mines  in  the  neighbouring  range  of  the  Mokra  Grora.  The  village 
where  these  mines  formerly  existed  is  known  as  Suhogrlo,  or  Srmogrbovo ;  and 
lies  at  the  opening  of  a  pass  called  Klissura,  which  leads  into  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Ibar.  Two  neighbouring  villages,  Maidan  and  Rudnik,  derive  their  names 
respectively  from  the  Turkish  and  Serbian  word  for  mines,  and  traces  of  the 
ancient  workings  can  still  be  seen  on  the  flanks  of  the  mountain.  Ipek,  itself,  is 
still  celebrated  throughout  the  Peninsula  for  its  silver  filigree  work,  and  I  saw  a 
silver  cross  of  elaborately  Byzantine  workmanship,  that  had  been  recently  made 
here  for  the  Prince  of  Montenegro.  Once  more  we  find  the  Roman  remains  of 
this  part  of  Illyricum  connecting  themselves  with  its  mineral  treasures. 

I  was  further  informed  by  the  Franciscan  priest  at  Ipek,  that  at  Grlina,  a 
village  about  five  hours  distant  to  the  South-East,  were  stones  with  obliterated 
inscriptions,  that  appeared  to  him  to  be  Roman.  The  traces  of  the  former  exist- 
ence of  a  Romance-speaking  population  are  nowhere  more  apparent  than  in  the 
southern  part  of  this  Metochia  district,  where,  as  the  famous  Prisren  chrysobull 
of  Czar  Dusan  b  shows,  a  Rouman  population  still  existed  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Of 
this  population  there  are  still  isolated  relics  and  it  is  remarkable  that,  at  Ipek,  a 
tradition  prevails  among  the  inhabitants  that  they  were  formerly  "Vlachs." 
Several  of  the  village  names,  like  Sermiani,  Skifiani,  Nepote,  Piran,  Larena, 
seemed  to  me  to  deserve  investigation.  In  the  neighbouring  ranges  of  Dukagine, 

•  The  temperature  is  only  76°  Fahr. 

b  See  Hajden,  Eesturile  unei  carti  de  donatiune  depe  la  annul  1348,  emanata  de  la  Imperatul  Serbesc 
Duian,  Ac.  (in  Archiva  istorica  a  Romaniei,  Bucuresci,  1867). 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwn. 


71 


amongst,  at  present,  Albanian-speaking  clans,  there  is  some  eqiially  remarkable 
evidence  of  the  former  existence  of  Romance-speaking  tribes,  and,  although,  taken  as 
a  whole,  the  Latin  elements  in  Albania  seem  to  represent  rather  a  Romance  dialect 
once  spoken  in  the  maritime  district  included  in  the  Byzantine  Theme  of  Durazzo, 
more  East  Rouman  influences,  due  to  contact  with  the  Vlachs  of  Dardania,  cannot 
be  excluded.  The  word  giutet,  the  Macedo-Rouman  civtat,  or  civitate,  is  frequently 
used  in  North  Albania  in  its  derivative  sense  of  a  castle  rather  than  a  city ;  and  I 
found  the  most  inaccessible  glen  to  which  I  penetrated  in  these  Alps  known  by 
the  purely  Romance  name  of  Valbona.*  At  Ipek  itself,  I  heard  the  word  copiK 
(which  is  simply  the  Rouman  copillii  b  =  children)  applied  by  my  Albanian  guards 
as  a  term  of  reproach  for  the  street  Arabs.  The  deep  impress  left  by  these 
Romance-speaking  provincials  on  the  Eastern  Albanian  tribes  of  the  Shar  ranges 
goes  far  to  show  that  the  bordering  Dardanian  regions  formed  part  of  the  original 
Provincia  Latinormn,  the  "  Mavrovlachia  "  of  which  the  earliest  Dalmatian  chronicler 
speaks.0  Here,  we  may  venture  to  believe,  a  portion  of  the  migratory  Rouman 
race  existed  more  nearly  in  situ,  if  the  expression  is  allowable,  than  in  most  of 
the  regions  to  which  it  has  successively  spread.  The  Patriarchate  of  Ipek  was 
known  to  the  Serbs  as  "  Stara  Vlaska,"  and  thus  fits  on  to  that  "  Old  Wallachia  " 
of  which  I  have  already  spoken. a  "We  are  here  within  the  area  of  continuoiis 
Roman  and  Rouman  habitation,  to  be  distinguished  from  that  far  wider  region  in 
which  the  appearance  of  this  East  Latin  element  may,  as  in  Istria,  for  example, 
and  G-alicia,  be  fairly  ascribed  to  later  immigration.6 

•  I  have  given  some  account  of  Valbona  and  the  Rouman  traces  to  be  found  in  that  part  of  the 
North  Albanian  Alps  in  a  letter  to  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  "  From  the  North  Albanian  Alps  "  (Sept. 
14,  1880).     In  the  map  appended  to  this  communication  the  upper  Valley  of  the  Valbona  is  for  the 
first  time  given  with  approximate  accuracy.     In  the  last  edition  of  the  Austrian  Stabskarte  its  place 
is  occupied  by  a  huge  mountain  mass. 

b  Copillu  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  Latin  pupillus,  on  the  analogy  of  poturnichia  from 
coturnicula. 

•  Presbyter  Diocleas.,  Begnum  Slavorum  (Lucius,  p.  288.) 
"  See  p.  24. 

e  These  local  traces  of  Albanian  and  Rouman  juxta-position,  and  the  deductions  at  which  I  had 
quite  independently  arrived  on  linguistic  grounds,  entirely  agree  with  the  general  results  arrived  at 
by  Cihac  in  his  analysis  of  the  Rouman  language.  (Dictionnaire  d'etymologie  Daco-romane,  pref. 
p.  xiii.)  :  "  Le  point  capital  et  le  plus  important  qui  nous  pel-met  de  juger  des  relations  entre  Roumains 
et  Albanais  dans  le  passe, — relations  qni  doivent  avoir  ete  des  plus  intimes, — sont  les  elements  concer- 
nant  la  langue  que  1'albanais  possede  de  commun  avec  le  roumain.  Dans  mes  elements  latins  de  la 
langue  roumaine  et  dans  1'ottvrage  present,  j'ai  indique  environ  500  mots  latins,  1,000  mots  slaves, 
300  mots  turcs,  280  mots  grecs-moderne  et  20  a  25  mots  magyars  pour  1'albanais  qui  sont  identiques 


72  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

From  the  evidence  at  our  disposal  we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  at  least 
two  Roman  Municipia  existed  in  the  spacious  plain  of  Metochia ;  one  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ipek,  and  the  other  of  Djakova.  It  is  probable  that  this  latter  settle- 
ment answered  to  the  Theranda  of  the  Tabula,  the  last  station  on  the  road  from 
Lissus  to  Ulpiana,  although  in  default  of  further  local  evidence  the  course  of  the 
road  across  the  range  which  separates  the  plain  of  Metochia  from  the  Kossovo  Polje 
can  only  be  approximately  fixed.  The  further  course  of  this  line  of  Way  from 
Ulpiana  to  Naissus  must  be  left  to  a  future  investigation.  I  may,  however,  here 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  line  drawn  from  Lipljan  to  Nish  passes  through 
the  very  important  ruins  of  a  Roman  Castrum  and  Praetorium  existing  at  Zlato, 
and  which,  probably,  answers  to  the  station  called  Acmeon  in  Ravennas  and 
Hammeo  in  the  Tabula  of  Peutinger.a  We  are  at  present,  however,  more  especially 
concerned  with  the  great  southern  line  of  communication  connecting  Ulpiana,  and, 
in  a  more  remote  degree,  the  Dalmatian  and  Pannonian  cities,  with  Scupi,  and 
eventually  Thessalonica, — a  line  not  mentioned,  at  least  in  its  later  stages,  by 
the  ancient  Itineraries,  but  of  the  existence  of  which  I  have  already,  I  trust, 
adduced  sufficient  evidence. 

From  Ulpiana  this  Macedonian  highway  runs  through  the  pass  of  Kacanik, 
which  forms  the  natural  avenue  of  communication  between  the  Kossovo  Polje  and 
the  more  southern  Dardanian  plain,  on  which  stood  the  metropolitan  city  of  Scupi, 
the  present  Skopia. 

At  Old  Kacanik,  which  lies  at  the  northern  opening  of  the  pass,  there  is 
abundant  evidence  of  the  former  existence  of  a  Roman  settlement.  Many  ancient 
fragments  are  here  visible ;  one  of  these  (fig.  38)  is  the  square  base  and  pedestal 
of  a  votive  column,  of  the  purest  white  marble,  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Optimus 
Maximus,  for  the  health  of  the  Emperors  Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla,  and 
of  the  Empress  Julia  Domna,  who  here  receives  her  favourite  title,  Mater 
Castrorum.  It  was  found  at  a  spot  in  the  district  of  Runjevo,  about  two 


avec  les  vocables  correspondants  roumains.  Cette  circonstance,  assurement  tre's-remarquable,  ne  peut 
etre  nullement  fortuite,  surtout  en  ce  qui  concerne  les  elements  latins  qui  ont  subi  dans  les  deux  langues 
un  changement  d'acception  presque  analogue."  It  is  precisely  this  last  circumstance  that  excludes 
Hajdeu's  hypothesis  that  the  community  between  the  two  languages  is  to  be  referred  to  an  original 
relationship  between  the  Illyrian  and  old  Dacian  languages. 
"  See  p.  160. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


73 


kilometers  above  KaCanik.*     The  Consulship  of  Pompeianus  and  Avitus,  in  which 
this  column  was  erected,  took  place  in  the  year  209  A.D. 


JL 


I*0*M 

PROJALVEIMP 
LSEPTSEVERTEM 

AVRELIANTONINI 


C  ASTRO  R 


WS'S-l-  /^ 

'     T      ^     _     _    _ »        •.,--  — *     -     -*-  -  -i-* 

1L    co>? 


low  Optimo  Maximo  PRO  SALVTE  IMP.  L.  sEpnmn  SEVEEI 

ET  M.  AVRELI  ANTONINI  P(ll)  FELICIS  ANQUStorum  .  IVLIAE 

MATRI  CASTRORttm  TH  .  .  .  ION  EORVNDem  'Veteranus  ~Votum  Susceptwm 
Solvit  iiibens  .  (P)OMPEIANO  ET  AV(ITO)  consulibus. 

1  This  monument  has  been  described  by  Henzen  in  Eph.  Ep.  ii.  p.  330,  "  ad  ectypon  quod  misit 
Morten  Noe."  My  copy,  however,  which  I  made  and  very  carefully  collated  on  the  spot,  differs  in 
line  9  and  in  other  details.  This  monument,  as  well  as  the  milestone  (fig.  40),  has  been  lately 
removed  to  the  garden  of  the  railway  engineer  at  Kacanik ;  this  place  lying  on  the  new  line  from 
Salonica  to  Mitrovica. 

VOL.  XLIX.  L 


74 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


Another  monument  (fig.  39),  a  small  altar,  21  inches  high  by  12  broad,  proved 
to  be  of  the  highest  interest,  as  containing  a  dedication  to  a  hitherto  unknown, 
probably  Illyrian,  God.  The  inscription  informs  us  that  it  was  consecrated  by  a 
Beneficiarius  Consularis  of  the  Vllth  Claudian  Legion  to  the  Grod  "  Andinus."  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  what  is  apparently  the  same  word,  under  slightly  variant 
forms,  is  to  be  found  in  the  feminine  names  Andena,  Anduenna,  and  the  compound 
Andunocnes,  amongst  the  Illyrian  personal  names  (belonging  mostly  to  the  mining 
race  of  the  Pirustse)  found  on  the  Dacian  monuments  and  wax  tablets.  The 
similarity  between  these  name-forms  and  the  Deus  Andinus  of  the  present 
monument  gives  us  ground  for  assuming  that  we  have  here  the  name  of  an 
lilyrian  divinity  which  also  entered  into  the  composition  of  some  native  proper 
names.  It  is  probable  that  the  Legionary  who  raised  the  altar  (to  whatever 
nationality  he  himself  may  have  belonged)  was  desirous  of  conciliating  the 
indigenous  Dardanian  god  of  the  place  where  he  was  stationed,  just  as  in  Britain 
we  find  Eoman  soldiers  raising  monuments  to  local  gods  like  Belatucader  or 
Antinociticus. 


JAOTIB 

CLCERTVS 
BFCOSLEGVli 


j  CLE  M.<?E:T?;i/5cv? 
t= 


L 


l"ig.  39. 

DEO  ANDINO  sacrum.     TiBerms  CLaudius  CBETVS 
Benemciarius  consularis  LEGioms  vn  CLaudice,  votum 
solvit  Libens  Merito.     CLVMente  ET  PEISCO 


11  Clemens  and  Priscus  do  not  appear  together  in  the  Fasti  Consulares.     In  195  A.D.  we  find 
Tertullus   and  Clemens  Consuls;    in    196   Dexter  and   Priscus;    it  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


75 


Considering  that  Dardania,  the  region  with  which  we  are  at  present  concerned, 
was  included  during  the  first  centuries  of  the  Empire  within  the  limits  of  Mossia 
Superior,  and  that  the  chief  Moesian  City,  Viminacium  (the  modern  Kostolac  on 
the  Danube)  was  the  headquarters  of  the  Legio  VII.  Claudia,  it  is  natural  enough 


Fig.  40. 

mperatori  C^ES.M-AEMILIO  \  AEMILIANO  pio  Tfelici  wncro  \  Avousto  PONTIPIC/ 
MAXIMO  TRiBVN^cia     poiestate  pater  patriae  consul  pnoconsul  AB  viuinacio  M.P.OO  .  . 


inscription  belongs  to  one  or  the  other  of  these  years.  Since  this  paper  was  communicated  to  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries  a  copy  of  this  and  the  milestone  on  p.  74  has  appeared  in  the  Archaologisch- 
Epigraphische  Mitfheilungen  aus  Oesterreich,  1883,  part  i.  p.  145,  on  the  strength  of  somewhat  imperfect 
paper-casts  sent  by  Signer  Paolo  Orsi  of  Bovereto.  The  name  is  there  wrongly  given  ANDENVS  and  cos 
is  added  after  FRISCO,  which  I  did  not  see  on  the  stone.  With  regard  to  the  date  Dr.  Otto  Hirschfeld 
remarks  :  "  Vielleicht  von  J.  73  ?  Der  Name  des  Collegen  im  ersten  Consulat  des  M.  Arrecinus 
Clemens  ist  nicht  bekannt."  But  from  the  character  of  the  letters  the  inscription  cannot  be  of 
earlier  date  than  the  end  of  the  second  century  of  our  eera.  Sig.  Orsi's  copy  of  the  milestone  of 
^Emilian  is  still  more  imperfect,  the  important  part  being  omitted. 

L2 


76  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

that  we  should  find  a  reference  to  this  Legion  among  the  Kacanik  monuments.  I 
am  able  to  describe  another  monument,  a  milestone  lately  discovered  in  the  bed  of 
the  Lepenac  about  two  miles  above  Kacanik,  which  supplies  another  and  important 
link  of  connexion  with  the  great  Danubian  city.  The  milestone  itself  is  about 
three  feet  high,  and  is  remarkable  as  presenting  the  name  of  the  Emperor 
vEmilian,  whose  reign  extended  over  less  than  four  months,  and  of  whom  very 
few  monuments  have  been  hitherto  discovered.  ^Emilian,  we  are  informed, 
was  chosen  Emperor  in  Mcesia,"  and  the  present  inscription  affords  interesting 
evidence  that,  short  as  was  his  dominion,  he  was  able  to  confer  some  lasting 
engineering  benefit  on  his  Moesian  province. 

There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  vi  .  .  of  the  last  line  of  the  inscription 
is  to  be  completed  VI(M).  for  VIMINACIO."  Viminacium,0  itself,  being  the  meeting- 
point  of  the  great  roads  leading  in  one  direction  to  Singidunum,  Sirmium  and 
Italy,  in  the  other  to  Naissus  and  Constantinople,  and  in  others  again  to  the  cities 
of  Trajan's  Dacia,  and  of  the  lower  Danube,  would  be  the  natural  terminus  a  quo 
of  any  Moesian  road-line.  From  Scupi  itself  there  was  probably,  as  I  shall  show,4 
a  shorter  route  to  Naissus  and  Viminacium  by  the  valley  of  the  Bulgarian  Morava, 
which  answers  to  that  described  in  the  Tabula  ;  but  from  a  Municipium  at  or  near 
Kacanik  the  natural  route  would  be  via  Ulpiana.  The  present  milestone  may 
therefore  be  taken  as  lying  on  a  road  which  in  one  sense  was  a  line  of  communi- 
cation between  Scupi,  Ulpiana,  and  the  Dalmatian  borders,  but  which  also  served 
as  an  alternative  route  to  the  Danubian  place  of  arms,  and  on  which  the  mileage 
was  naturally  reckoned  from  Viminacium.  The  distance  given,  as  far  as  can  at 
present  be  decyphered  —  two  hundred  and  odd  Roman  miles  —  tallies  very  well  with 
the  actual  distance  to  Viminacium.  From  Kacanik,  where  this  milliarium  was 
found,  to  Lipljan,  the  site  of  Ulpiana,  is  about  twenty-two  Roman  miles.  From 


11  Aur.  Victor,  Epitome,  c.  xxxi  ;  Eutropius,  ix.  5  ;  Zozimus,  lib.  i.  speaks  of  ./Emilian  as  Htw 

Ta%i<vv  =  Dux  Pannonicorum  ordinum,  and  mentions  a  great  victory  gained  by  him  over  the 
barbarians  who  were  then  overrunning  Illyricum. 

b  Forms  like  ABVERTO  show  the  possibility  of  AB  before  v  which  was  pronounced  as  w.  AB 
VLCt'm'o  is  a  possible  but  not  probable  alternative. 

c  Some  account  of  the  antiquities  of  Viminacium  has  been  given  by  Kanitz,  Beitrage  zur  Alter. 
thumskunde  der  Serbischen  Donau,  in  Mitth.  d.  k.  Jc.  Central  Commission,  1867,  p.  28  seqq.)  It  was 
Trajan's  chief  base  of  operations  in  his  Dacian  campaigns,  and  was  one  of  the  principal  stations  of  the 
Danubian  fleet,  as  well  as  the  headquarters  of  the  Seventh  Legion.  The  Leg.  VII.  Claudia  is  referred 
to  on  its  autonomous  coins  and  monuments,  and  tiles  are  found  here  with  its  stamp. 

d  See  p.  153  seqq. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


77 


Ulpiana  onwards  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana  supplies  us  with  the  total  distance  by 
road  to  Naissus  of  seventy-nine  miles ;  and  the  same  authority  gives  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  miles  as  the  distance  from  Naissus  by  road  to  Viminacium."  This 
gives  us  altogether  two  hundred  and  fourteen  miles. 

It  is  probable  that  the  road  to  which  this  milestone  belonged  crossed  the 
Lepenac  near  the  spot  where  it  was  found.  Between  Kacanik  and  Bles  Han  the 
Roman  "Way  itself  is  very  clearly  perceptible,  coasting  the  mountain  side  above  the 
right  bank  of  the  stream.  In  places  a  regular  terrace  is  cut  out  of  the  rocky 
steep  at  a  mean  elevation  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  Lepenac. 
At  times  the  road  descends  at  a  considerable  gradient,  though  still  straight  and 
even  as  a  hand-rule,  and  in  parts  showing  its  original  pavement.  Near  Eles  Han 
it  appears  to  have  crossed  the  river  by  a  bridge  now  destroyed ;  and  here,  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  stream,  and  near  the  modern  road  which  henceforth  follows  the 
Roman  track  through  the  pass,  is  still  to  be  seen  a  remarkable  milliary  column. 
The  copy  which  I  append  is  the  result  of  repeated  visits  to  the  stone,  which,  it 


F-bVIVERlPARTHffiMX 
'RmbVIHADRNNEPOS 


KEPOSbVINF.KWABNEPS 


Fig.  41. 
In  the  Itinerary  of  Antonine,  118,  M.P. 


78 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwn. 


will  be  seen,  bears  inscriptions  of  two  periods,  one  in  honour  of  Marcus  Aurelius, 
and  the  other,  apparently,  of  Constantine." 

A  few  miles  beyond  Eles  Han  the  pass  opens  into  the  broad  plain  of  the  Upper 
Vardar,  across  which  the  Eoman  Way  pursued  its  course  to  the  site  of  Scupi,  the 
old  Dardanian  Metropolis,  while  the  modern  road,  leaving  the  old  line  to  the 
right,  leads  past  the  arches  of  an  ancient  aqueduct  to  the  modern  city  of  Skopia, 
or  tTskup. 

n  A  copy  of  this  inscription  has  been  given  by  Henzen  in  the  Ephemeris  Epigraphica,  from  a 
paper-cast  that  had  been  sent  him  by  an  engineer. 


IV.-SCUPI,  SKOPIA, 


AND 


THE  BIRTHPLACE  OF  JUSTINIAN, 

WITH  NOTES  ON  THE  ROMAN  ROAD-LINE  SCUPI— NAISSUS 

— REMESIANA. 


SYNOPSIS. 


PAGE 

82.  Strategic  and  commercial  importance  of  the  site  of  Scupi. 

82.  Dr.  Edward  Brown's  account  of  Skopia  and  its  antiquities  in  17th  century. 

83.  Scantiness  of  previously-existing  materials. 

83.  Professor  Tomaschek's  attempt  to  dissociate  Skopia  and  Scupi  and  to  place  the  latter  in 

Morava  Valley. 

84.  Absence  of  remains  of  classical  antiquities  in  situ  Skopia. 

84.  Wealth  of  archaeological  remains  in  environs,  mediaeval  as  well  as  Roman. 

86.  Discovery  of  the  site  of  Scupi  at  Zlokucani. 

87.  Remains  at  Bardovce. 

88.  Iron  mines  and  quarries  near  the  site  of  Scupi. 

88.  Mineral  springs  and  remains  of  baths  and  buildings. 

88.  Bas-relief  of  Hercules. 

89.  Traces  of  the  great  earthquake  that  destroyed  the  Roman  city. 

90.  Roman  remains  in  the  Karadagh  of  Skopia. 

90.  Roman  cemetery  and  inscriptions  at  Kuceviste. 

91.  Cave  and  altar  in  Monastery  of  St.  Ilija. 

92.  Ruined  town  and  castle  of  Davina  and  Markova  Kula. 

92.  Ruined  church  at  Ljubanze  largely  composed  of  Roman  fragments. 

92.  Remarkable  old  Serbian  church  at  Ljubiten  with  frescoes  of  Serbian  Emperor  and  Empress. 

93.  Remains  on  Mount  Karsjak  ;  Markova  Magazija ;  old  road  to  Ochrida  and  Prisren  ;  remains 

at  Timpanica  and  Sofce. 


80 

PAGE 

95.  Byzantine  Church  of  Naresi,  Roman  monument,  and  Comnenian  inscription. 

97.  Roman  and  Old  Serbian  remains  in  Treska  Valley. 

98.  Remains  in  district  of  Markova  Rjeka :  old  gold  mine ;  Roman  inscriptions,  and  Monastery 

of  Marko  Kraljevi6. 

99.  Illyrian  name  on  inscription. 

100.  Altar  dedicated  to  Fortuna  by  local  Respublica. 

101.  Roman  monuments  in  Skopia  itself. 

102.  Roman  milestones  in  Skopia. 

102.  Monuments  and  remains  at  Hassanbeg  and  Belombeg. 

103.  Roman  road,  milestone,  and  ruined  site  of  Rusalinsko. 

103.  Surviving  traces  of  Rosalia,  or  spring  feast  of  departed,  amongst  the  Slavonic  races. 

104.  Altar  of  Jupiter  at  Ibrahimovce. 

104.  Libations  still  poured  upon  it  by  villagers  in  time  of  drought. 

105.  Notes  on  cult  of  Jupiter  Pluvius  and  comparison  with  Slavonic  and  Romaic  customs. 
105.  Survival  of  Illyro-Roman  element  in  Dardania. 

105.  Excavation  of  large  mound  called  Tumba. 

109.  Site  of  Roman  settlement  at  Seliste  and  altar  of  Hercules  Conservator  at  Hadzalar. 

110.  Hot  baths  of  Banja;  Roman  thermal  station. 

111.  Description  of  Roman  inscriptions  discovered  at  and  near  the  site  of  SCVPI. 
111.  Inscriptions  relating  to  municipal  constitution. 

111.  Name  of  Scupi  on  inscriptions  and  title  of  Colonia. 

113.  Tombs  of  original  colonists,  "  deducti  "  and  '*  deduction." 

114.  Monument  of  youth  honoured  with  JMileship  and  Decurionate. 

115.  Base  of  statue  erected  in  honour  of  the  Emperor  Gallienus  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Scupi. 

116.  Historical  occasion  of  adulatory  address. 

116.  Defeat  of  Sarmatians  under  walls  of  Scupi  by  Regalian. 

119.  Inscriptions  recording  Augustales. 

120.  Altars  to  Jupiter  and  unknown  god  :  mention  of  Flamens. 
120.  Altar  of  Silvanus. 

120.  Monuments  to  soldiers  of  7th,  Claudian,  Legion. 

122.  Miles  Frumentarius. 

123.  Testamentary  disposition  of  Cornicularius. 

124.  Legio  VII.  Claudia  Pia  Fidelis. 

125.  Inscription  with  Thracian  name  of  Eupor. 

126.  Thracian  and  other  inscriptions  at  present  at  Thessalonica. 

127.  Intermixture  of  Thracian  and  Illyrian  elements  in  Dardania. 

128.  Elegiac  epitaph  on  local  ISestor  and  tomb  of  citizen  of  Methymne. 
129 — 131.  Sepulchral  inscriptions  from  Scupi. 

132.  Christian  inscription. 

133.  Civil  and  ecclesiastical  importance  of  Scupi  under  the  Christian  Emperors. 

133.  Special  connexion  between  Dardanian  and  Illyrian  Church  and  Roman  Catholicism. 


81 

PAGE 

134.  Destruction  of  old  city  of  Scupi  by  earthquake,  A.D.  518  ;  rebuilt  on  site  of  Skopia. 
134.  Was  Scupi  Justiniana  Prima  ?     Difficulties  suggested. 

136.  Passage  in  John  of  Antioch. 

137.  Reasons  for  identifying  Skopia  with  Justinian's  city. 

138.  Bishops  of  Dacia  Mediterranea  under  Metropolitan  of  Scupi  before  Justinian's  time. 

140.  Continued  importance  of  Scupi  or  Skopia  in  Byzantine  and  Slavonic  times. 

141.  Suggested  comparison  between  Tauresium  and  Bederiana  and  names  of  villages  of  Taor  and 

Bader. 

142.  Description  of  Bader  ;  Roman  remains  at  Blace. 

143.  Cyrillian  inscription  in  Monastery  of  St.  John,  mentioning  Bulgarian  bishop  of  Justiniana 

Prima  and  Ochrida. 

144.  Exploration  of  Taor.     Roman  remains,  and  altar  with  apparently  Greek  inscription. 

145.  Foundations  of  late- Roman  or  Byzantine  Castellum. 

146.  Local  tradition  that  Constantino  was  born  there. 

146.  Byzantine  inscription  on  walls  of  Akropolis  at  Skopia. 

147.  Turkish  and  Byzantine  antiquities  of  Skopia:  the  Kursumli  Han. 

148.  Hamam  of  "  the  two  sisters." 

148.  Influence  of  Byzantium  on  buildings  of  Skopia. 

149.  Coins  of  Justinian's  time  found  here. 

149.  The  Aqueduct. 

150.  Probably  restored  by  the  Turks. 

151.  Arches  of  earlier  aqueduct  existing  in  Old  Bezestan. 

NOTES  ON  THE  ROAD-LINE 

SCUPI — NAISSUS—  REMESIANA. 

153.  Difficulties  suggested  by  Tabula  and  Itineraries. 

154.  Votive  altar  to  Jupiter  Dolichenus  at  Kumanovo. 

154.  Byzantine  Church  of  Matejci. 

155.  Genealogical  tree  of  Comneni. 

156.  Roman  remains  at  Prsovo. 

157.  Roman  site  at  Zlato. 

159.  Brick  dam  of  Roman  reservoir. 

160.  Castrum  identified  with  HAMMEO  or  ACBIEON. 

161.  Site  of  the  ancient  NAISSVS. 

161.  Inscriptions  at  Nish. 

162.  Votive  Monument  erected  to  Carinus  by  Province  of  Upper  Moesia. 

1 63.  REMESIANA  and  St.  Nicetas. 

164.  Dedication  slab  of  Roman  Church  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 
166.   Corona,  lamps  and  crosses  from  Roman  church  at  Pirot. 

VOL.  XLIX.  M 


82  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


SCTJPI,  SKOPIA,  AND  THE  BIRTHPLACE  OF  JUSTINIAN. 


On  emerging  from  the  pass  of  Kacanik  to  the  South  the  traveller  finds  himself 
in  the  spacious  plain  of  Skopia,  the  Turkish  Uskiip,  and  the  modern  and  mediaeval 
successor  of  Scupi,  the  Dardanian  metropolis.  Whether  regarded  from  the  point 
of  view  of  strategy  or  commerce  the  position  is  splendid,  and  the  town  forms  the 
natural  key  to  a  large  part  of  "Western  Illyricum.  To  the  North  the  Lepenac 
cleaves  a  passage  between  the  Easternmost  promontories  of  the  Shar  and  the 
Karadagh  of  Skopia — a  passage  threaded  as  we  have  seen  by  a  Koman  road 
which  brought  the  Dardanian  capital  into  connexion  with  the  Dalmatian  ports  on 
one  side,  and  on  the  other  with  Singidunum  and  the  great  Pannonian  cities.  To 
the  West  the  Vardar  and  its  tributaries  open  a  way  through  what  is  now  the  plain 
of  Tetovo,  to  little-explored  Illyrian  regions,  once  probably  the  scene  of  extensive 
mining  industry.  To  the  East  the  forest-covered  ranges  of  the  Karadagh  dip 
down  to  form  an  easy  avenue  of  communication, — through  what  was  once  erroneously 
supposed  to  be  the  central  chain  of  the  Balkans,— with  the  Upper  Valley  of  the 
Bulgarian  Morava,  and  thence  via  Nish,  the  ancient  Naissus,  with  the  great  staple 
and  stronghold  of  the  Middle  Danube  in  Roman  times,  Viminacium.  To  the  South 
the  Iron  Gates  of  the  Vardar,  the  Axios  of  classic  times,  bring  the  Dardanian  city 
into  connexion  with  the  Peeonian  emporium  of  Stobi,  the  Macedonian  plains,  and 
ultimately,  Thessalonica.  Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  site  of  Scupi  lies  at  the 
crossing-point  of  great  natural  routes  across  the  Western  part  of  the  Illyrian 
Peninsula.  To  those  approaching  the  ^Egean  port  from  the  Middle  Danube  it 
occupied  a  position  almost  precisely  analogous  to  that  held  by  Serdica  on  the 
military  road  to  Constantinople.  In  making,  as  I  hope  to  show,  the  Dardanian 
Metropolis  the  seat  of  government  for  his  new-constituted  Illyrian  praafecture, 
Justinian  displayed  a  true  appreciation  of  the  important  function  which  the  land 
of  his  birth  and  the  city  of  his  affection  were  destined  by  nature  to  play  in  the 
economy  of  the  Western  half  of  the  Peninsula.  Eight  centuries  later  we  find  the 
Serbian  Krai  Dusan,  placing  on  his  brow  the  imperial  crown  of  all  the  Illyrian 
lands,  within  the  walls  of  Skopia. 

The  first  account  of  the  antiquities  of  Skopia  was  due  to  the  English  traveller, 
Dr.  Edward  Brown,  son  of  Sir  Thomas,  who  published  a  relation  of  his  travels  in 


Arohaeolo£ia 


KACANIK 


KARA 


<< 


opAVINA      *" 

3  is 

MARKOVA  «ULA 


SKETCH   MAP 

SHEWING  THE  ROMAN  AND  OTHER   ANCIENT 
REMAINS  IN  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF 

SKOPIA,  (SCVPI), 

PREPARED  FROM  PERSONAL  OBSERVATIONS  BY 

Arthur  J, Evans. 


Scale*  erf 


Jtemari  Ponds, 


jerttirals  course  nf  'Hcman,  Roads  , 
MUNICIPIA    &,c. 


rerricuti-s, 


Com-se 

Rftiuirkuble'  MedzevaX-  rtmajjis,    ) 
l)yzarUin&  tmd  Slavcnie  , 
Raman  Baths,    .........  --------- 


Vol.  XIJX. 


KUMANOVA 


Uateia 

' 


*n1' 


^Sjlkyfcok 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  83 

the  Balkan  lands  in  1673,"  and  who  gives  as  a  reason  for  describing  this  place 
somewhat  at  length  that  earlier  geographers  had  "passed  it  over  in  few  words." 
"  And  I  could  never,"  he  adds,  "  meet  with  any  who  had  been  at  it."  Brown 
identified  Skopia  with  the  Scupi  of  Ptolemy,  and  after  recounting  the  beauties  of 
the  existing  town  proceeds  to  describe  some  of  its  antiquities.  He  mentions  an 
arch  "  which  seemeth  to  be  ancient,  and  a  rivulet  running  under  it ";  also,  "  a 
large  stone  which  seemeth  to  be  part  of  a  pillar  with  the  inscription  SHIANC." 
"A  little  way  out  of  the  city,"  he  continues,  "there  is  a  noble  aqueduct  of  stone 
with  about  200  arches,  made  from  one  hill  to  another  over  the  lower  ground  or 
valley."  The  arch  is  gone,  and  the  aqueduct  hardly  answers  to  Brown's  dimen- 
sions, but  the  inscribed  pillar,  a  part  of  a  Roman  milestone,  to  which  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  refer,b  is  still  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  streets  of  Skopia. 

From  Dr.  Edward  Brown's  time  to  a  quite  recent  date,  the  antiquities  of 
Skopia  received  no  further  illustration.  Ami  Boue,  who  visited  this  place, 
described  a  fragment  of  an  inscription,  referring  to  the  Emperor  Severus,  walled 
into  the  aqueduct.0  One  or  two  inscriptions  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Skopia 
have  since  been  communicated  to  the  Revue  Archeologique,  by  M.  Engelhardt, 
French  Consul-General  at  Belgrade,  on  the  authority  of  a  Serbian  Professor  of  the 
Belgrade  Lyceum;  only  one  of  these  however  has  any  claim  to  be  regarded  as  an 
accurate  reproduction  of  the  text.3  Add  to  this,  one  inscription  communicated  by 
the  Austrian  Consul,  Herr  Lippich,6  and  two  from  a  village  near  the  confluence  of 
the  Pcinja  and  Vardar,  with  two  fragments  of  milestones,  and  I  believe  I  shall 
have  exhausted  the  catalogue  of  the  known  epigraphic  materials  from  Skopia  and 
the  whole  region  round  it. 

Of  the  scantiness  indeed  of  the  hitherto  known  materials  no  better  proof  could 
be  given  than  the  fact  that  Professor  Tomaschek,  of  Gratz,  has  recently  written  a 
learned  dissertation  to  prove  that  the  site  of  the  ancient  Scupi  was  neither  at 
Skopia  nor  in  its  vicinity,  but  that  it  ought  rather  to  be  sought  somewhere  in  the 

a  A  brief  Account  of  Some  Travels  in  Hungaria,  Servia,  Bulgaria,  Macedonia,  fyc.  by  Edward 
Brown,  M.D.  of  the  College  of  London,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  Physician  in  Ordinary  to 
his  Majesty.  London  1673. 

b  See  p.  102.  The  SHIANC  of  Dr.  Edward  Brown  is  evidently  derived  from  the  TBAIANO  of 
the  stone. 

c  Turquie  d'Europe,  T.  2,  p.  354. 

d  Ephemeris  Epigraphica,  vol.  ii.  498. 

c  Dr.  Kenner  Inschriften  aus  der  Vardarschlucht,  Sitzungsberichte  der  k.  Akademie  der  Wissen- 
schapten,  1875,  p.  276. 

M2 


84  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyrwum. 

valley  of  the  Bulgarian  Morava."  The  materials  that  I  have  at  present  collected 
will  supply,  I  trust,  the  final  solution  of  this  problem  in  ancient  geography,  and 
will  sufficiently  establish  the  historic  connexion  between  Skopia  and  the  ancient 
Scupi.  But  it  does  not  therefore  follow  that  the  sites  of  the  present  city  and  of 
its  original  Eoman  predecessor  are  absolutely  identical.  The  fine  position  of  the 
akropolis  hill  of  Skopia,  the  noble  stone  bridge  across  the  Vardar,  the  ancient  walls 
and  buildings,  the  general  air  of  antiquity  that  pervades  the  place,  had  all  indeed 
combined  to  induce  earlier  and  later  travellers  to  identify  the  actual  site  of  Scupi  with 
the  Turkish  Uskiip,  and  I  must  confess  that  I  was  at  first  inclined  to  do  the  same. 
It  was  not  till  after  a  prolonged  exploration  of  the  town  and  neighbourhood  that  I 
gradually  acquired  the  proofs  that  the  site  of  the  original  Eoman  Colony  must  be 
sought  outside  the  limits  of  the  modern  city.  There  are,  in  fact,  in  Skopia  itself 
no  remains  of  classical  antiquity  that  can  fairly  be  regarded  as  in  situ.  The  oldest 
of  the  buildings  are  at  most  Byzantine.  The  vast  majority  of  the  existing  archi- 
tectural monuments  are  Turkish,  and  the  bridge  itself,  which  has  been  described 
as  Roman,  dates  no  farther  back  than  the  great  days  of  Turkish  dominion,  when, 
with  the  aid  of  Italian  and  Dalmatian  architects,  Ottoman  Beglerbegs  and  Pashas 
were  raising  such  engineering  monuments  in  the  Peninsula  as  had  not  been  seen 
there  since  the  days  of  Trajan  and  Diocletian. 

Thanks  to  the  friendly  protection  of  the  Mutessarif  of  Uskiip,  Feik  Pasha,  I 
was  able  to  devote  two  months  in  the  course  of  last  year  to  the  systematic 
exploration  of  the  plain  of  Uskiip,  and  the  surrounding  mountain  ranges.  The 
archa3ological  results  of  this  exploration  have  been  not  inconsiderable  and  relate 
to  more  than  one  epoch.  The  number  of  ancient  churches  and  monasteries  dating 
from  early  Serb,  Bulgarian,  and  Byzantine  times  still  preserved  in  the  glens  of  the 
Karadagh  and  the  southern  offshoots  of  the  Shar  Planina  is  truly  surprising,  and 
hardly  less  so  the  fact  that  these  interesting  monuments  should  so  long  have  been 
overlooked  by  European  travellers.  In  mediaeval  frescoes  representing  Serbian 
and  Byzantine  princes  the  churches  are  peculiarly  rich.  At  Liubiten  is  a  ruined 
church  containing  full-length  representations  of  the  Emperor  Stefan  Dusan,  his 
Empress,  and  his  young  son  Uros  in  their  robes  of  state.  At  Markov  Manastir, 
or  Marko's  Monastery,  King  Vukasin  and  his  son,  the  hero  of  South  Slavonic  Epic, 
are  both  represented,  and  the  epitaph  of  "King's  Son  Marko,"  may  still  be 

a  Zur  Kunde  der  Hamus  Halbinsel.  (Sitzungsberichte  der  K.  Akademie  der  Wissenschafteii, 
Wien  1881.  H.  2,  p.  437-499.)  Prof.  Tomaschek  proposed  to  seek  the  site  of  Scupi  near  Leskovac 
in  Serbia.  Skopia  he  places  in  Pseonia. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  85 

decyphered.  In  the  ruinous  Minster  Church  of  Matejci  I  came  upon  a  genealogical 
tree  containing  full-length  fresco  portraits  of  the  imperial  race  of  the  Comneni,  the 
counterpart  of  the  Nemanid  tree  in  the  royal  Serbian  foundation  of  Decani.  At 
Naresi  in  the  Karsjak  range  above  Skopia,  is  another  fine  Byzantine  Church  con- 
taining a  Comnenian  inscription  to  which  I  shall  return. 

It  is,  however,  with  the  Roman  remains  of  earlier  date  that  we  are  at  present 
more  immediately  concerned.  Of  these  remains  the  whole  region  that  surrounds 
the  site  of  the  ancient  Scupi  turned  out  to  be  equally  prolific,  and  I  found  that  in 
not  a  few  cases  the  mediasval  Serb  and  Byzantine  builders  had  profited  by  the 
relics  of  Roman  civilization  with  which  the  neighbourhood  of  their  later  foundations 
abounded.  In  investigating  the  Roman  monuments  and  inscriptions  in  this  district 
I  had  often  indeed  to  contend  with  the  jealous  and  secretive  spirit  of  the  peasants, 
who,  having  been  for  centuries  exploited  by  an  alien  and  despotic  government,  are 
apt  to  regard  inquiries  concerning  their  ancient  monuments  as  a  prelude  to  further 
exactions  or  forced  labour.  There  is,  besides,  a  widespread  belief  that  all  ancient 
inscriptions  are  in  some  way  connected  with  the  concealment  of  treasure,  and  the 
peasants  are  naturally  anxious  to  reserve  for  themselves  whatever  "  unearned 
increment"  is  to  be  derived  from  such  sources.  In  the  wilder  Albanian  regions 
North  of  the  Shar  range  the  prevalence  of  such  ideas  is  a  source  of  real  danger  to 
the  too  inquisitive  traveller.  In  the  Skopia  district,  however,  where  the  popula- 
tion is  mainly  Slavonic,  the  chief  obstacle  with  which  I  had  to  contend  was  the 
reticence  observed  by  the  peasants  regarding  their  ancient  monuments.  Thus,  on 
more  than  one  occasion  I  had  to  undertake  rides  of  eight  or  nine  hours'  duration 
two  or  three  times  over,  in  order  to  visit  villages  where  I  knew  that  ancient 
inscriptions  existed,  before  I  was  successful  in  discovering  what  I  sought.  That 
in  the  end  I  was  able  to  collect  so  many  was  largely  owing  to  the  good  humoured 
tact  and  inexhaustible  local  knowledge  of  my  Zaptieh,  Osman  Ombashi,  an 
Albanian  by  birth,  who  soon  acquired  a  truly  antiquarian  zest  in  tracking  out 
Roman  monuments. 

The  spacious  plain  of  Skopia  and  the  Alpine  slopes  that  overlook  it  on  every 
side  go  to  form  a  well-defined  geographical  district,  which  as  the  monuments  to  be 
described  sufficiently  declare,  formed  once  the  Ager  of  the  Roman  city.  The 
remains  from  this  whole  district  may  therefore  be  fitly  grouped  with  those  existing 
on  the  actual  site  of  the  ancient  Scupi,  and  those  within  its  modern  representative 
the  present  town  of  Skopia  or  TJskiip.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Roman  remains 
that  I  have  discovered  beyond  the  water-shed  of  Mount  Karsjak,  to  the  West  of 
Skopia,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Markova  Rjeka,  may  be  better  perhaps  regarded 


86  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

separately  as  being  possibly,  though,  hardly  probably,  comprised  in  the  territory  of 
some  other  Dardanian  Municipium. 

The  hill  on  which  the  Akropolis  or  "  Grad  "  of  Skopia  lies  is  an  offshoot  of  a 
low  range,  to  the  left  of  the  Vardar,  which  juts  out  to  the  North  into  the  middle  of 
the  plain.  A  little  rivulet  divides  this  range  from  a  more  isolated  hill  beyond,  the 
"Western  slope  of  which  overlooks  the  confluence  of  the  Lepenac  and  Vardar.  The 
point  is  important,  as  being  the  natural  meeting  point  of  two  lines  of  road  over 
the  passes  of  the  Shar.  That  to  the  "West  gives  access  to  Kalkandelen  and  Prisren 
on  one  side,  and  the  Dibra  district  of  Albania  on  the  other.  The  route  to  the  North 
is  that  already  described,  which  threads  the  pass  of  Kacanik  and  secures  com- 
munication with  the  ancient  Dardanian  city  of  Ulpiana  in  a  more  remote  degree 
with  the  Dalmatian  littoral  and  the  Save  basin.  From  this  hill,  known  as  the  hill 
of  Zlokucani,  both  avenues  could  be  watched  with  even  greater  facility  than  from 
Skopia  itself.  The  site  was  therefore  admirably  adapted  for  a  watch  station  and 
bulwark  against  the  wild  Illyrian  regions  to  the  North  and  West. 

Immediately  beneath  this  hill,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Lepenica  and  Vardar, 
lies  the  village  of  Zlokucani,  where  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  first  coming  upon 
remains  which  fix  beyond  reasonable  doubt  the  original  site  of  the  ancient  Scupi. 
The  abundance  of  Eoman  fragments  about  this  village  was  truly  astonishing.  To 
the  North  of  the  modern  road  the  foundations  of  a  considerable  public  building, 
perhaps  a  temple,  were  clearly  visible,  including  several  of  the  bases  of  a  double 
row  of  columns.  A  little  to  the  Bast  of  this  was  a  corner  portion  apparently  of  a 
city  gate.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  were  to  be  seen  broken  shafts  of  columns, 
pedestals,  a  piece  of  a  stone  pavement,  and  innumerable  other  blocks,  and  the  tiles 
and  pottery  that  strewed  the  neighbouring  fields  bore  still  more  unmistakeable 
witness  to  the  existence  of  an  ancient  city.  That  so  much  of  the  Eoman  founda- 
tions should  have  been  visible  was  due  to  some  recent  excavations  of  the  surface 
soil  conducted  by  an  engineer  in  the  Turkish  service  with  the  object  of  procuring 
building  material  for  a  new  bridge  over  the  Lepenica  hard  by.  The  number  of 
inscriptions  thus  unearthed  about  this  spot  was,  by  all  accounts,  very  considerable; 
they  were  however,  without  exception,  walled  up  into  the  foundations  of  the 
bridge,  and  are  probably  lost  for  ever  to  archaeology.  More  than  this,  the  chief 
Turkish  proprietor  of  the  village,  who  has  a  fanatical  detestation  of  inscriptions, 
had  given  orders  to  the  peasants  to  throw  all  "  written  stones  "  such  as  they  are  con- 
tinually finding  in  their  fields,  into  the  river,  "  all  such  being  works  of  the  Devil 
and  the  cursed  Giaour."  In  the  bed  of  the  river  several  large  Roman  sarcophagi, 
uninscribed  as  far  as  I  could  observe,  lay  about  pell  mell,  but  they  owed  their 
present  position  to  the  gradual  excavation  of  the  river-bank  by  the  stream. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  87 

The  smaller  remains  extended  from  the  village  to  the  hill  above  already 
described,  which  is  locally  known  as  the  Zlokucan  Kalesi.  On  the  Western  flank 
of  this  was  a  Bulgarian  Cemetery,  and  here  again  were  many  fragments  of  Roman 
monuments,  amongst  them  of  some  fluted  columns.  Above  this  the  whole  hill-side 
was  covered  with  debris  of  Eoman  tiles  and  stone-work,  while  at  one  point  there 
rose  a  fragment  of  an  old  wall  of  conglomerate  masonry.  Above  this  again  a  well 
defined  ridge,  concealing  apparently  the  course  of  a  wall  of  circumvallation  and 
covered  with  stones  and  tiles,  ran  round  the  whole  hill-top,  while  within  it  rose 
another  similar  stone  and  tile-covered  bank.  The  summit  of  what  was  evidently 
the  Akropolis  of  the  original  Skupi,  perhaps  representing  the  original  Illyrian 
hill-stronghold,  is  of  small  area,  but  the  position  is  most  commanding,  and,  save  for 
the  fact  that  the  Vardar  actually  washes  the  foot  of  the  akropolis-hill  of  the  later 
Skopia,  is,  from  a  military  point  of  view,  superior  to  the  latter.  This  akropolis- 
hill  is  connected  by  a  narrow  neck  with  another  portion  of  the  same  range,  the 
upper  surface  of  which  is  as  thickly  strewn  with  the  remains  of  the  Roman  city 
as  the  more  fortified  part.  While  examining  this  I  found  a  Roman  sepulchral 
monument  of  perhaps  third-century  date,  erected  by  her  husband  to  a  certain 
Claudia  Ingenua  (fig.  72),  and  near  this  lay  a  tile  containing  an  interesting 
fragment  of  another  inscription  (fig.  88),  dating  from  the  Christian  period  of 
Roman  Scupi. 

A  crossway  leads  through  the  fields — here  everywhere  strewn  with  tiles  and 
pottery — from  Zlokucani  to  the  neighbouring  village  of  Bardovce,  before  reaching 
which  it  passes  a  low  hill  which  must  have  been  an  important  quarter  of  the  ancient 
Scupi.  Along  the  side  of  this  some  recent  excavations,  made  in  order  to  obtain 
material  for  building  purposes,  had  revealed  a  variety  of  ancient  blocks,  and 
amongst  them  some  huge  fragments  of  a  cornice  and  a  base  evidently  belonging 
to  an  important  building.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  this  were  two  Roman  tombs, 
which  I  excavated.  The  first  proved  to  be  a  large  cist,  consisting  of  six  ponde- 
rous slabs,  and  lined  with  square  tiles  in  two  parallel  rows ;  it  contained  nothing 
but  a  few  bones,  and  must  have  been  rifled  in  ancient  times.  The  second, 
equally  unproductive  so  far  as  relics  were  concerned,  was  of  the  same  general 
construction,  but  made  up  of  the  remains  of  earlier  monuments,  as  was  proved 
by  the  fact  that  it  contained  within  it  an  inscribed  slab  with  a  dedication 
of  a  local  priest  of  Augustus  to  the  "  Gods  and  Goddesses  "  (fig.  56).  This 
part  of  the  Roman  site  forms  as  useful  a  quarry  to  the  present  inhabitants  as 
that  near  Zlokucani,  and  many  monuments  have  been  quite  recently  dis- 
interred to  be  broken  up  or  lost  in  modern  buildings.  Two  sepulchral  slabs, 
however,  from  the  spot  had  been  preserved  in  the  neighbouring  Konak  of  Hakif 


88  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

Mechmed  Pasha  at  Bardovce,  where  I  was  permitted  to  see  them  in  the  inner 
court  of  this  fine  Turkish  country  house.  Both  of  them  apparently  owed  their 
preservation  to  the  fact  that  they  contained  reliefs,  in  the  one  case  of  a  husband, 
wife,  and  child  (fig.  75),  in  the  other  of  a  Miles  Frwmentarius  of  the  Seventh 
Legion  (fig.  60). 

The  sources  of  Mechmed  Pasha's  fortune  are  interesting  in  the  light  which 
they  throw  on  the  local  industry  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Scupi.  These 
I  learnt  to  be  an  old  iron  mine  near  Kisela  Voda,  a  chalybeate  spring  which  rises 
on  the  Southern  flank  of  the  range  dominating  the  right  bank  of  the  Lepenica, 
and,  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  a  quarry  of  excellent  white  marble.  This 
marble  is  in  high  repute  throughout  the  central  part  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula, 
and  is  largely  used  for  tombstones,  both  Mahometan  and  Christian.  Quantities  of 
it  are  exported  to  a  considerable  distance  and  as  far  away  as  Nish  (the  ancient 
Naissus),  in  Serbia,  I  saw  marble  monuments,  the  material  of  which  had  been 
ordered  from  the  Pasha's  quarries  near  the  ancient  site  of  Scupi.  Once  more  we 
find  the  site  of  a  Dardanian  city  connecting  itself  with  ancient  mines  and  quarries. 

The  virtues  of  the  mineral  spring  of  Kisela  Voda "  were  probably  not  unknown 
to  the  Roman  citizens  of  Scupi.  The  spring  itself  spurts  up  with  fountain-like 
force  in  the  centre  of  a  ruinous  octagonal  basin.  The  hill  to  the  Bast  of  it  seems 
to  have  been  formerly  the  scene  of  a  similar  fountain,  as  it  was  covered  with  iron- 
stained  fragments  and  a  white  deposit  in  all  respects  resembling  the  deposit 
formed  by  the  existing  source.  On  the  rocks  at  the  top  here  were  observable  arti- 
ficial grooves  and  channels,  evidently  belonging  to  an  ancient  bath,  but  broken  up 
and  tossed  about  in  chaotic  disorder  by  some  vast  natural  convulsion.  Lower 
down,  near  the  village  of  Vucidol  were  traces  of  another  mineral  source, — a 
curious  line  of  undermined  rocks,  the  cavities  of  which  were  filled  with  the  same 
chalybeate  deposit.  On  examining  their  upper  surface  I  found  an  implumum,  of 
angular  form  and  sockets  for  small  columns  cut  out  of  the  rock,  showing  that 
here,  too,  must  have  existed  an  ancient  building. ;  but  in  this  case,  as  the  former, 
the  natural  floor  of  rock  had  been  ploughed  up  by  cataclsymic  agencies.  In  the 
wooded  glen  above,  a  little  below  the  village  of  Kuckova,  had  been  recently  found 
a  small  image,  a  sight  of  which  I  obtained  with  difficulty  from  the  Bulgar 
peasants.  It  proved  to  be  a  rude  Roman  bas-relief  of  Hercules  clad  in  the 
Nemean  lion's-skin ;  and  I  have  since  heard  that  a  "  written  stone "  has  been 
discovered,  together  with  an  ancient  fountain,  near  the  same  village.  Somewhat 
further,  in  a  gorge  opening  on  to  Lepenica  valley,  is  the  Albanian  village  of 

a  Literally  "  Bitter  Water,"  a  common  name  for  mineral  sources  throughout  the  South-Slavonic 
countries.  The  temperature  was  75°  Fahr. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  89 

Nekistan,  where,  amongst  the  ruins  of  a  mediasval  church,  lay  a  large  fragment  of 
a  Roman  tombstone  (fig.  53)  referring  to  the  COLONIA  of  Scupi. 

The  traces  of  the  ancient  buildings  near  the  mineral  springs,  destroyed  by  some 
great  natural  catastrophe,  afford  a  highly  interesting  commentary  on  the  passage 
of  the  sixth  century  Illyrian  chronicler  Comes  Marcellinus,  who  records  the 
overthrow  of  Scupi  itself,  and  other  cities  of  Dardania  by  a  terrific  earthquake  in 
the  year  518.  The  writer  describes  the  catastrophe  with  the  vividness  of  an  eye- 
witness. "  In  the  province  of  Dardania,"  he  writes,  "  twenty-four  Castella  were 
ruined  in  a  single  moment  by  repeated  shocks  of  earthquake.  Two  of  these  were 
overwhelmed,  with  all  their  habitations ;  four  with  half  their  buildings  and  inhabi- 
tants ;  eleven  were  overthrown  with  a  loss  of  a  third  of  their  citizens  and  houses ; 
seven  more  lost  a  quarter  of  their  houses  and  population  and  were  left  deserted 
through  fear  of  the  neighbourhood  of  the  ruins.  Moreover,  the  Metropolitan  City 
of  Scupi  was  ruined  to  its  foundations,  though  without  any  destruction  of  its 
citizens,  for  they  were  at  the  time  in  the  act  of  fleeing  from  the  enemy.  In  one 
castle,  in  the  district  of  Canisa,  called  Sarnunto,  there  took  place  an  eruption,  and 
the  earth  vomited  forth  from  its  inner  cavities  a  continual  burning  shower  on 
every  side,  like  the  blast  from  a  fiery  furnace."  Many  mountains,  we  are  told, 
throughout  the  province  were  rent  asunder ;  rocks  and  forest  trees  were  torn  from 
their  sockets ;  and  a  yawning  chasm  "  twelve  feet  in  breadth  and  thirty  miles  in 
extent  "  intercepted  and  entombed  many  of  the  fugitive  citizens. a  In  the  volcanic 

0  Comes  Marcellinus  (Ad.  Ann.  518).  "In  Provincia  Dardania  assidno  terraemotu  xxiv.  Castella 
uno  momento  collapsa  sunt.  Quorum  duo  suis  cum  habitatoribus  demersa,  quatuor  dimidia  sedifi- 
ciorum  suorum  hominumque  amissa  parte  destructa,  undecim  tertia  domorum  totidemque  populi 
clade  dejecta,  septem  quarta  tectorum  suorum  tantaque  plebis  parte  depressa,  vicina  vero  (al. 
"  vicinarum  ")  metu  ruinarum  despecta  sunt.  Scupus  namque  Metropolis,  licet  sine  civium  suorum 
hostem  fugientium  clade,  funditus  tamen  corruit.  Uno  in  Castello,  regionis  Caniste,  quod  Sarnunto 
dicitur,  ruptis  tune  terra  venis  et  ad  instar  torridoe  fornacis  exeestuans  diutinum  altrinsecus 
ferventemque  imbrem  evomuit.  Plurimee  totius  Provinciee  rnontes  hoc  terreemotu  scissi  sunt,  saxa 
que  suis  evulsa  compagibus,  devolutaque  arborum  (?  devolutasque  arbores)  crepido  per  xxx.  passunm 
millia  patens  et  in  xii.  pedum  latitudinem  dehiscens  profundum  aliquantis  voraginem  civibus 
castellorum  saxorumque  ruinas  vel  adhuc  hostium  incursiones  fugientibus  jussa*  paravit."  The 
last  paragraph  is  evidently  corrupt,  but  the  general  sense  is  clear.  Crepido  here  =  fissura  (Cf. 
Du  Cange,  s.  v.~).  With  this  Dardanian  "  Sarnunto"  I  will  venture  to  connect  the  Sarnoates,  referred 
to  on  the  Illyrian  coins  reading  2APNOATQX,  and  the  Sapvove  of  Stephanus  of  Byzantium  and 
Polyasnus.  I  will  even  go  further  and  suggest  the  emendation  of  the  unknown  (Bapvowj)  "  Bapvovvra  " 
of  Strabo  (7,  7,  4),  mentioned  as  lying  on  or  near  the  Egnatian  Way  between  Lychnidus  (Ochrida)  and 
Heraclea  Lyncestis,  into  'S.apvovvra,  and  its  identification  in  turn  with  the  Sapj/oBc  of  the  coins,  and  the 
"  Sarnunto  "  of  Marcellinus.  This  attribution  would  bring  down  a  corner  of  sixth  century  Dardania 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Monastir,  but  it  is  not  at  least  inconsistent  with  Procopius'  description  of 

VOL.  XLIX.  N 


90  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwn. 

rocks  that  strew  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Roman  thermal  station  of  Banjska, 
above  Mitrovica,  we  may  see,  perhaps,  another  landmark  of  the  same  catastrophe. 
Outside  the  actual  site  of  ancient  Scupi  and  its  immediate  vicinity  the  most 
abundant  traces  of  Eoman  settlement  are  to  be  found  on  the  slopes  and  amongst 
the  shady  glens  of  the  Dardanian  Tzernagora,  or  Karadagh,  to  the  North  of  the 
plain  of  Uskiip.  Fertile,  well- watered,  and  cool  in  summer,  this  upland  region 
seems  to  have  been  a  favourite  villeggiatura  of  the  citizens  of  Scupi,  and,  as 
numerous  mediaeval  churches  and  monasteries  attest,  the  Orthodox  of  a  later 
period  found  its  sites  not  less  adapted  for  their  monastic  retreats.  Several  small 
tributaries  of  the  Lepenica  and  Vardar  here  take  their  rise,  and  from  one  of  these 
sources  the  town  of  Skopia  has  from  time  immemorial  derived  its  water  supply 
by  an  Aqueduct  of  Byzantine  construction,  to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
return.  It  is  noteworthy,  that  in  this  district  vine  culture  is  carried  to  greater 
perfection  than  elsewhere  among  the  South  Dardanian  peasantry,  and  the  wine  of 
Kuceviste,  especially,  enjoys  a  deserved  reputation  in  Skopia.  This  village,  lying 
on  a  neck  of  land  between  two  streams,  has  a  fine  Serbo-Byzantine  church, 
founded,  according  to  local  tradition,  by  one  of  the  Nemanjas,  where,  behind  the  door 
of  the  Proavlion,  I  found  the  most  interesting  existing  record  of  the  municipal 
government  of  Eoman  Scupi  (fig.  54,  see  p.  114).  In  the  churchyard,  amongst  the 
other  slabs  lay  a  Eoman  sepulchral  monument  (fig.  51)  to  a  Veteran  of  the 
7th  Legion,  remarkable  for  the  artistic  finish  of  its  execution.  This  monument 
had  been  removed,  not  many  years  since,  to  its  present  position  from  a  field  about 
half  an  hour's  walk  below  the  village,  which  was  by  all  accounts  a  Eoman  cemetery. 
I  learned  that  the  whole  ground,  at  a  depth  of  two  or  three  feet  below  the  present 
surface,  was  occupied  by  ancient  graves,  and  that  many  slabs  had  at  different 
times  come  to  light  presenting  inscriptions.  On  visiting  the  spot  I  found  it, 
unfortunately,  covered  with  growing  vines,  and  was  thus  prevented  from  making 
excavations ;  I  saw,  however,  a  place  from  which  large  blocks  had  been  recently 
taken,  to  be  used  in  the  restoration  of  the  neighbouring  church  of  St.  Athanasius. 
At  a  farm-house  at  the  village  of  Mirkovce,  a  little  lower  down,  were  two  large 
fragments  of  another  Legionary  tomb  (fig.  61),  and  a  portion  of  a  third  inscrip- 

the  "  European  Dardanians  "  as  living  above  Dyrrhachium.  The  town  and  region  of  Monastir  itself 
(at  or  near  the  site  of  the  ancient  Heraclea  Lyncestis)  was  known  in  Byzantine  times  as  Pelagonia, 
and  we  have  here,  I  venture  to  think,  a  clue  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  PELAGIA  of  a  series  of  Illyrian 
coins  that  in  all  respects  are  companion  pieces  to  those  reading  SAPNOATQN.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
superior  workmanship  and  Zacynthian  affinities  of  the  kindred  Damastian  coins  would  lead  us  to  seek 
for  the  site  of  Damastion  nearer  the  Epirote  littoral.  See  p.  38. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


91 


tion,  besides  a  part  of  a  monument  displaying  a  cross,  and  perhaps  of  Byzantine 
date.  In  the  neighbouring  village  of  Brazda  I  observed  another  Roman  sepulchral 
slab  (fig.  52),  also  belonging  to  a  Veteran  of  the  7th  Legion,  built  into  a  fountain. 
This,  however,  according  to  an  old  inhabitant  of  the  place,  had  been  removed 
from  a  spot  called  Dancov  Bres  on  the  plain  below,  and  not  far  distant  from 
Bardovce.  The  transfer  from  that  place  was  no  doubt  facilitated  by  a  curiously 
straight  piece  of  road  across  the  plain,  which  had  all  the  appearance  of  having 
been  of  Roman  origin.  At  Dancov  Bres  itself  I  could  only  find  fragments  of 
stone  in  a  clump  of  brushwood;  but  several  monuments  have  been,  at  different 
times,  unearthed  there. 

In  a  leafy  gorge  above  Kuceviste  is  the  Monastery  of  the  Archangels,  with  a 
fine  old  Serbian  church,  said  to  have  been  built  by  the  Emperor  Dusan.  Crossing 
the  watershed  to  the  West,  and  passing  a  source  with  the  time-honoured  name  of 
Banja,  to  which  attention  has  been  already  called,  the  traveller  reaches  the  rich 
valley  of  the  Banjanska  Rjeka,  and  the  Minster  Church  of  St.  Nikita,  another 
well-preserved  old  Serbian  monument,  rising  on  a  vine-clad  height  above  the 
village  of  Banjani.  Near  this,  again,  is  a  ruined  church  of  the  Theotokos,  or 
Bogorodica,  where  was  another  fine  Legionary  slab  (fig.  62) ;  and  in  the  threshold 
and  before  the  door  of  a  small  church a  hard  by,  two  smaller  Roman  sepulchral 
monuments  (figs.  78,  85).  Further  up  the  same  gorge,  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
Karadagh,  is  the  orthodox  Monastery  of  St.  Ilija.  The  church  here  is  very  small, 
but  is  built  into  a  cavern,  which  points,  perhaps,  to  a  local  cult  of  greater  than 
Christian  antiquity.  In  all  likelihood,  here,  as  in  the  case  of  St.  Ilija  above 
Plevlje,  the  mantle  of  the  Thunder-God  Perun  has  fallen  on  to  the  shoulders  of  the 
Slavonic  St.  Elias.  Nor,  considering  the  continuity  of  religious  tradition  in  these 
remote  regions,  to  which  I  shall  again  have  occasion  to  return,  is  it  by  any  means 
improbable  that  this  sacred  cave  of  the  Karadagh  may  have  been  devoted  to  a 
Thunderer  of  still  earlier  date.  In  the  court-yard  of  the  Monastery  below  I 
observed  a  Roman  altar ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  inscription,  if  it  ever  had  any,  was 
hopelessly  defaced. 

A  mountain-path  leads  from  the  gorge  of  Banjani  past  the  village  of  ducera, 
where,  in  the  bone-house  of  the  church,  I  saw  another  Roman  sepulchral  inscrip- 
tion (fig.  76),  and  thence  over  the  watershed  into  the  valley  of  the  Lepenica  at  the 
Southern  end  of  the  Kacanik  Pass.  At  this  point  a  peninsular  peak  overhangs  the 
left  bank  of  the  stream.  On  the  col  connecting  this  promontory  with  the  main  range 

a  Gomjanska  Crkva. 
N2 


92  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

of  the  Karadagh,  and  reaching  thence  to  the  summit  of  the  peak,  were  very  extensive 
remains.     The  ruins  were  of  the  most  thorough-going  kind.     Nothing  beyond  the 
foundation  of  walls,  and  heaps  of  stones  and  tiles,  is  at  present  to  be  seen,  but 
these  cover  a  considerable  area,  including  the  whole  hill-top,  as  well  as  the  con- 
necting neck  of  land.     They  show  that  a  peak  stronghold  and  surrounding  walled 
town  must  in  former  times  have  existed  here.     There  is  at  present  no  human 
habitation  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  but  the  inhabitants  of  Banjani  call 
the  place  "  Davina,"  and  have  a  tradition  that  it  belonged  to  a  lady  of  that  name, 
who  was  slain  by  the  Turks  when  they  conquered  the  country.     They  also  call  it 
Stari  Bazar,  or  the  "  Old  Market,"  and  the  remains  of  the  peak  castle  are  known, 
like  so  many  other  Old   Slavonic   "  grads "   hereabouts,   as  Markova  Kula,  the 
"  tower,"  that  is,  of  King's  Son  Marko.     Amongst  the  remains  I  discovered  a  few 
fragments  of  Roman  sarcophagi,  and  an  ornament  of  apparently  Serbo-Byzantine 
style,  from  which,  as  well  as  from  the  local  tradition,  we  may  conclude  that  the 
ruins  are  those  of  a  mediaeval  Serbian  town  and  stronghold,  which  formerly  guarded 
the  Southern  end  of  the  pass,  as  Kacanik  the  Northern.     The  chief  object  of  my 
search  was  a  Roman  stone,  of  the  existence  of  which  near  these  ruins  I  had  been 
assured  by  more  than  one  peasant.     After  more  than  one  fruitless  visit  to  the  spot, 
I  was  at  last  successful  in  finding  it  in  pieces  amongst  the  brushwood  on  the  southern 
steep  of  the  hill.    It  proved  to  be  a  monument  erected  by  the  local  Republic  to  the 
Emperor  Gallienus,  the  most  interesting  historic  relic  of  Roman  Scupi  (fig.  55). 

Eastwards  of  Kuceviste,  a  path  leads  over  another  mountain  spur  to  the  village 
of  Ljubanze,  inhabited  by  a  Bulgar  population.  On  the  way  here  I  found  a 
"  Crkviste "  or  ruined  site  of  a  church,  on  which  were  one  or  two  Roman 
fragments.  A  little  to  the  West  of  the  village  was  another  similar  ruin  to  a 
great  extent  composed  of  Roman  blocks  and  monuments.  Amongst  these,  firmly 
bedded  for  the  most  part  in  the  walls  and  foundations  were  shafts,  capitals, 
and  bases  of  columns,  an  altar,  part  of  which  however  had  been  defaced,  and 
five  slabs  containing  inscriptions,  four  of  them  sepulchral  (figs.  69,  70,  84,  87), 
but  one  containing  a  dedication  to  an  apparently  local  God  (fig.  58).  A  little 
lower  down  the  stream  on  which  Ljubanze  lies  is  the  village  of  Radusan,  where  a 
large  sepulchral  slab  had  been  recently  found  by  an  Albanian  whilst  working  in 
his  garden ;  it  was  divided  into  two  compartments,  but  on  one  alone  was  the 
inscription  legible  (fig.  77).  Above  this  village  again,  on  a  peninsular  height, 
commanding  far  and  wide  the  plain  of  Skopia,  is  the  noble  church  of  Ljubiten, 
roofless,  alas !  and  doomed  to  inevitable  decay,  but  still  preserving  when  I  saw  it 
some  of  the  most  remarkable  illustrations  of  the  most  remarkable  period  of  old 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm.  93 

Serbian  history.  No  traveller  has  described,  and,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  traveller 
has  hitherto  visited  this  highly  interesting  shrine,  which  has  long  since  fallen  into 
the  alien  and  infidel  hands  of  Albanian  Mahometans ;  and,  although  the  present 
communication  relates  rather  to  the  remains  of  an  earlier  period,  a  cursory  descrip- 
tion may  not  be  out  of  place.    The  ground  plan  of  the  body  of  the  church  is  square, 
terminating  externally  in  a  five-sided  apse.     The  cupola,  at  present  in  a  ruinous 
state,  was  supported  by  four  massive  columns.    Of  the  capitals  one  has  disappeared 
entirely,  two,  perhaps  of  later  date,  are  merely  painted  with  a  chevron  ornament, 
the  fourth  has  its  four  corners  carved  into  the  shape  of  a  scallop,  an  eagle,  a 
foliated  coil,  and  a  ram's  head,  and  it  may  be  remarked  that  all  these  ornaments 
recur  in  the  capitals  of  the  Comnenian  Minster  church  at  Matej6i,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Karadagh.     The  walls  are  of  stone  alternating  with  tiles,  and  over  the 
Western  doorway  is  a  Serbian  inscription  in  Cyrillian  characters  recording  the 
erection  of  the  church  to  the  honour  of  St.  Nicholas  in  the  year  1337,  and  under 
the  rule  of  King   Stephen  Dusan.     But  the  chief  glory  of  the  church  are  the 
frescoes  within,  which  were  evidently  completed  after  the  date  when  the  Serbian 
monarch  assumed  the  insignia  of  Empire.     On  the  North  wall  of  the  church  Czar 
Dusan  himself  is  to  be  seen  depicted  with  the  Imperial  crown  upon  his  head,  and 
the  Imperial  mantle  on  his  shoulders,  holding  a  three-limbed  cross.     At  his  side, 
crowned  like  himself,  stand  his  Empress  Helena  and  his  young  son  Uros,  while  on 
either  side  of  the  chief  entrance  rise  the  Emperor's  angelic  and  saintly  protectors  ; 
on  the  right  the  "  Archistrategi  "  Michael  and  Gabriel,  and  on  the  left  Saints 
Cosmas  and  Damian.     Both  the  Czar  and  his  Consort  appear  as  they  are  repre- 
sented on  their  contemporary  coinage.     No  record  of  this  crowning  achievement  of 
Dusan's  ambition  could  be  better  placed  than  in  this  church,  overlooking  afar  the 
domes  and  towers  of  his  residential  City  of  Skopia,  where  he  first  assumed  the 
crown  and  title  of  Emperor  of  the  Greeks  and  Serbs,  and  of  "  all  Romania."     A 
less  questionable  monument  of  Roman  rule  is  to  be  seen  at  the  East  end  of  the 
church,  where  lay  a  sepulchral  slab  with  a  finely  wrought  cornice,  but  the  inscrip- 
tion on  which  was  wholly  obliterated.   It  appeared  to  have  formed  part  of  the  altar. 
The  remains  hitherto  described  lie  amongst  the  Southern  and  Western  offshoots 
of  the  Dardanian  Karadagh,  which  bounds  the  plain  of  Skopia  to  the  Norlh-East. 
To  the  West  of  the  site  of  Scupi,  and  on  the  further  side  of  the  the  Vardar,  rises 
the  elongated  limestone-mass  of  Karsjak,  which  is  detached  from  the  outlying 
ranges  of  the  Shar  to  the  North  by  the  stupendous  cleft  of  the  Treska.     Mount 
Karsjak  itself  forms  the  watershed  between  the  Skopia  expanse  and  the  basin  of 
the  Markova  Rjeka,  the  Eoman  remains  of  which  I  shall  treat   separately  as 


94  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

possibly  to  be  referred  to  another  Municipium.  The  monuments  however  of  Roman 
date  existing  on  the  Eastern  slopes  of  Karsjak  come  fairly  within  the  antiquarian 
domains  of  Scupi  itself,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  rugged  promontory  of 
the  Shar  that  separates  the  confluent  waters  of  the  Treska  and  Yardar. 

At  a  village  at  the  south-eastern  foot  of  Karsjak,  which,  like  the  old  bath  already 
described,  is  called  Kiselavoda  from  a  slightly  bitter  spring  there,  had  apparently 
been  a  Roman  cemetery ;  I  saw  one  large  uninscribed  sarcophagus  in  situ,  and, 
according  to  the  Bulgar  inhabitants,  many  others  had  been  dug  up  at  the  game 
spot.  Hearing  of  an  inscription  graven  on  a  rock  on  the  very  summit  of  the 
mountain,  I  started  from  Skopia  with  local  guides,  to  investigate  it.  On  a  head- 
land, about  an  hour  above  Skopia,  I  observed  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle,  termi- 
nating in  a  polygonal  tower,  and  with  chambers  excavated  in  the  ground,  from 
which  it  derives  its  name,  Markova  Magazija — "  Marko's  storehouse."  It  certainly 
dates  from  old  Serbian  time.  About  an  hour  from  the  summit  I  came  upon  an 
ancient  road,  which  follows  with  much  evenness  the  eastern  contour  of  the  moun- 
tain ;  according  to  the  local  account  it  leads  in  one  direction  to  Prilip  and  Ochrida, 
and  in  the  other  over  the  Shar  to  Prisren.  That  it  was  useful  in  the  days  of  the 
old  Serbian  dominion  as  a  means  of  communication  with  the  numerous  monasteries 
scattered  about  this  Alpine  region  there  can  be  no  doubt;  it  is  always  possible 
however  that,  in  part  at  least,  it  represents  a  Roman  line  of  communication 
between  Scupi  and  Heraclea  or  Lychnidus.  It  seems  to  me  not  improbable  that 
this  road  answers  to  that  described  by  the  Arabian  geographer,  Bdrisi,"  as  leading 
from  Skopia,b  through  a  place  called  Bolghoura,  or  Bolghar,  to  Ochrida,  and  thence 
through  "Teberle"  (?  Debra)  to  Durazzo.0  Near  the  gorge  of  the  Treska  I 
observed  on  another  occasion  a  branch  or  continuation  of  this  running  "Westward 
along  the  Northernmost  terrace  of  Karsjak,  which,  from  its  linear  directness, 
appeared  to  me  to  be  of  Roman  origin.  An  hour  above  this  ancient  road  we 
reached  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  only  to  find  that  the  inscription  had  been 
recently  destroyed  by  some  fanatic.  The  panorama,  however,  was  magnificent ; 
to  Bast  and  North  Skopia,  its  plain  and  intersecting  rivers ;  to  South  and  West 

*  Geographic  (TEdrisi,  traduite  d'Arabe  en  Fran$ais  par  P.  Amedee  Jaubert,  t.  ii.  p.  289,  290. 

b  Edrisi  describes  Skopia  itself  as  "  a  considerable  town  surrounded  by  many  vineyards  and 
cultivated  fields."  From  Skopia  onwards  he  mentions  a  route  to  Kratova  (Kortos),  where  two  lines 
of  communication  branched,  one  to  Nish,  the  other  to  Seres,  Drama,  and  Christopolis. 

c  There  is  an  apparent  discrepancy  in  Edrisi's  account.  On  p.  289  "  Bolghoura  "  is  mentioned 
as  "  a  pretty  town  on  the  top  of  a  high  mountain,"  four  days  from  Scopia :  on  p.  290  "  Boulghar  "  is 
mentioned  as  one  day  distant  from  Skopia. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm.  95 

the  broad  undulating  glen  drained  by  the  Markova  Rjeka  and  its  tributaries ; 
while  the  snowy  line  of  the  Shardagh  fringed  the  North-Western  horizon. 

From  the  rocky  knoll  that  forms  the  highest  summit  of  Karsjak  we  descended 
to  the  North-East  through  woods  of  Spanish  chestnut  (locally  known  as  Kustanje— 
a  near  approach  to  Castanea)  to  some  remarkable  ruins.  The  first  we  visited  was 
known  as  Timpanica,  and  proved  to  be  the  remains  of  a  very  substantial  stone 
building ;  the  walls  were  strongly  cemented  of  roughly-shaped  stones,  and  may 
have  belonged  to  a  Roman  Castellum,  but  their  ground-plan  could  no  longer  be 
restored  with  any  certainty.  About  a  quarter  of  an  hour  below  this  was  a  much 
more  extensive  ruin.  On  one  side  a  wall,  about  six  feet  broad,  of  uncemented 
blocks  of  the  local  micaceous  rock  descended  along  the  side  of  a  ravine ;  and, 
about  one  hundred  yards  below,  took  a  turn  at  right-angles  and  ran  along  the 
face  of  the  slope  till  it  ended  in  what  had  been,  apparently,  a  tower.  Beyond  this 
point  the  traces  were  obscure.  The  massiveness  of  the  wall  points  to  early  times 
for  its  construction ;  but  the  rudeness  of  the  blocks  and  the  absence  of  mortar 
forbids  us  to  regard  it  as  Eoman;  It  is  not  impossible  that  here,  on  the  North- 
Western  declivity  of  Mount  Karsjak  we  have  the  remains  of  an  early  Dardanian 
stronghold  that  existed  before  the  Roman  Conquest.  The  natives  call  it  Sofce,  or 
Sofia ;  there  was,  however,  no  trace  of  a  church,  nor  of  any  work  which  could  be 
referred  to  mediaeval  times. 

To  the  North  of  this,  perched  on  a  peninsular  spur  of  the  same  mountain,  and 
shaded  by  magnificent  walnut-woods,  is  the  village  of  Neresi,  or  Naresi,  tenanted 
by  an  Albanian  population.  An  ice-cool  fountain  here  bursts  from  the  rock,  and 
it  is  difficult  not  to  connect  the  name  of  the  village  with  the  primitive  word  for 
water  lurking  in  Nereus,  and  revived  in  the  modern  Greek  vepo,  and  to  recall  the 
Illyrian  clan  of  the  Naresii,  who,  in  Pliny's  time,  inhabited  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Narenta,  still  known  as  the  Neretva.a  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  ravine  rises  a 

a  It  is  remarkable  that  in  409  A.D.  we  find  Pope  Innocent  addressing  a  letter  "  Martiano 
Episcopo  Naresitano  "  in  which  he  refers  to  the  "  Glerici  Naresienses  "  as  having  been  nominated  by 
the  heretic  bishop  Bonosus  (of  Serdica).  Farlato,  Illyricum  Sacrum,  remarks  on  this,  "  Naresitanam 
ecclesiam  nuspiam  invenies  in  ecclesiastica  geographia,"  and  would  read  "  Naissitanam  " :  but  the- 
parallel  form  "  Naresienses "  and  the  high  improbability  of  such  a  corruption  of  a  well-known 
name  like  that  of  Naissus  militate  against  the  suggestion.  Here  at  least  we  have  an  "  Ecclesia 
Naresitana  or  Naresiensis  of  Byzantine  date  and  within  a  territorial  sphere  over  which  a  heretic 
bishop  of  the  Metropolis  of  Dacia  Mediterranea  may  have  usurped  authority.  Dardania,  it  must  be 
remembered,  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  "  Five  Dacias  ";  and,  though  the  Metropolitan  of  Scupi  seems 
to  have  claimed  precedence  over  the  Metropolitan  of  Serdica  (see  p.  138),  Bonosus  may  have  succeeded 
for  a  while  in  turning  the  tables. 


96 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


Byzantine  church,  which  proved  to  be  of  considerable  interest.  It  forms  part  of 
a  small  Bulgar  monastery,  but  I  noticed  that  it  differed  from  the  prevailing  Old 
Serbian  type  of  this  district  in  having  four  turrets  at  its  angles,  over  and  above 
the  central  cupola.  Inside  were  some  curious  early  Byzantine  fragments,  notably 
a  flat  marble  plaque,  on  which  birds  and  animals  were  carved  in  coilwork  medal- 
lions, of  a  style  which  carried  one  back  to  the  noble  tenth-century  foundation  of 
the  Emperor  Romanes,  at  Styri,  in  Greece.  The  proavlion  had  been  destroyed 
and  rebuilt  at  a  later  period,  but  over  the  door  leading  from  this  into  the  body  of 
the  church  was  a  long  slab  with  the  following  Byzantine  inscription,  recording 
the  erection  and  embellishment  of  the  Church  "  of  the  great  and  glorious  Martyr 
Panteleemon,"  by  an  "  Alexios  Comnenos,  son  of  the  imperial-born  Theodora,  in 
the  year  1165,  in  the  3rd  In  diction,  Joannikios  being  Hegumen"  : 


f  KOMMov  M»  Tic  nop^vporeUHil'  KVP$G  OACJ'PAC-  w  cenrfiittPiVfe 

Fig.  42. 

t  eKAAieprnen  o  NAOC  TOY  AFIOY  KAI  eNAOSOY 

MerAAOMAPTYPOC  TIANTeAHMONOC  €K  CYNAPOMHC 

KYPOY  (sic)  AA6SIOY  |  T(OY)  KOMNHNOY  YIOY  THC  nOP*YPOPeNNHT(IKHC) 
KYPAC  (sic)  ©GOAUJPAC  MHN(I)  CGIITeMBPIUJ  IN(AIKTIU)NOC)  T 
GTOYC  ^XOr  HPOYMeNeYONTOC  ItUANNIKIOY. 


Theodora  Comnena  Porphyrogenita  was  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  Emperor 
Alexios  Comnenos  (flllS),  and  married  Constantine  Angelos,  a  noble  of  Phila- 
delphia, by  whom  she  became  the  mother  of  the  imperial  race  of  Angelos."  Her 
son  Alexios,  the  founder,  or  possibly  restorer,  of  this  church,  is  not  mentioned  by 
Ducange  in  his  Familice  Byzantince,  but  one  of  her  sons,  who  appears  in  history  as 
Constantine,  distinguished  himself  in  Manuel's  campaigns  against  the  Serbians, 
and  after  the  re-capture  of  Ras,b  about  the  year  1150,  was  left  in  command  of  the 
Byzantine  troops  in  Dalmatia.0  The  present  inscription  affords  new  evidence  of 
the  important  position  held  at  this  time  by  the  house  of  Angelos  and  Theodora  in 
this  part  of  the  peninsula. 

*  Ducange  Familice  Augustce  Byzantines,  p.  178,  and  202.     (Paris,  1680). 
b  Near  Novipazar.     (See  p.  54.) 
0  Kinnamos  Hist.  Lib.  III. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  97 

The  wall  paintings  round  the  church  differed  slightly  in  style  from  the  usual 
old  Serbian  frescoes  of  this  part,  and  the  scrolls  in  the  Saints'  hands  were,  so 
far  as  I  observed,  in  Greek  instead  of  Cyrillian  characters.  On  the  massive  square 
pier  to  the  right  of  the  ikonostasis  (one  of  the  four  supporting  the  cupola)  was 
a  well-executed  fresco  of  St.  Panteleemon.  The  painting  was  canopied  by  a 
remarkable  baldacchino,  suggestive  of  Italian  parallels,  and  forming  a  trefoil  arch 
over  which  peacocks  linked  in  Byzantine  knotwork  were  carved  within  a  palmetto 
border.  In  the  porch  was  a  large  Roman  gravestone  (fig.  63),  interesting  as 
giving  a  Thracian  name  and  its  Latin  alternative. 

From  Naresi  I  descended  to  the  level  of  the  Vardar  and  made  my  way  along  a 
road  which  follows  first  its  right  bank  and  then  the  right  bank  of  the  T  re  ska  to 
the  village  of  Sisova,  which  lies  at  the  Eastern  opening  of  the  Treska  ravine. 
"Walled  into  the  little  church  here  were  several  Roman  fragments,  including  two 
Ionic  capitals.  My  exploration  of  the  iron-gates  of  the  Treska -above  may  be 
passed  over  here"  as  the  interest  attaching  to  the  churches  of  St.  Nikola  and 
St.  Andrea  that  lie  in  that  almost  inaccessible  region  belongs  to  the  days  of  the 
Old  Serbian  kings ;  nor  did  I  anywhere  notice  Roman  monuments.  The  trace  of  an 
ancient  road  running  along  the  terrace  of  Mount  Karsjak,  that  breasts  this  Treska 
ravine  has  been  already  noticed ;  it  is  probable  that  the  mediaeval  road  which, 
according  to  tradition,  eventually  brought  this  mountain  district  into  connexion 
with  the  Czarigrad,  Prisren,  crossed  the  Treska  near  the  village  of  Sisova,  as  there 
are  still  traces  of  an  ancient  bridge.  Here,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  stream,  which 
at  present  has  to  be  forded,  rises  the  Monastery  of  Matkovo,  with  a  fine  Serbo- 
Byzantine  church.  Walled  into  the  church  was  a  Roman  sepulchral  slab  (fig.  71), 
a  Byzantine  relief  of  birds  in  interlaced  medallions,  a  column,  and  many  other 
ancient  fragments ;  and  from  a  spot  a  little  below  the  monastery  I  was  brought  a 
portion  of  another  Roman  monument  reading — 

FLA  .  V  .  .  . 

Ar 

The  old  road-line  that  skirts  the  heights  above,  to  the  left  of  the  river,  would 
have  afforded  a  means  of  access  from  the  basin  in  which  Scupi  anciently  stood  to 

•  It  is  well,  however,  to  mention  that  the  npper  course  of  the  Treska  as  depicted  on  the  Austrian 
Stabs-karte  is  entirely  erroneous.  No  tributary  runs  into  it  near  St.  Nikola,  and  the  river  itself 
takes  a  long  straight  turn  to  the  West  above  that  monastery,  instead  of  running,  as  represented, 
from  the  North.  On  my  sketch-map  I  have  corrected  the  geography  of  this  district  so  far  as  my 
explorations  enabled  me. 

VOL.  XLIX.  0 


98 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


the  undulating  glens  of  the  Markova  Rjeka,  separated  from  the  Skopia  plain 
by  the  intervening  mass  of  Mount  Karsjak,  the  antiquities  of  which,  as  possibly 
belonging  to  the  Ager  of  another  Eoman  Municipium,  it  may  be  well  to  present  in 
a  collective  form.  This  region  is  of  the  greatest  fertility,  and  is  covered  with 
cherry  orchards,  the  fruit  of  which  is  the  finest  in  the  country ;  but  a  still  more 
important  feature,  as  explaining  the  presence  of  Roman  settlements,  is  an  old  gold 
mine  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Markova  Rjeka,  a  little  below  the  village  of  Susica, 
which,  according  to  my  local  informant,  was  still  worked  by  the  Turks  only  a 
dozen  years  back.  A  little  above  Susica  is  the  interesting  Monastery,  Markov 
Manastir,  where  the  tomb  of  the  legendary  hero  of  Serbian  Epic  is  still  to  be  seen, 


M'AVREIM 


ME  STRIVE! 


LKVIICLV 


PAMTFIU 


OPOSVIT 


ALXAADERVI 
XITANNI5 

vim  CAR- 
IES AEXA/V 
DRIFILIO 
PIE/lTKSSJ 

MoPoyviT 


Fig.  43. 


Fig.  ii. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


99 


together  with  other  old  Slavonic  frescoes  and  inscriptions  of  great  importance  for 
the  mediasval  history  of  these  countries.  Here  I  observed,  walled  into  the  church, 
a  monument  to  a  Veteran  of  the  Seventh,  Claudian,  Legion*  (fig.  43).  On  the 
Western  slope  of  Mount  Karsjak,  in  the  village  of  Dolnji  Sulna,  the  fountain  was 
adorned  with  a  sepulchral  slab  containing  the  Illyrian  name-form  "  Gratties,"  the 
son  of  Alexander  (fig.  44). 

ALEXANDER  VIXIT  ANNIS  VIIII  GATTIES  ALEXANDEI  FILIO  PIENTISSIMO  POSVIT. 

In  the  upper  church  of  the  same  village  were  two  akroteria  of  Roman  tombs,  a 
portion  of  a  cornice  or  pedestal,  and  other  fragments.  Near  this,  at  G-ovarljevo, 
were  several  more  ancient  fragments,  including  an  altar  with  a  defaced  inscription, 


D-M 

C-IVLIV5 
GLAYCI 


Fig.  45. 


//s//.    ////  ^V 

GP'F-DICl 


VIXlTAN^f 
CAPITO 


Fig.  46. 


•  Incompletely  given  by  Engelhardt,  loc.  cit. 

o2 


100 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


and  at  Barova  opposite,  were  three  Roman  inscriptions.  Two  of  these  of  sepul- 
chral character  (figs.  45  and  46)  were  walled  into  the  precincts  of  the  church. 
One  of  them  (fig.  46),  apparently  referred  to  a  VETeranus  L/EGionis  VII.  Claudiae 
Pise  Felicis,  who  was  also  DECurio  of  a  Colony,"  in  all  probability  of  Scupi.  The 
third  inscription  in  a  neighbouring  cottage  wall,  though  in  an  imperfect  condition, 
is  of  considerable  interest.  It  is  part  of  an  altar  to  Fortuna,  apparently  erected 
by  a  local  Res  Piiblica,  but  whether  the  name  on  the  penultimate  line  refers  to  the 
city,  or  is  an  indigenous  epitaph  of  Fortuna,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine — 


fORTVM 


SACRMJtl 
BETW/i^ 


RES 


Fig.  47. 


FORTVN^E 
SACBVAf 
BETVAN  .  .  .  ? 

RES  publica  faciendum  curavit. 

In  this  valley  and  on  the  heights  of  Mount  Karsjak  above,  as  in  other  places  in 
the  Skopia  district  were  patches  of  the  wild  pear-tree — the  Albanian  Darda — with 
which  Von  Hahn  connects  the  ancient  name  of  Dardania.b 

a  It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  the  stone  appears  to  read  DFC  .  c  and  not  DEC  .  C. 

b  In  the  accusative  form  Darde-ne.  Von  Hahn  Albanesische  Studien,  p.  236,  compares  the  ancient 
derivation  of  the  kindred  Mysian  race  from  a  tree  called  in  their  language  Mvmfc  =  the  Old  Greek 
'o$wij,  and  instances  Hesiod's  account  of  Zeus  creating  the  third  or  brazen  race  of  men  from  ash 
trees 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm.  101 

Having  briefly  surveyed  the  Roman  remains  of  the  Markova  Rjeka  and  the 
ranges  that  skirt  the  Vardar  basin  on  either  side  of  the  site  of  Scupi,  I  may  turn 
to  those  existing  "in  the  modern  town  of  Skopia  and  its  immediate  neighbourhood. 
It  will  be  convenient  to  confine  our  present  attention  to  the  earlier  relics  to  be  seen 
in  Skopia,  and  to  defer  the  description  of  those  of  Byzantine  dates  till  we  come  to 
treat  of  the  later  foundation  of  Justinian.  It  is  noteworthy  that  none  of  the 
Roman  monuments  in  the  town  itself  have  any  claim  to  be  considered  in  situ. 
The  fine  stone  bridge  which  here  spans  the  Vardar  has,  as  already  observed,  no 
title  to  be  considered  Roman,  and  belongs  to  the  category  described  in  the 
preceding  paper,  of  great  bridges  built  by  Italian  and  Dalmatian  architects  for 
Turkish  governors  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  of  which  the  old 
bridges  over  the  Drina  at  Glorazda  and  Visegrad  are  conspicuous  examples. 
Neither  in  the  bridge  itself,  nor  in  the  walls  of  the  Akropolis  that  rises  above  it  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Vardar,  is  there  any  trace  of  Roman  construction.  In  the 
outer  wall  of  the  Akropolis  there  are  however  one  or  two  fragments  of  inscriptions 
(figs.  81  and  82)  that  have  been  walled  in  at  a  later  period.  According  to  Hahn 
another  existed  near  the  entrance  gate,  but  at  present  all  traces  of  it  have  dis- 
appeared. In  the  lower  town  the  Roman  remains  are  mostly  scattered  about  the 
Easternmost  quarter,  and  in  the  old  Hamam  "  of  the  Two  Sisters  "  I  saw  several 
slabs  ^presenting  more  or  less  fragmentary  inscriptions  (figs.  73,  74,  79).  In  the 
pavement  of  a  neighbouring  street  was  a  large  part  of  another  containing  the  con- 
cluding lines  of  an  elegiac  epitaph  to  a  local  Nestor  (fig.  68).  In  the  wall  of  a 
ruined  Mosque  was  also  a  sepulchral  tablet  (fig.  80),  and  the  troughs  of  the  drink- 
ing fountains  in  this  part  of  Skopia  are  to  a  great  extent  made  of  Roman  sar- 
cophagi. A  little  below  the  Musta  Pasha  Dzamia  I  observed  an  altar  to  Silvanus, 
while  another  altar  with  a  Greek  inscription  and  apparently  dedicated  to  Zeus  had 
recently  been  found  by  a  Turkish  Sheik  in  his  garden  in  the  Balaban  Mahala, 
where  he  courteously  invited  me  to  inspect  it  (fig.  57). 

A  point  to  be  noted  about  the  distribution  of  the  Roman  remains  in  Skopia 
itself  is,  that  they  approximately  indicate  the  course  of  what  was  undoubtedly,  in 
Roman  times,  the  main  line  of  communication  between  Scupi  and  the  Macedonian 
towns  to  the  South.  The  present  direct  route  to  Velese  and  the  Lower  Vardar 
runs  nearer  that  river,  but  the  older  way  takes  an  Eastward  turn,  along  a  low 
line  of  hills,  in  order  to  avoid  the  swamps  of  this  part  of  the  Vardar  level.  This 
older  way,  as  the  remains  along  it  show,  represents  the  course  of  the  Roman  road. 
At  Skopia  itself  are  two  fragments  of  Roman  milestones.  No.  1  is  embedded  in 
a  narrow  lane  near  the  clock-tower ;  No.  2,  which  is  in  a  still  more  mutilated 


102  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

condition,  supports  a  wooden  column  of  the   verandah   in   front   of   a  Turkish 
house,  near  the  Orthodox  school. 

1 

IM  .  CAESAR/ .  .  . 

DIVI  TRAIANI  PARlH    .  Y  . 

DIVI  NEEVAE  NEP07Y 

TRAIANO  KADRIA'SO 

ATO  .P.M.  TRI.B  .  POTEST  . 

...OP 

2 

.  .  .  pontifici  JI/AXIMO  .... 
Tribunicia  POTESTATB  .  . 

COS  III  .... 

The  first  of  these  milestones  belongs  to  Hadrian's  time." 

The  remains  in  the  Southern  part  of  the  plain  of  Skopia,  to  the  left  of  the  Vardar, 
may  be  all  conveniently  considered  in  their  relation  to  the  Roman  Way  the  course  of 
which  is  marked  by  their  occurrence.  About  a  mile  out  of  Skopia,  to  the  South-East, 
the  old  road,  which  I  venture  to  identify  with  the  Roman  Way,  passes  near  a  melon 
garden,  in  which  I  saw  a  Roman  sepulchral  inscription  (fig.  83).  To  the  Bast 
again  of  this  lies  the  village  of  Hassanbeg,  where,  in  making  the  new  road  to 
Kumanovo,  the  workmen  had  recently  come  upon  a  large  "written  stone."  The 
stone  proved  to  be  a  heavy  block,  submerged  in  a  deep  trench  by  mud  and  water 
from  recent  heavy  rains.  It  was  only,  after  an  hour's  struggle,  and  with  the 
aid  of  eight  peasants,  that  the  stone  was  raised  to  such  a  position  that,  standing 
up  to  my  waist  in  liquid  mud  and  water,  I  was  able  to  copy  it.  It  proved  to  be 
of  great  interest,  as  referring  to  an  Augustal  "  of  the  Colony  of  Scupi  "  (fig.  50). 

To  the  South-Bast  of  this  is  the  village  of  Belombeg,  with  a  Mahometan  and 
mediaeval  cemetery,  where,  according  to  the  local  tradition  of  the  Bulgar  peasants, 
had  once  been  a  Monastery  dedicated  to  St.  Peter.  By  the  cistern  here  was  the 
lid  of  a  huge  Roman  sarcophagus,  overturned  and  used  as  a  trough  for  cattle,  on 
the  underside  of  which  was  a  sepulchral  inscription  in  well-cut  letters  (fig.  86).b 

a  It  was  undoubtedly  from  this  stone  that  Edward  Brown  derived  his  inscription  SHIANC.  See 
p.  83.  No.  1  has  been  given  by  Dr.  Kenner  in  a  but  slightly  variant  form  on  Herr  Lippich's 
authority.  See  Sitzungsber.  d.  Wiener  Akad.  v.  80,  p.  274 ;  Eph.  Ep.  vol.  iv.  p.  82. 

b  This  block  was  so  heavy  that  it  took  six  men  to  lever  it  sufficiently  for  me  to  read  the 
inscription.  The  Hassanbeg  stone  has  since  been  removed  to  the  Konak  at  Skopia. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  103 

Beyond  Belombeg  the  road,  which  is  here  a  broad  grassy  track,  forks  into  two 
branches, — each  in  all  probability  representing  a  Koman  road-line, — that  to  the  left 
leading  to  Istib,  the  ancient  Astabus,  that  to  the  right  being  the  main  line  of 
communication  with  Stobi  and  Thessalonica.  Following  the  latter — still  a  grassy 
track — for  about  twenty  minutes  in  the  direction  of  the  village  of  Ibrahimovce,  I 
came  upon  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of  its  Roman  origin.  On  a  grassy  slope 
above  the  road  lay  the  massive  base  of  a  Roman  milestone,  but  the  upper  part 
of  the  column,  containing  the  inscription,  had  unfortunately  been  broken  off.  Near 
this  lay  a  large  Roman  slab  with  a  cornice,  and  several  other  ancient  blocks. 
There  is  at  present  no  human  habitation  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  these 
remains,  but  I  found  that  the  spot  was  known  to  the  peasants  as  "  Rusalinsko," 
a  name  which  seems  to  me  to  be  of  the  highest  interest.  The  Roman  Eosalia, 
the  spring-feast  of  the  departed,  as  opposed  to  the  Brumalia,  or  winter-feast, 
answering,  as  it  did,  to  a  widespread  vernal  celebration,  not  by  any  means  confined 
to  Aryan  peoples,  took  a  firm  hold  on  the  provincials,  notably  in  the  old  Thracian 
part  of  the  Empire,  where  in  the  gardens  of  Midas  bloomed,  it  was  said,  the  hun- 
dred-petalled  rose.  The  practice  of  strewing  the  graves  with  flowers,  though  at 
first  stoutly  opposed  by  the  Christian  Church,  had  finally  to  be  accepted  by  them, 
and  in  the  Eastern  Empire  at  least  the  pagan  spring-feast  of  the  Manes  appears  to 
have  long  retained  its  ancient  name.  "Whether  Slavonic  tribes  early  acquired  the 
name  from  actual  contact  with  the  Empire  in  Dacia,  or  whether  they  absorbed  it, 
in  the  process  of  assimilating  East  Roman  populations  after  their  occupation  of 
the  Peninsula,  it  is  certain  that  the  Roman  name  for  the  feast — and  that,  origi- 
nally, at  least,  in  no  derived  Christian  sense — has  spread,  not  only  to  the  Illyrian 
Slavs,  but  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire  to  the  Russians,  and  even 
the  Lithuanians."  The  Russian  Nestor  (sub  anno  1087)  mentions  the  Rusalije 
amongst  unholy  merrymakings  ;  and  "  Rusalka,"  a  derivative  of  this,  has  come  to 
mean  a  Russian  fairy.  In  the  twelfth  century,  the  Byzantine,  Theodore  Balsamon, 
in  his  Commentary  on  the  62nd  Canon  of  the  sixth  Council  of  Trullo,  which  took 

a  Some  interesting  remarks  on  the  Slavonic  Rusalje,  Rusalije,  &c.,  and  their  connexion  with  the 
Roman  Rusalia  will  be  found  in  Miklosich,  Die  Rusalien  (Sitzungsberichte  der  k.  Akad.  d.  Wissensch 
vol.  xlvi.  p.  386  seqq.),  and  W.  Tomaschek,  Vber  Brumalia  und  Rosalia  (Sitzungsberichte,  8fc.  vol.  v. 
p.  351  seqq.*).  For  the  Roman  Rosalia,  see  especially  F.  M.  Avellino,  Oposcoli  (t.  iii.  p.  247  seqq.). 
Amongst  the  Lithuanians  there  is  a  June  feast  called  Rasos  Svente,  which  Miklosich  shows  to  be  the 
same  celebration  and  derived  from  Rosas.  Several  inscriptions  recording  the  celebration  of  the 
Rosalia  on  old  Thracian  soil  have  been  discovered  by  Heuzey  (Le  Pantheon  des  rochers  de  Philippes,  in 
Mission  de  Macedoine,  p.  152  seqq.).  The  Roman  Rosalia,  at  least  in  later  times,  seem  to  have  been 
specially  associated  with  the  cult  of  Flora  (Cf.  Ovid,  Fasti,  lib.  v.) 


104  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

place  in  the  seventh  century,  explains  the  ungodly  assemblies  there  condemned 
as  the  "  Rusalia,"  still  celebrated,  he  tells  us,  in  out-of-the-way  districts. 
Amongst  the  Bulgars,  who  to  a  not  inconsiderable  extent  represent  a  Slavonized 
Rouman  population,  this  name  for  the  old  Parentalia,  the  spring-feast  of  departed 
spirits,  has  transferred  itself  to  the  Christian  feast  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  without, 
however,  losing  some  of  its  heathen  associations.  The  Bulgarian  writer  Zachariev 
mentions  a  spot  near  some  ancient  ruins,  in  the  Tatar  Bazardzik  district,  whither 
at  the  time  of  the  "  Rusalje  "  the  sick  are  brought  to  be  cured  by  laying  them  on 
a  bed  of  rose-like  flowers,  sacred  to  the  Elves,  or  "  Samodivas" ft  It  is  probable 
enough  that  this  or  similar  practices  have  attached  the  name  to  the  ruin-field 
of  "  Rusalinsko."  As  to  the  actual  practice  of  crowning  tombs  with  roses  and 
other  flowers  at  the  season  of  the  Rusalje,  it  prevails  throughout  all  this  region, 
and  in  village  after  village  I  found  the  gravestones  decorated  with  bunches  of 
sweet-smelling  herbs  and  flowers,  amongst  which  roses  were  conspicuous. 

Beyond  "  Rusalinsko,"  approaching  the  village  of  Ibrahimovce,  the  terrace  of 
the  Roman  road  was  clearly  traceable,  running  along  a  low  slope  which  overlooks 
an  old  bed  of  the  Vardar,  filled  in  places  with  dead  water.  This  ancient  bed  of 
the  river,  and  the  swamps  in  which  its  course  is  ultimately  lost,  amply  account 
for  the  easterly  curve  taken  by  the  old  Thessalonican  highway  at  this  point.  The 
modern  road  runs  straight  from  Ibrahimovce  to  TJskiip,  but  in  rainy  seasons  it  is 
often  impassable,  and  travellers  have  to  make  their  way  by  the  older  track. 
Ibrahimovce  itself  is  a  small  Bulgarian  village,  but  it  contains  a  monument  of 
antiquity,  interesting  in  itself,  and  of  greater  interest  in  its  connexion  with  a 
local  cult  which  has  at  least  all  the  superficial  appearance  of  being  a  direct 
inheritance  from  Roman  times.  Lying  on  its  back  on  the  village  green  was  a 
large  block,  which  proved  on  examination  to  be  a  Roman  altar,  erected  to  Jupiter 
Optimus  Maximus,  by  an  ^Edile  of  a  Colonia,  of  which  we  learn  no  more  than 
that  its  name  began  with  co  .  .  . ,  who  was  also  Duumvir  of  the  Colony  of  Scupi. 

To  my  astonishment,  I  learnt  that  this  monument  of  Roman  municipal  piety 
towards  the  "  cloud-compeller  "  is  still  the  object  of  an  extraordinary  local  cult. 
I  was  informed  by  one  of  the  inhabitants  that  in  time  of  drought  the  whole  of  the 
villagers,  both  Christian  and  Mahometan,  with  a  local  Bey  at  their  head,  go 
together  to  the  stone,  and,  having  restored  it  to  its  upright  position,  pour 
libations  of  wine  over  the  top,  praying  the  while  for  rain.  The  language  of  the 
villagers  is  at  present  a  Slavonic  dialect,  and  the  name  of  Jove  was  as  unknown 

a  See  Jirecek,  Geschichte  der  Bulgaren,  p.  56. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


105 


to  them  as  the  inscription  on  the  stone  was  unintelligible.     Nevertheless,  it  was 
difficult  not  to  believe  that  in  this  remote  Illyrian  nook  some  local  tradition  of  the 


CASSIVS 


\\\V^\\\ 

\4>  COLON 

WSCVP- 


Fig.  48. 

cult  of  Jupiter  Pluvius  had  survived  all  historic  changes.     The  ceremonial  pro- 
cedure essentially  differs  from  the  time-honoured  Slavonic  method  of  procuring 
rain.     In  Serbia,  where  the  practice  chiefly  flourishes,  a  girl  known  as  a  Dodola, 
VOL.  XLIX.  P 


106  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

after  being  first  stripped  almost  to  a  state  of  nature,  and  then  dressed  up  with 
garlands  and  green  branches,  is  led  from  house  to  house,  singing  what  is  called 
a  Dodola  song,  in  return  for  which  she  is  well  soused  with  water  by  the  inmates.* 
Among  the  Bulgars  the  Dodola  reappears  as  the  "Preperuga;"  and  the  preva- 
lence of  this  practice  among  the  old  Slovene  settlers  in  the  Balkan  lands  is  shown 
by  its  transmission  from  them  to  the  Romaic  Greeks b  and  the  Wallachians.  But 
libations,  and  libations  of  wine,  poured  on  an  altar,  and  that  an  altar  of  Jupiter, 
introduce  us  to  an  altogether  different  cult.  The  solemn  assembly  of  the  villagers 
led  by  the  local  Bey,  or  Mahometan  landowner,  irresistibly  reminds  us  of  the 
Roman  rain-procession,  as  described  by  Petronius,  when  the  women,  "  clad  in 
stoles,  made  their  way  barefoot — chaste  of  mind  and  with  dishevelled  hair — to 
the  sacred  hill,  and  won  rain  from  Jupiter  by  their  prayers,  so  that  then  or  never 
it  rained  bucketsfull,  and  all  laughed  to  find  themselves  as  wet  as  rats."  Petro- 
nius speaks  of  the  disuse  of  this  practice  at  Rome  itself  as  a  sympton  of  the 
irreligious  spirit  of  the  Age,  but  it  was  precisely  one  of  those  homely  rites  that 
would  most  naturally  survive  in  country  places.  The  Emperor  Antoninus,  in  his 
Meditations,  cites  the  Athenian  prayer,  "  Rain,  rain,  0  dear  Zeus,  on  the  ploughed , 
fields  and  plains  of  the  Athenians,"  as  the  very  model  of  simple  and  noble  prayer. 
To  the  paganus  it  was  certainly  the  most  necessary,  and  in  a  country  where  both 
the  new  year's  feast  of  the  Kalendae  and  the  summer  feast  of  the  Rosalia  are  still 
known  by  derivatives  of  their  Roman  names,  the  possibility  of  a  survival  of  the 
Roman  rain-procession  and  of  the  calling  down  of  rain  by  votive  offerings  and 
prayer  cannot  be  absolutely  excluded. 

The  fact  that  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  district  are  Slavonic-speaking 
cannot  weigh  against  this  possibility.  In  the  old  Dalmatian  regions  I  have 
already,  more  than  once,  had  occasion  to  insist  on  the  survival  of  the  Romanized 
indigenous  population  in  a  Slavonic  guise.  In  Dardania  the  evidence  of  this  is 
at  least  as  strong,0  and  in  the  neighbouring  Thracian  districts  the  old  tribal 
names  have  in  some  cases  been  preserved  by  populations  who  would,  so  far  as 
speech  is  concerned,  at  present  be  classed  as  Bulgarians  or  Serbs.  Thus  the 

a  Cf.  Vuk  Stepanovic,  Lexicon,  s.  v.  Dodola.  A  Dodola  song  is  translated  by  Mr.  Ralston  in  his 
Songs  of  the  Russian  People,  p.  228.  The  derivation  is  obscure. 

b  The  modern  Greeks  have  the  Dodola  in  the  form  of  Hopirripovva  which  is  simply  derived  from 
the  nasalized  old  Slovene  form  of  Preperuga.  The  Wallachian  name  is  Papeluga.  Compare  also 
Prporuse  and  Prpac,  alternative  male  forms  of  the  "  Dodola  "  among  the  Serbs  of  Dalmatia  (Vuk 
Stefanovic  Lexicon  s.  v.).  Prpa  is  a  Serbian  word  for  ashes  mixed  with  water. 

0  See  p.  47. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  ]  07 

Noropes,  who  inhabited  this  very  region  of  the  Upper  Axios,  re-appear  as  the 
Neropch  or  Meropch  of  the  early  Serbian  laws ;  the  Mijatzi  of  the  Dibra  district 
have  been  compared  with  their  Mossian  predecessors ;  the  Pijanci,  who  still 
inhabit  a  tract  in  Northern  Macedonia,  with  the  old  Paeonians;  the  Sopi  of  the 
Sofia  basin  recall  the  Thracian  Sapaei,  and  the  Timaci  of  Ptolemy  find  their  con- 
tinuity on  the  banks  of  the  same  river  as  the  Slavonic  Timociani.  Amongst  the 
Albanian  tribes  the  evidence  of  the  absorption  of  Romanized  elements  is  still  more 
striking,  nor  is  this  anywhere  more  evident  than  amongst  those  members  of  the 
Albanian  race  who  inhabit  the  Dardanian  ranges."  That  these  North-Easternmost 
representatives  of  Skipetaria  should  have  become  thus  saturated  with  Latin 
linguistic  elements — Rouman  rather  than  Roman  in  character — shows  the  long 
survival  in  the  old  Dardanian  province  of  Vlach  successors  of  the  Latin-speaking 
provincials,  a  survival  amply  attested  by  Old  Serbian  Chrysobulls  like  the  Decani 
grant  of  Stephen  Dusan.  There  is  evidence  that  in  the  early  Middle  Ages  there 
was  a  Rouman  population  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Skopia.b  Nor  is  the  dis- 
appearance of  this  element  from  the  Upper  Vardar  basin  necessarily  to  be 
accounted  for  by  wholesale  emigration.  We  are  justified  in  inferring  that  the 
same  phenomenon  that  we  have  been  enabled  to  ascertain  in  the  case  of  parts  of 
Southern  Dalmatia,  of  Herzegovina  and  Montenegro,  has  repeated  itself  in  these 
Dardanian  valleys  ;  and  that  here,  too,  a  Romance  population,  after  long  existing 
side  by  side  with  elements  Slavonic  and  Albanian,  has  finally,  and  after  first 
passing  through  a  bi-lingual  stage,  adopted  the  language  of  one  or  other  of  its 
political  superiors,  though  more  often,  it  must  be  admitted,  of  the  Albanians.  If 
there  is  one  thing  that  my  present  explorations  have  placed  beyond  the  region  of 
controversy,  it  is  that  the  native  Dardanian  population  of  this  whole  region, 
whether  on  the  plains  of  the  Vardar  or  in  the  gorges  of  the  Karadagh  and  neigh- 
bouring ranges,  had  by  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  of  our  era  become  thoroughly 
Romanized.  Roman  inscriptions,  as  we  have  seen,  and  as  I  shall  yet  have  to  show, 
are  scattered  throughout  the  remotest  glens  of  the  country,  and  the  proportion  on 
them  of  indigenous  names  is  distinctly  less  than  on  the  monuments  existing  on 
the  Roman  sites  in  the  back  parts  of  Dalmatia  Montana. 

The  present  Slavonic  speech  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ibrahimovce  is,  therefore, 
by  no  means  an  insuperable  bar  to  the  possible  survival  among  them  of  Roman 
traditions.  The  rite  itself,  moreover,  is,  as  we  had  shown,  foreign  to  the  pre- 

»  See  p.  71. 

b  Vlachs  near  Skopia  are  mentioned  under  the  Bulgarian  Czar  Constantine  (1258-1277).  See 
Jirecek,  Geschichte  der  Bulgaren,  p.  218. 

p2 


108  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

valent  Slavonic  usage,  whether  amongst  Serbs  or  Bulgars.  The  cult  of  certain 
stones  and  rocks  is,  indeed,  widely  spread  amongst  the  Albanians ;  a  but  I  am  not 
aware  of  any  rain-compelling  ceremony  amongst  them  at  all  answering  to  that 
performed  over  this  altar  of  Jupiter.  Equally  impossible  is  it  to  regard  the 
present  rite  as  of  Oriental  origin,  though  the  Turks  and  Mahometans  generally 
have  undoubtedly  taken  over  from  the  primitive  Chaldsean  religion  the  cult  of 
innumerable  local  "  betuli,"  besides  the  Caaba.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  well  to 
remember  that,  apart  from  the  utilization  of  an  altar  of  Jove  for  the  purpose 
(which  may,  after  all,  be  the  result  of  extraordinary  coincidence),  the  practice  of 
obtaining  rain  by  means  of  libations  poured  on  a  holy  stone  re-appears  in  the 
most  remote  quarters  of  the  globe.  Thus,  among  the  Kol  tribes  of  Bengal  the 
women  climb  the  hill  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  Rain-God  himself,  and  place 
offerings  of  milk  on  the  flat  rock  at  the  top,  after  which  the  wives  of  the  Pahans, 
with  loosened  tresses,  pray  the  Mountain  God  to  give  seasonable  rain.b  The 
libation  on  a  rock  for  such  a  purpose  has  also  Celtic  parallels.  In  the  Roman  de 
Rou,  the  Breton  hunters  go  to  the  spring  of  Berenton,  fill  their  horns  with  water, 
and  pour  it  on  the  fountain-stone  to  produce  a  copious  rainfall.0 

The  COL  .  Co  ....  of  the  inscription  on  the  altar  is  not  impossibly  connected 
with  the  site  of  a  considerable  Koman  settlement  that  I  discovered  on  the  hills 
about  half-an-hour  to  the  East  of  Ibrahimovce.  My  attention  had  been  originally 

a  An  extraordinary  instance  of  such  a  cult  at  the  village  of  Selci  belonging  to  the  Clementi 
tribe  is  given  in  Decanski  Prvenac,  Novisad  (Neusatz),  1852,  p.  81. 

b  Tylor  (Primitive  Culture,  vol.  ii.  p.  260,  2nd  ed.),  who  cites  Dalton,  Kols  in  Tr.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol. 
vi.  p.  35. 

c  Eoinan  de  Rou,  ii.  6399.     (Ed.  Andresen  ii.  283). 

"  La  fontaine  de  Berenton 
Sort  d'une  part  lez  un  pen-on ; 
Aler  soleient  ueneor 
A  Berenton  par  grant  chalor, 
E  a  lor  cors  1'eue  espuisier 
E  le  perron  desus  nioillier, 
For  co  soleient  pluie  aueir ; 
Issi  soleit  iadis  ploneir 
En  la  forest  e  enuirun 
Mais  io  ne  sai  par  quel  raison." 

Of.  Grimm.  Deutsche  Mythologie  (4th  Ed.)  vol.  iii.  p.  494.  At  Kulen  Vakup  in  Bosnia  I  came 
upon  the  reverse  of  this  method.  There,  sacred  stones  are  let  down  in  a  net  into  the  spring  to 
produce  rain.  If  the  stones  were  to  drop  out  of  the  net  a  great  flood  would  ensue.  See  my  Illyrian 
Letters,  p.  109.  For  another  Breton  parallel  see  Crestien  de  Troies,  Li  romans  dow  Chevalier  au  Lyon, 
v.  387,  seqq. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


109 


attracted  to  the  spot  by  the  sight  of  two  round  barrows  which  crown  two  opposite 
headlands  about  250  feet  above  the  level  of  the  plain.  The  nearer  of  these  I  under- 
took to  excavate,  Feik  Pasha  kindly  supplying  me  with  workmen  for  the  purpose. 
The  greater  part  of  the  barrow,  which  was  fourteen  feet  in  height,  consisted  of  a 
concretion  of  clay  and  calcareous  particles  very  difficult  to  dig  into,  so  that  it  took 
fifteen  men  two  days  and  a-half  to  cut  a  trench  as  deep  as  the  base  of  the  mound 
to  its  centre.  The  results  were  disappointing;  besides  a  surface  interment, 
probably  of  the  Roman  period,  consisting  of  two  skeletons,  a  fragment  of  iron, 
and  a  couple  of  bronze  rings,  I  found  nothing,  except  some  horse-bones  at  a  depth 
of  twelve  feet.  The  mound  would  therefore  not  be  of  sepulchral  origin,  and  both 
it  and  its  fellow  about  a  mile  distant  may  possibly,  as  in  the  case  of  the  mounds  to 
be  seen  at  intervals  both  on  the  Egnatian  Way  and  the  Agger  Publicus  that 
traversed  Central  Illyricum,  have  stood  in  some  relation  to  a  Roman  road. 

The  excavation  of  the  mound,  though  otherwise  unfruitful,  gave  me  leisure  to 
explore  the  neighbouring  country.  In  the  valley,  between  the  two  mounds,  I 
found  the  surface  of  the  ground  literally  strewn 
with  Roman  tiles  and  pottery.  The  natives  univer- 
sally recognise  the  fact  that  an  ancient  town  once 
existed  here,  and  call  the  site  "  Seliste,"  which 
literally  means  "the  site  of  a  settlement,"  the  mound 
itself  being  known  by  the  presumably  Rouman  name 
of  Tumba.  To  the  East  of  the  Tumba  the  remains 
extended  to  the  village  of  Hadzalar,  in  which  di- 
rection the  peasants  assured  me  there  had  formerly 
been  considerable  blocks  of  masonry  (since  removed 
to  build  the  Bey's  Konak  in  two  neighbouring 
villages),  and  the  remains  of  a  conduit  constructed  of 
tiles.  Here  also  had  been  lately  discovered  a  bronze 
figurine  answering  to  the  description  of  one  that  I 
subsequently  saw  in  the  possession  of  a  merchant 
at  Uskiip.  It  represented  a  very  late  Roman  type  of 
Mercury  with  wings  on  his  heels,  and  apparently 
growing  out  of  his  head.  In  his  left  arm  he  held 
an  infant  Faun  with  long  pointed  ears,  and  in  his 
right  hand  a  broken  caduceus.  In  the  Turkish 
graveyard,  outside  Hadzalar,  I  observed  a  large 
block  which  proved  to  be  an  altar  dedicated  to 


RCVLCC, 

""*• 


Fig.  4'J. 


110  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

Hercules  Conservator,    much  defaced  however,  as    the  annexed  illustration  will 
show  (fig.  49). 

Above  Hadzalar  opens  a  glen  leading  to  the  village  of  Tekinoselo,  where  is  a 
Teke  or  shrine  kept  by  a  Dervish,  containing  a  stone  pillar  which  is  the  object 
of  a  singular  cult.  I  will  reserve,  however,  an  account  of  the  mysteries  at  which 
I  here  assisted  for  another  occasion,  as  they  have  not  the  same  classic  associations 
as  those  of  Ibrahimovce. 

From  Ibrahimovce  the  course  of  the  Roman  road  answers  approximately  to 
that  of  the  present  highway  to  Kaplan  Khan.  To  the  left,  the  road  skirts  a  long 
sedgy  pool  known  as  Jezero  or  the  Lake,  more  anciently  the  lake  of  Jelatno,  the 
haunt  of  innumerable  pelicans  and  wild  ducks,  and  thence  crosses  a  low  neck  of 
land,  where  the  terrace  of  the  Roman  Way  is  distinctly  visible,  to  the  valley  of 
the  Pcinja.  On  the  right  bank  of  the  stream,  about  half-an-hour  above,  is  a  spot 
called  Illidze  or  Banja,  where  are  some  hot  sulphur  baths  much  frequented  by  the 
natives.  The  bath-house  is  a  rude  shelter  surrounding  a  square  open  basin  well- 
formed  of  four  gradations  of  stone  steps  descending  to  a  flat  bottom,  and  thus 
resembling  on  a  smaller  scale  the  newly-discovered  Roman  bath  at  Bath.  Above 
this  bath-house,  on  the  top  of  a  rocky  eminence  largely  composed  of  a  sulphurous 
deposit,  is  a  smaller  square  pool  cut  out  of  the  rock  and  fed  by  a  channel  from  a 
square  cistern  also  cut  out  of  the  rock,  presenting  every  appearance  of  Roman 
antiquity.  The  temperature  of  the  water  is  here  105°  Pahr.  Above  this  again  is 
another  covered  Turkish  bath  of  more  tepid  water,  and  near  it  the  remains  of  an 
ancient  quarry  with  the  ends  of  shafts  of  columns  still  in  situ,  showing  that  they 
were  cut  out  of  the  rock  into  their  round  form  before  being  detached  from  the 
stone  matrix.  Below  were  some  modern  quarries  which  had  been  worked,  at  the 
time  the  Macedonian  railway  was  made,  by  Italian  workmen,  but  which  were 
wholly  distinct  from  the  ancient  cuttings.  Along  the  top  of  the  ridge  on  which 
the  baths  and  quarry  lie  was  the  very  distinct  track  of  an  old  road  leading  in  the 
direction  of  Kaplan,  with  the  wheel  marks  furrowed  into  the  rock,  reminding  one 
of  a  street  of  Pompeii.  There  is  thus  distinct  evidence  that  both  the  stone- 
quarries  and  thermal  springs  of  Banja  were  known  to  the  Romans,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  its  site  answers  to  the  Bath  Station  marked  on  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana 
as  the  first  after  Scupi  on  the  Thessalonica  road. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  reserve  my  observations  on  the  highland  angle 
between  the  Pcinja  and  the  Yardar  and  the  ancient  remains  associated  with  the 
suggestive  names  of  Taor  and  Bader  till  I  come  to  discuss  the  birth-place  of 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyrwwn. 


Ill 


Justinian  and  the  sites  of  Tauresium  and  Bederiana.  I  will  therefore  proceed  at 
once  to  pass  in  brief  review  the  inscriptions  that  I  have  been  able  to  collect  on  the 
actual  site  of  the  ancient  Scupi  and  the  sur- 
rounding district,  included  as  we  may  legiti- 
mately infer  in  the  municipal  Ager. 

Of  inscriptions  referring  to  the  constitu- 
tion, magistrates,  and  hierarchy  of  the  Roman 
colony  I  have  collected  nine  in  all,  including 
the  altar  already  described  referring  to  a  local 
Duumvir,  apparently  an  Augustal,  and  giving 
Scupi  the  title  of  COLONIA.  This  title  and  the 
name  of  the  city  reappear  on  the  inscription 
(fig.  50)  discovered  near  Hassanbeg." 

From  the  name  Ulpius  occurring  on  this 
monument,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  an 
Ulpia  Marcia  appears  on  another  stone  from 
the  neighbourhood,  we  might  be  tempted  to 
suppose  that  the  Colony  itself  dated  back  to 
Trajan's  time.  From  the  title  AELIA  however 
applied  to  Scupi  on  an  inscription  at  Rome,b 
it  would  appear  that  the  town  was  first  made 
a  Roman  Colony  in  the  time  of  his  succes- 
sor, Hadrian.  It  is  to  Hadrian's  reign  there- 
fore, or  shortly  after  that  time,  that  we  must 
refer  the  following  remarkable  inscription 
(fig.  51,  see  p.  90)  from  Kuceviste,  erected  to 
the  memory  of  a  Veteran  of  the  Seventh 
Legion,  who  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the 
original  colonists.  Fig.  50. 

a  See  p.  102. 

b   NEMESI  /  SANCTAE  /  CAMPESTRI  .  PEG  SA/LVTE  .  DOMINORVM  .  /  NN  .  ATGG  .  P  .  AEL  .  P  .  F/ 
AELIA  PACATVS  .  /  SCVPIS  .  QVOD  .  COH  DOC  /  TOR  .  VOVERAT  .  NVNC  /  CAMPI  . 
DOCTOR  .  COH  .  I  .  /  PR  .  PV  .  SOMNIO  .  ADMO  /  NITVS  .  POSVIT  .  r,  .  L. 

In  Kellerman,  Vigil.  Bom.  No.  119. 


"  D  ;M 

AVVLPIVS-tV 
LIVSAVG-CO 
LON  -SCVP- 
VfX  ANN  XXVI 


BEJEMEREN 
TI  POSVIT 


112 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


^flff^/fmiia/jffffffia^^g 

f.  E  RON  I 


IVS-M-FSCA 
RVFVS 

j/ffLEGYHGpF 

bEDVCTICIVS 


Fig.  51. 

0,.  PETEONIUS  .  Marci  lilius  sckptia  (sc.  tribu)  RVFVS  vEieranus  lEGionis  vn 
claudiae  piae  velicis  DBDVOTICIVS  "titulum  Fieri  lussit. 

The  stone  would  be  remarkable  if  only  from  the  fine  execution  of  the  inscrip- 
tion and  from  the  arabesque  design  of  the  frieze  which  almost  savours  of  Italian 
Renascence.  The  epithet  DEDVOTICIVS  applied  to  this  Veteran  is  new  to  the  Latin 
vocabulary,  but  on  the  analogy  of  similar  forms  like  dediticius=one  belonging  to 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


113 


the  class  of  dediti,  missicius=oi  the  missi,  translaticim=\)elongwg  to  the  translati, 
can  only  be  taken  as  meaning  that  he  was  one  of  the  deducti  or  of  the  Veterans 
originally  "  deduced  "  to  form  the  Colonia.  On  another  monument  (fig.  52)  from 
Brazda,  there  appears  mention  of  a  Miles  deductus  of  the  same  legion,  and  both 
this  and  the  preceding  are  of  value  as  revealing  the  name  of  the  tribe  to  which  the 
Colony  belonged,  namely,  the  Scaptian. 

Fig.  53  from  Nekistan,  also  appears  to  contain  the  word  [CJoLONm. 


GRAVCONt 
CFSCAPTIA^ 

VERECVNDVS 
VETERANVS  LEG 


DEDVCTVS 


THA 


VI  XI1MN 
N  OS  XXXI  I 


ONON 
OLONv 

MFC 


Fig.  52. 


Of  the  highest  civic  interest  is  the  following  inscription  (fig.  54)  from  the 
church  at  Kuceviste"  (see  p.  90),  which  from  the  style  of  the  letters  and  general 
execution  can  not  well  be  later  than  the  second  century  of  our  era. 

a  A  mutilated  and  blundered  version  of  this  inscription  was  communicated  by  "  a  Belgrade 
professor  "  to  M.  Engelhardt  and  published  by  him  in  the  Revue  Archeologique,  vol.  xxvi.  p.  137, 
from  which  it  has  been  copied  into  the  Ephemeris  Epigra/phica,  vol.  ii.  p.  497.     It  is  strange  that 
there  should  have  been  any  difficulty  about  this  clear  and  beautifully-cut  inscription. 
VOL.  XLIX.  Q 


114 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


D  *  M 

SEX'CAELIDI 
VS'SECWQ^S 
S'C'LVPI'ETMT 

MIL'STOBOS 

CVJ'ORDOC© 

SGVP'ONORES 

AEDIL/EPDECV 

RIONATVS^CON 

, 

TVLIT*VIX'>l/A 

X/*^  7TI1  .kT^TC*^^  A^'^'V^^^A 

f^  v  i  ii   \**  \  r*  *o  ^^j\^v^ 

1  ^^"^    ^»            L  i 

Fig.  54. 

D  .   M. 

SEXTUS  OAELIDIVS  SEOVNDVS  (sc.  SE±TO  CAELIDIO  SECVNDO) 
S.  C.  LVPI  .  ET  MATm  AVEAE  COMINIAE  FILIO  AEMILm  (sc.  Tribu)  STOBOS, 

cvi  OEDO  ooLoniae  sovvensis  ONORES  A$viLitatis  ET  DEOVEIONATUS 

OONTVLIT  .  VTX.it  ANnOS  XVIII  DIES  XXXX  .  HtC  SepultuS  ESi. 

Here,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  by  an  error  not  uncommon  on  sepulchral 
tituli  the  name  of  the  Sextus  Caelidius  Secundus  to  whom  the  monument  was 
erected  is  placed  in  the  nominative  instead  of  the  dative  case.  The  female  form 
of  the  name,  Ccelidia  Secunda,  occurs  in  another  Scupese  inscription  discovered  at 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyrictim. 


115 


T'/'-N 


1U 

p.p. 

GWLLI E 
f^OAVG 


Zlokucani,"  the  name  of  AVEA  or  AVRHA  is  found  on  three  Italian  tombs.b  This 
inscription  is  not  only  interesting  as  bringing  Scupi  into  intimate  and  amicable 
connexion  with  the  great  Macedonian  staple 
of  the  lower  Axios,  the  Colony  of  Stobi,  but 
as  informing  us  for  the  first  time  that  it  was 
to  the  ^Emilian  tribe  that  Stobi  belonged. 
The  most  remarkable  feature  however  in  this 
monument  is  the  decree  it  records  of  the 
Ordo  Colonise  Scupensis,  conferring  the  hono- 
rary distinction  of  the  ^dileship  and  mem- 
bership in  the  local  Senate  on  a  youth  who 
died  at  the  premature  age  of  eighteen.  It 
appears  probable  that  in  this  case"  the  titles 
belonged  to  the  "  sepulchri  supervacuos  honor  es" 
of  a  kind  specially  frequent(  it  would  seem, 
in  the  Macedonian  province.  On  monuments 
found  at  Drama,  near  Philippi,3  the  "  orna- 
menta decurionalia "  are  found  conferred  on 
mere  children  of  five  and  six  years  of  age. 
The  mention  of  the  name  of  Scupi  on  this  and 
two  of  the  preceding  inscriptions  (figs.  48 
and  50)  will  sufficiently  refute  those  geogra- 
phers who,  like  Professor  Tomaschek,  would 
transport  the  ancient  Scupi  from  the  banks  of 
the  Yardar  and  the  vicinity  of  Uskiip  to  some 
as  yet  undiscovered  Roman  site  in  the  valley 
of  the  Bulgarian  Morava. 

The   most   interesting   historic  monument 
however  of  Roman  Scupi  (fig.  55)  remains  to 

tt   D  .  M  /  CAELIDIA  .  SE  /  CVNDA  .  VIX  .  AN  L  /  H  .  S  .  E  .  CL  /  HEECVLANVS   MA  /  EITVS   B  .  M  .  P  .  .        Given 

in  Eph.  Ep.  vol.  ii.  498. 

b  C.  I.  L.  v.  5963,  NVMMIA  AVEHA,  of  Canusium  ;  ix.  395,  ATILIA  AVEA,  at  Milan  ;  x.  2438,  MABCIA 
AVEA,  at  Naples. 

c  See  Mommsen,  Eph.  Ep.  loc.  cit. ;  and  cf .  C.  I.  L.  v.  1892,  where  in  the  case  of  the  ornamenta 
duoviralia  he  observes  :  "  Ornamenta  duoviralia  cum  non  soleant  concedi  vivo  nisi  ei  qui  per  legem 
duovir  fieri  non  possit,  crediderim  et  hie  et  in  aliis  similibus  (ut  Henzen  7172),  ubi  ingenuis  ea 
tribuuntur,  significari  ornamenta  post  mortem  decreta,  sepulturce  causa." 

d  C.  I.  L.  iii.  649,  659. 

Q2 


MO  VOL 
ilVQVE 
OMPA 


116  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

be  described.  This  is  the  broken  slab  found  by  me  on  the  steep  of  Davina  (see 
p.  92)  containing  the  following  remarkable  dedication  to  the  Emperor  Gallienus 
by  the  local  Commonwealth. 

/NVICTO  mweratori  ~Pio  ~Felici  (TALLIENO  AvGusto, 

DIS  ANIMO  VOL7TQVE  COMPARI 

Ees  fublica. 

From  the  form  of  the  slab  (which  is  about  five  feet  high),  it  may  be  assumed 
that  it  formed  part  of  the  basis  of  a  statue  of  the  Emperor  himself,8  and  a  historical 
record  has  been  preserved  to  us  which  supplies  at  least  a  probable  occasion  for  the 
erection  of  such  a  monument  by  the  citizens  of  Scupi.  The  reign  of  Gallienus  was 
one  of  the  darkest  periods  in  the  history  of  the  Illyrian  provinces  under  the  Roman 
Empire.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Trajan's  Dacia  was  virtually  lost,b  though  a 
formal  recognition  of  the  fact  was  postponed  to  the  time  of  Aurelian.  Thrace,  Mace- 
donia, Thessaly,  Achaia,  and  Epirus  were  over-run  by  the  Goths,  while  the  Sarma- 
tian  hordes,  after  devastating  the  Pannonias  in  conjunction  with  the  Quadi  in,  or 
shortly  after,  258  A.D.°  extended  their  ravages  to  the  neighbouring  Moesian  province. 
From  a  letter  of  Claudius,  afterwards  of  Gothic  fame,  to  Regalian,  then  "  Dux 
Illyrici,"  it  appears  that  Gallienus'  lieutenant  had  gained  a  victory,  or  rather  a 
series  of  victories  in  a  single  day,  over  the  Sarmatians  under  the  walls  of  Scupi. 
"  I  have  learnt,"  says  Claudius  in  this  epistle,  "  what  you  have  shown  yourself  to  be 
in  the  fight  at  Scupi,  of  the  number  of  your  conflicts  in  a  single  day,  and  of  the  speed 
with  which  you  brought  them  to  a  successful  issue."  Claudius  begs  him  to  send 
him  of  the  spoil  some  Sarmatian  bows  and  a  couple  of  cloaks  with  their  fibulas 
attached,  the  Sarmatian  fibula  being  then  highly  prized  in  the  Roman  Empire. 
He  warns  Regalian  however,  in  cautious  language,  to  be  careful  with  his  victories 
as  more  likely  under  such  a  prince  to  lead  to  the  scaffold  than  to  a  triumph. d 

*  Compare  for  the  abbreviated  character  of  the  lines  the  almost  contemporary  inscription  on  a 
six-sided  base  of  a  statue  of  Marsyas  erected  PEG  SA / LTTE / ET  IN / COLV / MITA /TE  D  D/N  N  VA  / LEKIA / 
NIET/GALLI/ENI/AVGG  &c.  at  Verecunda  in  the  Province  of  Numidia  (C.  I.  L.  viii.  4219).  The  whole 
inscription  in  this  latter  case  extended  over  three  sides  of  the  base  containing  severally  twelve, 
fourteen,  and  eight  lines. 

b  Sextus  Rufus,  in  Brev.  "  Dacia  Gallieno  imperatore  amissa  est."  For  Aurelian's  Dacia  cf. 
Fl.  Vopiscus,  39,  from  whom  Eutropius  (ix.  15)  copies.  Mcesia  is  described  as  "  deperdita  "  at  this 
time. 

c  "Fusco  (lege  Tusco)  et  Basso  Consulibus "  the  date  of  Ingenims'  revolt  {Treb.  Poll,  xxx 
Tyranni.  8),  which  was  caused  by  the  imminence  of  this  Saz-matian  invasion. 

d  Treb.  Pollio.   Triginta  Tyranni  ix.      "  Claudius  Regilliano    (sic)    multam   salutem.     Felicem 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  117 

This  victory,  as  gained  under  the  auspices  of  Gallienus,  would  in  official  acts 
be  ascribed  to  his  name,  and  in  the  triumph  which  he  celebrated  at  Borne,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  decennalia  in  263,  we  find  Sarmatian  captives,  real  or  pretended, 
led  amongst  the  others.  There  were,  moreover,  special  reasons  why  the  citizens 
of  Scupi,  then  with  the  other  Dardanian  cities  included  in  Upper  Moesia,  should 
seek  to  court  Gallienus'  favour.  The  inhabitants  of  Moesia  had  just  received  a 
fearful  lesson  of  the  Emperor's  ferocity  in  the  massacres  and  execiitions  consequent 
on  the  abortive  elevation  of  Ingenuus  to  the  purple  by  the  provincial  legionaries. 
Gallienus,  roused  on  this  occasion  from  his  habitual  apathy,  had  fallen  with  fury 
on  Ingenuus'  supporters,  and,  having  defeated  the  usurper,  "wreaked  a  savage 
vengeance  not  only  on  the  Moesian  soldiers  but  on  the  citizens  at  large."  In 
some  cities,  we  are  told,"  the  whole  male  population  was  exterminated,  and  it  was 
on  this  occasion  that  Gallienus  addressed  to  his  lieutenant  Verianus  a  letter 
unsurpassed  in  any  age  for  bloodthirsty  ferocity."  The  outcome  of  these  cruelties 
was  that  the  Moesians  in  despair  proclaimed  Regalianus,  whose  victory  over  the 
Sarmatians  had  proved  his  capacity,  and  whose  Dacian  parentage  and  alleged 
descent  from  Decebalus  himself  °  apparently  appealed  to  some  still  not  wholly 
unextinguished  feeling  of  Dacian  nationality  in  the  Illyrian  Provinces,  a  feeling  to 
which  Galerius  a  seems  to  have  had  recourse  at  a  later  date.  Such,  however,  had 
been  the  impression  produced  by  Gallienus'  savagery,  that  on  the  initiative  of  the 
Roxalanian  allies,  but  with  the  consent  of  the  soldiers  and  provincials  who  feared 

Eempublicam  quse  te  talem  virum  habere  rei  castrensis  bellis  his  meruit,  felicem  Gallienum,  etiamsi 
ei  vera  nemo  nee  de  bonis,  nee  de  malis  nuiitiat.  Pertulerunt  ad  me  Bonitus  et  Celsus  stipatores 
Principle  nostri  quails  apud  Scupos  in  pugnando  fueris  quot  uno  die  prselia  et  qua  celeritate 
confeceris.  Dignus  eras  triumpho  si  antiqua  tempora  exstarent.  Sed  quid  multa  H  Memor 
cujusdam  ominis  cautius  velim  vincas.  Arcus  Sarmaticos  et  duo  saga  ad  me  velim  mittas,  sed 
fibulatoria,  cum  ipse  miserim  de  nostris."  The  "omen"  referred  to  was  no  doubt  the  fate  of 
Ingenuus. 

a  Treb.  Pollio.  Triginta  Tyranni,  viii.  "  In  omnes  Mcesiacos,  tarn  milites  quam  cives,  asperrime 
sseviit,  nee  quemquam  sure  crudelitatis  exsortem  reliquit:  usque  adeo  asper  et  truculentus  ut 
plerasque  civitates  vacuas  a  virili  sexu  relinqueret." 

b  Ib.  "  Perimendus  est  omnis  sexus  virilis,  si  et  senes  atque  impuberes  sine  reprehensione  nostra 
occidi  possent.  Occidendus  est  quicumque  male  voluit,  occidendus  est  quicumque  male  dixit  contra 
me,  contra  Valerian!  filium,  contra  tot  principum  patrem  et  fratrem.  Ingenuus  factus  est  imperator. 

Lacera,  occide,  concide." 

«  Treb.  Poll.  Triginta  Tyranni,  ix.     "  Gentis  Daeise,  Decebali  ipsius  ut  fertur  affinis." 

d  Cf.  Lactantius  de  M&rtibus  Persecutwum  C.  xxvii.     "  Olim  quidem  ille,  ut  nomen  Imperatoris 

acceperat,  hostem  se  Romani  nominis  erat  professus,  cujus  titulum  immutari  volebat  ut   non  Eo- 

manum  imperium  sed  Daciscum  cognominaretur." 


118  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

new  scenes  of  sanguinary  vengeance,  the  usurper  was  slain  by  his  own  supporters. 
It  will  be  seen  that  there  were  sufficient  reasons  why  the  inhabitants  of  Scupi 
should  erect  an  adulatory  monument  to  Gallienus,  and  it  seems  natural  to  connect 
this  inscription  Avith  the  historic  victory  achieved  by  Gallienus'  lieutenant  under  the 
walls  of  their  city  and  with  the  civil  troubles  of  which  this  barbarian  repulse  was 
the  prelude.  In  267,  after  his  residence  in  Greece,  we  find  Gallienus  himself 
o-aining  a  victory  over  the  Goths  in  Illyricum,  but  the  scene  of  the  combat  is  not 
given,  nor  have  we  any  historic  ground  for  connecting  it  with  Scupi,  though  it  is 
always  possible  that  the  Emperor  in  returning  to  the  West  may  have  passed 
through  this  city. 

The  elaborate  and  superlative  adulation  of  the  inscription  before  us  reminds 
us  somewhat  of  that  on  the  Arch  of  Gallienus  at  Rome  :b 

GALLIENO  .  OLEMENTISSIMO  .  PBINCIPI  .  CVIVS  .  INVICTA  . 
VIRTUS  .  SOLA  .  PIETATE  .  SVPEEATA  .  EST. 

where  the  strangely  misplaced  compliments  to  a  prince  whose  inert  and  unfilial 
conduct  was  notorious  read  like  a  satire.  In  the  present  case  the  comparison  of 
Gallienus  with  the  Gods  "both  in  soul  and  countenance"  is  quite  in  harmony  with 
the  numismatic  records  of  this  reign,  where  the  Emperor  appears  with  the 
alternate  attributes  of  Mars,  Hercules,  and  Mercury.0  He  seems,  however,  to 
have  regarded  himself  as  in  some  special  way  under  the  protection  of  Apollo, 
whether  under  the  refined  Hellenic  aspect  of  the  God  as  patron  of  the  arts  in 
which  Gallienus  himself,  even  on  his  detractors'  showing,3  was  allowed  to  excel, 
or  in  a  more  mysterious  Oriental  character  as  the  Unconquered  Mithra  or  the 

a  The  revolt  of  Regalianus  appears  to  have  taken  place  about  the  date  of  Gallienus'  Decennalia, 
A.D.  263.     Cf.  Clinton  Fasti  Eomani;  ad  annum. 
»  C.  I.  L.  vi.  1106. 
c  The  language  of  the  present  inscription  recalls  the  lines  of  Calpurnius  (Eel.  IV.) 

"  In  uno 

Et  Martis  vultus  et  Apollinis  esse  notatur." 

The  flattering  comparison  of  Calpurnius  is,  however,  addressed,  as  Moriz  Haupt  has  conclusively 
shown  (De  Carminibus  bucolicis  Calpurnii  et  Neinesiani),  to  Nero  and  not,  as  earlier  commentators 
supposed,  to  Carinus  or  Gallienus  himself. 

1  Treb.  Pollio.  Duo  Gallieni.  "  Fuit  enim  Gallienus  (quod  negari  non  potest)  oratione,  poemate, 
atque  omnibus  artibus  clarus.  Hujus  est  illud  epithalamium  quod  inter  centum  poetas  prascipuum 
fuit." 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm. 


119 


Bdessan  God  Azizus,"  the  warlike  slayer  of  the  Python.  The  colossal  and  never 
to  be  completed  statue  which  G-allienus  had  designed  to  erect  to  himself  on  the 
summit  of  the  Esquiline  b  represented  the  Emperor  in  the  guise  of  the  Sun-god, 
nor  shall  we  be  thought  hypercritical  if  we  find  in  the  dedication  before  us, 
beginning  as  it  does  INVICTO,  a  hint  as  to  the  character  of  the  divinity  with  whose 
attributes  the  Emperor  would  be  invested  in  the  statue  which  probably  surmounted 
the  inscribed  base.  On  the  reverse  of  coins  of  G-allienus  the  inscription  INVICTVS, 
INVICTO  AUG.  surrounds  the  image  of  the  radiated  Sun-god;  on  a  coin  of  Carausius0 
the  Emperor's  head  is  conjugated  with  the  rayed  head  of  Mithra,  and  with  the 
inscription  INVICTO  ET  CARAVSIO  AVG.  and  according  to  the  usage  of  the  times  this 
epithet  had  acquired  a  too  specialized  religious  meaning,  as  associated  with  the 
Persian  cult,  to  be  without  at  least  an  allusive  significance  when  added  to  the  title 


X 

/ 

•\ 

D'ET-D'SACRVM 
OSENTTOPRIMVy* 

IlIIlI  VJH 
AVG  V£  TALI  S 

V'S'L-M 

1  —  —  ' 

Fig.  56. 


11  Thus  we  find  the  Prsefectus  of  the  5th  Macedonian  Legion  at  Potaissa  in  Daeia  erecting  a 
votive  altar  to  Azizus  "  Bonus  Puer  Conservator  "  for  the  health  of  Valerian  and  Gallienus.     C.  I.  L 
III.  875.     Julian  Or.  IV.  mentions  the  worship  of  Azizus  at  Edessa  in  conjunction  with  that  of  the 
Sun,  and  notices  that  Jamblichus  identifies  this  god  with  Ares.    From  inscriptions  found  at  Apulum, 
however,  as  Mommsen  has  pointed  out,  Azizus  is  seen  to  be  the  equivalent  of  Apollo  Pythias.     See 

C.  I.  L.  III.  1133. 

b  Treb.  Pollio.  Qallieni  Duo  :  "  Statuam  sibi  majorem  colosso  fieri  proecepit,  Solis  habitu,  sed  ea 
imperfecta  periit  .  .  .  Poni  autem  illam  voluerat  in  summo  Esquiliarum  monte,  ita  ut  hastam 
teneret,  per  cujus  caput  infans  ad  summum  posset  ascendere.  Sed  et  Claudio  et  Aureliano  deinceps 
stulta  res  visa  est,  &c." 

c  In  my  father's  cabinet :   unpublished. 


120  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

of  an  Emperor  who  reigned  in  the  latter  half  of  the  third  century  and  who  had 
himself  in  a  special  way  assumed  the  Sun-god's  attributes. 

From  the  monument  erected  by  the  Respublica  Scupensis  to  this  imperial 
"  compeer  of  the  Gods  "  we  may  pass  to  those  which  illustrate  the  local  cult  of  the 
Gods  themselves.  To  the  two  inscriptions  (figs.  48,  50)  already  given  referring 
to  the  College  of  the  Augustales'  I  may  add  the  following  (fig.  56)  excavated  by 
me  on  the  actual  site  of  Scupi  (see  p.  87). 

Besides  this  altar,  dedicated  DIS  ET  DEABTTS,  votive  monuments  to  Jove  and 
Hercules,  as  well  as  a  bronze  statuette  of  Mercury,  have  been  already  mentioned. 
The  fragment  (fig.  57)  presenting  part  of  the  Greek  inscription,  with  letters  of  a 
form  not  uncommon  on  Macedonian  momiments,  found  in  modern  Uskiip  (see 
p.  101),  probably  formed  part  of  an  altar  of  Zeus,  as  may  be  gathered  from  its 
having  an  eagle  relief  on  its  side. 

The  fragmentary  dedication  (fig.  58)  found  by  me  in  the  ruined  Church  of 
Ljubanze  is  of  a  more  enigmatic  character. 

That  the  abbreviated  FLL  in  the  third  line  stands  for  Flamines  may  be  gathered 

from  other  examples.     The  God  whose  name  begins  with  ZE however  is  not 

so  clear.     The  initial  letter  is  rather  suggestive  of  a  Thracian  connexion.     There 
exists  a  Thracian  Asclepius  Zimidrenus." 

To  these  may  be  added  the  altar  of  Silvanus  (fig.  59)  near  the  Musta  Mosque 
in  tiskiip  itself  (see  p.  101). 

Of  imperial  records,  with  the  exception  of  the  monument  to  Gallienus  and  the 
two  fragmentary  milestones  already  given,  I  found  nothing  more  than  the 
imperfect  votive  dedication  to  Septimius  Severus  and  Caracalla  which  still  exists 
where  Ami  Boue  first  observed  it,  walled  into  the  Byzantine  Aqueduct.15  Of 
military  inscriptions  referring  to  the  LEGIO  vn  OLAVDIA  PIA  FIDELIS  there  was  an 
abundance.  Four  have  been  already  given,0  two  of  these  being  of  considerable 
interest  as  showing  that  the  veterans  to  whom  they  severally  referred  as 
"deductus"  or  "  deducticius  "  had  been  amongst  those  led  hither  to  form  the 
original  colony.  A  monument  of  a  Miles  Frumentarius  of  this  legion  from 
Bardovce  (see  p.  88),  is  interesting  from  the  well-preserved  relief  which  it 
presents  of  a  soldier  standing  between  a  veiled  and  seated  female  figure  and  a  boy 

a  Cf.  C.  I.  L.  vi.  2385. 

b  Ami  Boue,   Turquie  d' Europe,  2,  354 ;  C.  I.   L.  iii.  1696 ;    PRO  SALVfe '  i'mp.    Goes.  L.    septimi 
severi  fertinacis  Aug.  Arab.  /  ADIAB.    ront.   Max.    .  .    .    /  M.  AVEELI  Antonini  caes.    .    .    .      The  A    of 
emct  is  clear. 
Two  from  the  neighbouring  Markova  Rjeka  district  (Figs.  43,  46). 


-/ 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


#£ 


5- 


w    ,^> 

S<~>  >b 

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121 


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to 


VOL.  XLIX. 


122 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


or  Genius  carrying  in  his  right  hand  a  kind  of  chest,  such  as  not  infrequently 
occurs  on  tombs,  and  in  the  left  what  appears  to  be  a  conventional  representation 

of  ears  of  corn,  doubtless  in  allusion  to  the  soldier's 
office."  The  Milites  Frumentarii  were  enrolled 
amongst  the  Peregrini,  who  had  their  Gastra  on 
the  Ccelian,  at  Rome,  and  who  were  a  kind  of 
imperial  gendarmerie.11  The  Frumentarii  them- 
selves, from  being  originally  connected  with  the 
collection  of  the  Annona,  were  found  useful  by  the 
Emperors  for  obtaining  secret  information  regard- 
ing provincial  affairs,  and  hence  grew  into  a  kind 
of  spy  service.  Though  abolished  by  Diocletian 
their  hateful  functions  continued  to  be  fulfilled  by 
the  Agentes  in  rebus  of  his  successors.0 

The  next  military  titulus,  which  I  observed  at 
Mirkovce  in  two  pieces  is,  unfortunately,  too  frag- 
mentary to  admit  of  complete  restitution.  It  is 
evident,  however,  that  it  refers  to  a  certain  C. 
Julius  Longinus,  a  veteran  of  the  same  (seventh) 
legion,  who  had  received  his  missio  honesta.  It  may 
be  suggested  that  DARD  in  the  fifth  line  of  the  second 
fragment  refers  to  an  Ala  Dardanorum.  An  Ala 
Vespasiana  Dardanorum  is  referred  to  in  three  mili- 
tary diplomas d  relating  to  Lower  Moesia.  From 
the  imposing  character  of  the  letters  and  the  size 
of  the  monument  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
officer  commemorated  was  of  some  distinction.  The 
inscription  belonged  to  a  good  period. 
The  last  legionary  monument  to  which  I  have  to  call  attention  from  this 


•  A  copy  of  the  inscription  sent  by  the  Austrian  Consul  Lippich  was  published  by  Dr.  Friedrich 
Kenner  (Sitzungsberichte  d.  It.  Akademie  d.  Wissensch.  vol.  80,  p.  275,  and  see  Epli.  Ep.  vol.  iv.),  but  the 
relief  is  inaccurately  described.  In  Dr.  Kenner 's  version,  line  6,  OBVLCIIA. 

b  See  Henzen,  Sui  militi  peregrini  e  frumentarii,  in  Bullettino  dell'  institute  di  Gorr.  Archeologica, 
1851,  p.  113  seqq. 

c  Aurelius  Victor,  De  Ccess.  39,  speaking  of  Diocletian,  says  :  remoto  pestilenti  frumentariorum 
genere  quorum  nunc  agentes  in  rebus  simillimi  sunt. 

4  C.  I.  L.  iii.     D.  xx.  xxii.  xxxiv. 


MlbFRWLEGVfl 
OPf-AlIL'AMI 
VIX-AM  XXXK 

H'S'E 

IVLIA-OBVtGIA 
FILIO'PIISSIM- 

F 


I'ig.  60. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


123 


district  relates  to  a   Cornicularius  of    the  same   seventh   legion   and   records   a 
testamentary  disposition  of  the  deceased. 


fAN\JLX: 


DARDj 

LoNGi 
ETLON 
FILL 


D    - 

T'DINDIVSV/ 

CORNICVLA! 

LEG-VlfCL'V 

QVOTTESTA' 

PRAECEPER' 

THENOPE'N 

F'C'QVOD'OP\ 

EST-IDVS-AVi 

AELIANO 


Fig.  62. 


D.  M 


Fig.  61. 


LEG  .  VII  .  OL  .  VIXTT  ANNOS  QVOT  .  TESTA.MENTO  HBREDES 

PEABCEPERKJVT  .  ARAM  .  P^OTHENOPE.N£P77.?  /////  P.O.  QVOD  OPVS 

CONFECWH  EST  .  IDVS  .  AVG  .  CRISPING  ET  AELIANO  cos  . 


T.  DINDIVS  .  A  ///////  CORNIOVLAR/ro  LEGATI 


"  Prcecipere  testamento  "  is  a  well-known  law-term  signifying,  of  legatees,  "  to 

R2 


124 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyriciim. 


MfWIXro 
AN-L-H  S 
VALEVPQ! 
QIMAXJ 


VIVE  B  %• 


Fig.  63. 


receive  in  advance,"  before  the  rest  of  the 
property  bequeathed  is  divided.*  In  the  pre- 
sent case  this  advance  seems  to  have  been 
conditional  on  the  execution  of  some  pious 
work,  of  which  however,  owing  to  an  unfor- 
tunate lacuna  in  the  stone,  we  only  learn  that 
it  was  completed  on  the  Ides  of  August,  in  the 
consulship  of  Crispinusb  and  ^Elianus  (A.D. 
187),  under  the  rule  therefore  of  Commodus. 

The  head-quarters  of  the  Legio  VII.  Claudia 
Pia  Fidelis  were  at  Viminacium  (Kostolac  on 
the  Danube),  and  on  the  coins  and  monuments' 
of  this  Mcesian  city  the  local  Genius  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  bull,  which  was  the  symbol  of 
the  seventh  legion.  From  the  inscriptions, 
figs.  51,  52,  it  appears  that  the  original  colony 
of  Scupi  was  formed  of  veterans  of  this  legion. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  Dion 
Cassiusd  mentions  "the  seventh,  generally  called 
the  Claudian,"  in  Upper  Moesia,  and  their  Prce- 
fectura  was  still  at  Viminacium  at  the  time 
when  the  Notitia  was  drawn  up.8 

This  legion  was  stationed  in  Dalmatia  pre- 
vious to  Vespasian's  withdrawal  of  the  legions 
from  that  province/  On  an  inscription  at 


a  Of.  Forcellini  Lexicon  (Ed.  De  Vit),  s.  v.  Prreceptio.  "  Per  prseceptionen  dare,  legare,  relin- 
quere,  est  ita  dare  ut  percipiatur  ante  quam  tota  hereditas  dividatur  et  paries  aliis  coheredibus 
distribuantur."  Julian,  Dig.  30,  122,  "  Si  heres  centum  prsecipere  jussus  sit." 

b  In  184  ^Elianus  had  been  consul  in  conjunction  with  Marullus.  The  name  of  Crispinus 
however  squares  better  with  the  letter-space  at  our  disposal,  which  has  been  very  accurately 
observed  throughout  this  inscription. 

c  Cf.  especially  a  bas-relief  of  the  Genius  of  Viminacium  represented  as  a  stoled  female  figure 
with  her  right  hand  on  the  bull  of  the  7th,  Claudian,  Legion,  and  her  left  on  the  lion,  which  here 
stands  for  the  4th  Legion  (figured  by  Kanitz,  Beitrage  zur  Alterthumskunde  der  serbischen  Donau, 
in  Mitth.  d.  Central.  Comm.  1867,  28  seqq.)  The  same  device  is  common  on  the  coins  of  this  city. 

d   Lib.  iv.  C.  23  :    "  Kai  'i/Ho/iot  ol  iv  rg  yivaif  ry  avia  ot  TCI  fidXtffra  KXavSidoi  wvo/ja?arai." 

e  "  Prefectures  Leg.  vii.  Claudise  Viminacio." 

1  Mommsen,  C.  I.  L.  iii.  272.      Cf.   Inscriptions  at  Narona  (1813,  1814,   1818),  Salona  (2014, 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  125 

JVaissus*  (Nish)  this  Claudian  legion  receives  the  additional  title  Severiana,  a 
title  also  born  by  the  fourth  Claudian  legion  stationed  at  Singidunum. 

Of  the  private  inscriptions,  of  which  I  have  collected  a  considerable  number 
(see  PI.  I.  II.  III.)  the  following  (fig.  63)  from  Neresi  (see  p.  97)  is  specially 
interesting,  as  presenting  us  with  a  Thracian  name-form  with  its  Roman  equivalent : 

ois  -  Manibus  /  ///  MAXI  /  MVS  -  VIXIT  /  AN  -  L  -  nic 
Sepultus  Est/VALerius  EVPOE/QUI  BT 

FILIUS  ET  L/MANL/ro  f^L/ENTINPS  O///// 
ET  SEEVEtf^  ?  ////  /  VIVE  B 

Faciendum  Curaverunt. 

The  name  EVPOR  which  presents  obvious  analogies  with  other  Thracian  names 
such  as  Mucapor,  Sempor,  Dindiporis,b  and  Bithoporus  King  of  the  Costoboci,  occurs 
as  a  widely  diffused  Thracian  name.c  The  present  formula  VAL  .  EVPOE  QVI  ET 
MAXIMVS  is  interesting  as  giving  the  Roman  name  "  Maximus  "  as  an  alternative 
form  for  the  more  barbaric  "Eupor."  This  formula  answers  to  that  of  other 
inscriptions  in  which  indigenous  Thracian  and  Illyrian  names  occur,  and  notably 
to  the  case  of  the  remarkable  Thracian  inscription  found  by  Heuzeyd  at  Drama, 
near  Philippi,  beginning  :  BITHVS  .  TAVZIGIS  .  FILUIS  .  QVI  .  ET  MAOEE  .  AN  .  LX  .  TAVZIES  . 

BITHI  .  QVI  ET  RVFVS. 

The  name  Bupor  under  the  Hellenized  form  Euporos,  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  not  infrequent  Hellenic  name  EupSros,  occurs  on  the  annexed  inscription 
which  I  observed  at  Salonica,  where  it  had  been  recently  discovered,  together 
with  figs.  65  and  66,  which,  as  also  unpublished,  I  here  place  beside  it. 

In  this  connexion  I  may  mention  that  I  also  noticed  at  Salonica,  in  the  court 
of  the  Konak,  the  following  inscription  (fig.  67),  interesting  both  from  the  reliefs  it 

2019,  2040,  2033,  2048,  2071),  at  Tilurium  (Gardun),  (2709,  2710,  2714,  2716,  2717),  where  Mommsen 
fixes  their  Prsetorium,  at  Nedinum  (2882),  and  at  Jader  (2908,  2913).  Detachments  of  this  Legion 
are  found  serving  in  Syria  and  Asia. 

»  C.  I.  L.  iii.  1676. 

b  Bithynian,  C.  I.  G.  3795 ;  cf.  Tomaschek,  Brumalia,  Sfc.  p.  386,  for  this  and  other  instances. 
Tomaschek  also  compares  names  like  Rascupolis,  Abrnpolis. 

0  The  name  occurs  in  Dalmatia,  Italy,  and  other  parts  of  the  Empire. 

d  Eevue  Archeologique,  VI.  Annee  (1865),  p.  451.   Tomaschek,  op.  cit.  p.  392,  cites  other  instances, 

I.  E.  N.  513,  EVTICHIA  QAE  ET  BVTIN;    2810,  C    .    EAVONIVS  .  CELEE  .  QVI  .  ET  .  BATO  .  SCENOBABBI    .    NATIONE  . 

MAEzeius  (Dalmatian),  &c. 


126 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


represents  and  the  Thracian  names  it  contains,  and  which  was  not  improbably 
brought  to  that  city  along  with  other  inscriptions a  from  the  Thracian  borders. 


D    <3  M 


0FOlM<ATAX00NIOI£ 


C-MHN-O-HM'KH-OIKYPI 


TEI  *  EHOIHtAN 


ZOIAETHIAIA 


M'KACEIOC 
EWWPOC 

BACIAEA-KAI 

EPhH-ToiLTo 

NPCI-HWK 

XAP1N- 
BACCOCKAlEP 


\oYMA-KMKAAY 
BH  ICJNTC. 


Fig.  64. 


Fig.  66. 

a  I  was  informed  that  some  had  been  lately  thus  transported  to  Salonica  from  Zlokucani. 
Others  have  in  the  same  way  been  removed  by  the  Turkish  authorities  from  Bardovce.  Monuments 
with  sculpture  are  more  especially  sought  for  by  the  Turkish  authorities  as  they  are  thought  to  have 
a  monetary  value.  No  pains  are  taken  in  such  cases  to  preserve  a  record  of  the  locality  where  the 
monuments  were  found. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


127 


The  occurrence  in  the  epigraphic  records  of  the  district  of  Thracian  name- 
forms  on  the  one  hand,  and  Illyrian — such  as  the  form  Gatties  already  mentioned 
(p.  99),  and  perhaps  also  the  God  Andinus  (p. 
74) — on  the  other,  is  quite  consistent  with  what 
we  gather  from  other  sources  as  to  the  ethno- 
graphy of  the  ancient  Dardania.  That  the 
European  Dardani  were  originally  one  and  the 
same  people  as  their  Trojan  namesakes,  agrees 
with  what  we  learn  from  ancient  writers  as  to 
the  Thracian  descent  of  so  many  Asianic  tribes. 
On  the  other  hand  the  early  names  of  the 
Dardanian  princes  in  Europe,  such  as  Mon- 
unios,  Longaros,  and  Bato,a  present  un- 
questionable Illyrian  affinities.  The  same 
intermixture  of  the  Illyrian  and  Thracian  ele- 
ments, of  which  the  births  of  Justin  the 
Thracian  and  Justinian  on  Dardanian  soil  are 
conspicuous  examples,  results  from  a  com- 
parison of  the  local  names  of  Justinian's 
castles  in  Dardania  supplied  by  Procopius.  On 
the  whole,  however,  on  comparing  the  names  b 
supplied  by  the  inscriptions  from  this  district, 
we  are  struck  with  the  evidence  they  supply 
of  its  thoroughgoing  Romanization.  Of  Greek 

inscriptions  from  Scupi  and  its  vicinity  I  am  able  to  supply  but  two  (figs.  57,  79),° 
though  names  of  Greek  origin  are  not  infrequent. 

Amongst  other  private  inscriptions  of  interest  may  be  mentioned  the  concluding 
part  of  an  elegiac  epitaph  to  a  local  Nestor. 


OP  VIS  PfcNfcM  HSS 


Fig.  67. 


•  Cf.  Tomasehek,  Zur  Kunde  der  Hcemus-Halbinsel  (Sitzungsb.  d.  k.  Akad.  d.  W.  1881.  H.  2, 
p.  446.) 

b  A  Dardanian  with  the  Illyrian  name  Epicadus  is  mentioned  on  an  inscription  at  Rome  C.  I.  L. 
VI.  2845. 

c  Cf.  also  the  uncertain  fragment  from  Taor  (p.  145)  and  the  later  Byzantine  inscription  on  the 
walls  of  Skopia. 


128 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


|TRANQyiLlA'PERy\NNOSt 
<0  AEMVLAQV  E*1N  CVNCTIS  f 


p-      4    •    v    •  A  •*      ^^^  *•     ^^— ^  -^ 

'^%^/*&sz^&^^ 

Fig.  68. 


TRANQVILLA  PER  ANNOS 

AEMVLA  QVE  IN  OVNOTIS  FORMA  SENI  PTLIO 

In  another  case  (fig.  69)  a  citizen  of  Methymna  in  Lesbos  is  mentioned,  who 
died  at  Scupi  at  the  mature  age  of  eighty.  Of  unquestionably  Christian  inscrip- 
tions I  am  only  able  to  describe  one  (fig.  88).  It  is  engraved  in  a  late  and  quasi 
cursive  style  on  a  tile  which  my  wife  picked  up  on  the  actual  Acropolis  of  Scupi. 

There  is,  indeed,  ample  evidence  that  under  the  Christian  Emperors  Scupi 
retained  its  importance.  When,  in  accordance  with  the  new  division  of  the 
Empire,  Dardania a  had  again  been  detached  from  Upper  Moesia,  Scupi  became 
the  chief  civil  and  ecclesiastical  Metropolis  of  the  newly  constituted  Dardanian 
Province.  A  Bishop  of  Scupi "  is  the  first-mentioned  of  the  two  Dardanian 
Bishops  who  attended  the  Council  of  Serdica  in  347  A.D.  In  379,  the  year  in  which 
Theodosius  expelled  the  Goths  from  Thrace,  we  find  him  dating  a  law  from  this 
city,0  and  again  in  388.d  Ten  years  later,  St.  Paulinus  of  Nola,  mentions  Scupi 
among  the  important  Illyrian  cities  that  St.  Nicetas,  of  Remesiana,  would  visit  on 
his  return  from  Italy  to  his  Dacian  See."  On  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana  Scupi  is 

*  Less  the  part  which  was  now  incorporated  in  Dacia  Hediterranea.  Naissus  itself  had  been 
included  in  the  older  and  more  extensive  Dardania  by  Ptolemy. 

b  "  Paregorius  a  Dardania  de  Scnpis  "  :  the  other  Dardanian  Bishop  who  attended  this  council 
was  Macedonius  of  Ulpiana.  Mansi,  Cone. 

c  Cod.  Theod.     De  Palatinis  1.  2,  dated  "  Scopis." 

11  Cod.  Theod.     De  Decurionibus  1.  119,  dated  "  Scupis.' 

e  S.  Paulini  Nolensis  C.  xxx  :  De  reditu  Nicetos  Episcopi  in  Daciam :   see  p.  163  seqq. 


^ -^rr,,,  A 

^^^^^^^^^^B^*^^^^MB*B^^«B^^i 

L-CORNEU 
vst-L-  Do. 

METHTMNDIS 

VIXvW'LXXX 


Fig.  fi9. 


CAT1WJA 


FESTA'»1/IX 
^XAX 

H'S'E 


PlATTJSSJM 
AE 

F'C 


,._  _J-V 


C-VAbffiRG 
LANVS-VIX'/V 


Fig.  70. 


CLAVDIAIN 
CENVACL 

SECLAKISf 


H-5-E 
C1V1  VAL 

CONIVCL 

BEAE/VEREN 
EC 


Fig.  71.  Fig.  72. 

KOMAN  SEPULCHRAL  INSCRIPTIONS  FROM  THE  SITE  OP  SCVPI  AND  ITS  NEIGHBOURHOOD. — I. 


VOL.  XLIX. 


/" 


(MILL* 
ANNXI 
ENERIA 


'       \ 

t 

H 

IVLIA'VIX 

ANN  #» 

HSE-SoD 

1 

ACELERE 

I 

1 

FC 

Pig.  76. 

D 

L  V 
RO  N  I 

VS  VR 

BANVS 

V  XITA 

N  NOS 

XLVICOR 

NELIASE 
CVNDA 
CONIVC 

BENEKER 
POS 


Pig.  78. 


Fig.  77. 


liOMAK  SEPULCHRAL  INSCRIPTION  FBOM  THE  SITE  OF  SCVPI  AND  ITS  NEIOHBOUEHOOD. — II. 


KHYPANHWiX 


NTOT 


Fig.  79. 


NERl^LIB 
VIXIT-ANNIS^ 

H-S-E 

Q-NERlVSf 

NATVS-LIBERMB 

hrCONIVCI  Ml 

MFRENTIDESVO 


J 


V, 


Fig.  83. 


GSCRIBOIVS 


J/R' 


cr1 


Fig.  80. 


JMIA 


MRITO'F-C 
1'VAL'FOR 

TVNATVS-LIB 


Fig.  84. 


D    •  M 

VLPIA-MAR.C1A 

VIXIT'ANN  -XXXVIII 
C-SENTIVS-PR.IMVS 
VXORJ'BENEMERENTJ 


ARV5 
FABRIC 

SEIVSDEM 
VIXITANNISLXV 
H     S     E 

OPELIAPR1NIA 
VXORBENEME 
RENT  FAC  CVR, 


Fig.  82. 


Fig.  86. 
ROMAN  SEPULCHRAL  INSCRIPTIONS  FROM  THE  SITE  OP  SCVPI  AND  ITS  NEIGHBOURHOOD.— III. 

s2 


132 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


indicated  by  the  two  towers  of  a  Praetorian  gate,  and  the  continued  importance  of 
this  city  as  a  place  of  arms  appears  from  the  Notitia  Imperil,  when  the  "  Comi- 


Fig.  88. 

tatenses  Scupenses  "  are  mentioned  among  the  Legiones  Pseudocomitatenses  under 
the  command  of  the  Magister  Militum  per  Illyricum." 

It  was  natural  that  Scupi  along  with  the  other  cities  of  this  Illyrian  region 
should  have  suffered  from  the  barbarian  ravages  so  eloquently  described  by  Saint 
Jerome,  and  which  culminated  in  the  days  of  Attila.  About  the  year  480  we  find 
Zeno's  lieutenant,  Adamantius,  exhorting  Theodoric  to  forego  his  claims  on  Epirus, 
as  it  was  intolerable  that  the  inhabitants  of  its  large  cities  should  be  turned  out  to 
make  room  for  the  Gothic  host,  but  "  to  turn  rather  to  Dardania  where  there  was 

*  Not.  Orientis  IX.  The  Ulpianenses  and  Mer(i)enses  are  also  mentioned;  the  names  of  which 
connect  them  with  the  Dardanian  towns  of  Ulpiana  and  Merion. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  133 

land  in  plenty  besides  that  already  inhabited,  both  fair  and  fertile,  but  lacking 
both  inhabitants  and  cultivation. "a  The  Ostrogoths  turned  towards  Italy  and  the 
Dardanian  wastes  were  left  awhile  without  barbarian  tillers.  To  the  last,  how- 
ever, the  old  Dardanian  capital  maintained  its  supremacy  both  lay  and  spiritual, 
and  the  Church  of  Scupi  continued  with  other  Dardanian  Churches  to  play  its  part 
in  the  ecclesiastical  disputes  of  the  time.  The  Roman  element  in  Dardania  seems 
at  this  time  to  have  headed  the  conservative  reaction  of  the  Latin-speaking  parts 
of  the  Illyrian  peninsula  against  the  semi-Greek  administration  of  Byzantium, 
and  the  Dardanian  Bishops  on  more  than  one  occasion  won  praise  from  the  repre- 
sentatives of  St.  Peter  for  their  loyal  adherence  to  Western  orthodoxy  and  the 
See  of  Rome.  In  492  the  "Catholic"  Dardanian  Bishops,  and  at  their  head 
Johannes,  "  Bishop  of  the  most  sacred  Metropolitan  Church  of  Scupi,b  addressed  a 
letter  in  this  sense  to  Pope  Grelasius,  and  were  complimented  by  the  Pope  in 
return  ;c  while  in  516  Pope  Hormisdas  in  his  letter  to  Avitus,  Bishop  of  Vienne, 
expresses  his  joy  that  the  Dardanian  and  other  Illyrian  churches  sought  bishops  of 
his  nomination.15  The  "  Illyrician  "  soldiers  took  the  same  side,  and  in  the  revolt 
of  the  Moesian  rebel  Vitalianus,  against  the  Emperor  Anastasius,  the  "  Catholic 
soldiery  "  of  Serdica  and  Pautalia  were  conspicuous  for  their  fidelity  to  the  Latin 
cause.6  Meanwhile,  however,  though  barbarian  colonists  had  not  yet  settled  down 
en  masse  to  till  the  waste-lands  of  Dardania,  barbarian  marauders  continued  the 
work  of  devastation,  and  a  more  awful  natural  catastrophe  was  impending  over  the 
devoted  land.  The  Illyrian  chronicler,  Marcellinus  Comes/  writing  of  the  earth- 
quake which  in  518  destroyed  so  many  Dardanian  cities  and  strongholds,8  mentions 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Scupi  owed  their  escape  from  entombment  in  the  ruins  to 
the  fact  that  they  were  then  in  the  act  of  flying  from  their  city  owing  to  the  scare 
of  some  barbarian  invasion.  The  walls  of  Scupi,  as  we  see  from  this  last  incident, 
had  already  ceased  to  be  a  protection  to  the  citizens ;  the  whole  town  was  now 
reduced  by  the  earthquake  to  a  heap  of  ruins. 

a  Excffrpta  e  Malchi  Historia.     (Ed.  Bonn,  p.  255). 

b  "  Johannes  Episcopus  Sacrosanct®  Ecclesiaa  Scopinee,  Metropolitanee."     Mansi.  viii.  13. 

c  "  Gelasius  Episcopis  per  Dardaniam  sive  per  Illyricum   constitutis Audientes 

orthodoxam  vestrae  dilectionis  in  Christo  constantiam."     Mansi  viii.  46. 

d  Mansi  viii.  408. 

'  e  Marcellinns  Com.es,  in  Chron :  Anastasius  was  constrained  to  send  back  the  Bishops  of  Naissns 
and  Pautalia,  ob  metum  Illyriciani  Catholici  militis.  Prof.  Tomaschek  rightly,  I  think,  connects  the 
Roman  and  Italian  sympathies  of  the  Illyrian  church  and  army  with  the  prevalence  of  the  Latin 
tongue  in  the  interior  of  the  peninsula. 

f  In  Chron.  sub  anno.  g  See  p.  89. 


134  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum,. 

The  old  Scupi  was  thus  destroyed,  but  the  historic  continuity  of  the  Dardanian 
Metropolis  lived  on,  and  it  is  to  this  period  that  we  must  refer  its  migration  from 
the  old  site  to  the  new.  The  old  position  of  Scupi  with  its  broad  plain  and  the 
undulating  hill  of  the  upper  city  answered  to  the  possibilities  of  a  civilised  age. 
The  original  Illyrian  watch-station  on  the  height  of  Zlokucani  had  been  merged 
in  the  ampler  city  of  the  plain  below  by  a  race  whose  engineering  capacities  had 
enabled  them  to  trust  to  artificial  bulwarks.  But  the  character  of  the  times  had 
changed  once  more.  Throughout  Illyricum  the  age  of  castle  building  had  begun, 
and  strong  natural  positions,  the  peak  and  the  promontory,  were  sought  once  more 
for  civic  foundations.  It  was  natural  that  those  who,  about  Justinian's  time, 
rebuilt  the  ancient  city — and  we  have  historic  evidence  that  it  was  at  this  period 
that  the  need  for  its  complete  reconstruction  first  arose — should  give  the  prefer- 
ence to  a  loftier  and  more  defensible  position  than  was  the  original  site  of  the 
Roman  town.  And  such  a  position  was  supplied  in  the  actual  vicinity  of  the 
ancient  site  by  the  more  craggy  height  rising  sheer  above  the  Vardar,  the  height 
still  capped  by  the  Byzantine  Akropolis  of  the  modern  Skopia. 

There  are  strong  grounds,  I  say,  for  assuming  that  this  municipal  migration 
should  be  referred  to  the  period  succeeding  the  great  overthrow  of  518.  Nine 
years  after  that  event  Justinian  succeeded  to  the  Empire,  and  there  is  thus  an 
overwhelming  a  priori  presumption  that  the  rebuilding  of  Scupi,  at  least  as  a 
military  bulwark,  must  connect  itself  with  the  general  reconstruction  and  restora- 
tion of  his  provincial  towns  and  fortresses  by  the  great  Illyrian  Emperor.  "We 
thus  approach  the  question — "Was  this  the  chosen  City  of  the  Emperor  himself  ? 
"Was  this  the  City  of  the  land  of  his  birth  which  Justinian  not  only  restored  and 
embellished,  but  made  the  capital,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  of  his  reconstituted 
Illyricum,  and  named  after  himself  Justiniana  Prima? 

As  the  whole  question  has  lately  been  reopened  it  will  be  well  to  review  the 
literary  sources  at  our  disposal.  Procopius  tells  us  that,  "  amongst  the  Dardanians 
who  dwell  beyond  the  borders  of  the  Epidamnians,  very  near  the  castle  called 
Bederiane,  is  the  district  named  Tauresium,  from  which  the  Emperor  Justinian, 
the  re-founder  of  the  Eoman  world,  drew  his  origin.  Here  the  Emperor  erected  a 
small  quadrangular  castle  with  a  tower  at  each  angle,  from  which  it  was  called 
"  Tetrapyrgia,"  and  near  it  he  built  a  most  glorious  City,  which  he  called  Jus- 
tiniana Prima  ("Prima"  means  "first"  in  the  Latin  language),  thus  offering 
maintenance  to  his  nursing  mother.""  Procopius  further  tells  us  that  he  made  an 

a  De  JTjd,  IV.  1.      "  tv  Aapddvoig  TTQV  rolf  EiyjwTraioTg,  ol  o//  /ier<)  ror£  'KTTiCafiviwv  vpovf  (pKtjvrai,  TOV  ippovpiov 
a  inrtp  Becepiava  iviKaXdrai,  \iapiov  Tavpi'iatov  uvo/jia    i/v,   tv9ev   lovariviaviif  fiaoiXti'f  6    rrjs  oiKovfiivije  otKiarfig 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  135 

aqueduct  there  to  supply  the  town  with  a  perennial  stream,  and  that  he  wrought 
many  things  that  reflect  glory  and  renown  upon  its  founder.  "  It  would 
not  be  easy,"  he  continues,  "  to  enumerate  the  the  temples  of  the  Gods,  the 
palaces  of  the  magistrates,  the  size  of  the  porticoes,  the  beauty  of  the  market- 
places, the  fountains,  streets,  baths,  and  bazaars.  In  a  word  it  is  a  great  and 
populous  City,  in  every  respect  prosperous  and  worthy  to  be  the  Metropolis  of  all 
that  region.  And  such  a  dignity  it  has  in  fact  attained.  It  is,  moreover,  the  seat 
of  the  Archbishop  of  the  Illyrians,  and  has  precedence  of  the  other  cities  in  this  as 
well  as  its  size." 

Procopius,  it  will  be  seen,  places  Justiniana  Prima  in  Dardania,  and  had  we 
only  his  authority  to  deal  with,  there  could  be  no  reasonable  gronnd  for  refusing 
to  accept  the  identification  of  Skopia  with  Justinian's  new  foundation.  In  his 
own  "  Novella  "  of  535  A.D.,  however,  defining  the  jurisdiction  of  the  new  Illyrian 
Archbishop,"  Justinian  himself  distinctly  indicates  that  Justiniana  Prima  lay  within 
the  limits  of  Dacia  Mediterranea,  and  as  clearly  shows  that  he  regarded  himself 
to  be  of  Dacian  origin.  On  the  other  hand,  it  might  be  urged  that  Procopius, 
whose  antiquarian  phraseology  is  noteworthy  in  this  passage,11  would  have  the  autho- 
rity of  Ptolemy  for  including  Naissus,  itself  one  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  later 
Dacia  Mediterranea,  within  the  Dardanian  limits.0  This  connexion  of  Justiniana 
Prima  with  Dacia  Mediterranea  siiggests  a  real  difficulty,  and  the  claims  of  Skopia 
have  recently  received  another  blow.  Professor  Tomaschek,  of  Gratz,  to  whose 
painstaking  researches  into  the  ancient  topography  of  the  peninsula  all  students, 


&pH>)Tai.  TOVTO  fttv  ovv  TO  \iapiov  iv  jSpa^ei  Tfi\iaafitvof  Kara  TO  rerpaywvor  ffX'l/*a  Kat  ywvi'y  ixaary  irvpyov  ivdffitvos 
TiTfinrvpyiav  tlval  re  Kat  Ka\tia9a.i  irnrotriKe.  Hap'  aiiTo  dt  ^aXiffra  ro  x<ap'ov  iro\tv  lirupavtaTdnir  iSiifiaTO,  ijvirep 
'lovffTiviavfiv  uvo/iaae  irpifiav  (irniliTTi  St  TOVTO  Ty  AaTtviav  Qiavy  IvvaTai)  TO.VTO.  Ty  9pf^/afiivy  Tpotyeia  itcTiviav.' 

•  Novella  Gonstit.  ii.  "  Multis  et  variis  modis  nostram  patriam  augere  cupientes,  in  qua  primo 
Deus  prsestitit  nobis  ad  hunc  mundum,  quern  ipse  condidit,  venire,  et  circa  Sacerdotalem  censuram 
earn  volumus  maximis  increments  ampliare,  ut  Primes  Justinianaa  patriee  nostrse  pro  tempore 
sacrosanctus  Antistes  non  solum  Metropolitans  sed  etiam  Archiepiscopus  fiat,  et  ceeteroi  provincire 
sub  ejus  sint  auctoritate,  id  est  tarn  ipsa  Dacia  Mediterranea  quam  Dacia  ripensis  necnon  Mysia 
Secunda,  Dardania  et  Prasvalitana  Provincia  et  secunda  Macedonia  et  pars  secundaa  etiam  Pannonire 

qure  in  Bacensi  est  civitate  " necessarium  duximus  ipsam  gloriosissimam 

Prsefecturam,  quse  in  Pannonia  erat,  in  nostra  felicissima  patria  collocare  cum  nihil  quidem  magni 
distat  a  Dacia  Mediterranea  Secunda  Pannonia."  So  too  in  Nov.  131  Dacia  is  placed  first  amongst 
the  provinces  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Justinian's  father-land. 

b  As  for  example,  when  he  speaks  of  the  "  European  "  Dardanians,  and  of  their  living  above 
the  "  Epidamnians."  The  name  of  Epidamnos  had  long  given  way  to  that  of  Dyrrhachium. 

c  Ptol.  Geogr. 


136  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

however  much  they  may  differ  from  his  conclusions,  must  acknowledge  their 
indebtedness,  has  pointed  out ft  that  in  the  fragment  of  John  of  Antioch,  published 
by  Mommsen,  in  1872,b  Justinus,  the  future  Emperor,  is  mentioned  as  coming  from 
Bederianon,  a  '  phrourion,'  or  castle,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Naissus." 

This  passage  Prof.  Tomaschek  regards  as  conclusive3;  but  unfortunately  it 
settles  nothing.  The  difficiilties  which  must  suggest  themselves  to  all  who  regard 
the  matter  from  a  large  historical  standpoint  are  rather  increased  than  diminished. 
Justinian's  new  capital  of  Illyricum  could  have  been  no  mushroom  growth.  Its 
populousness,  its  commerce,  its  administrative  importance,  all  point  to  the  fact 
that  Procopius  is  only  disguising  the  truth  when  he  makes  it  an  entirely  new 
creation  of  the  Emperor.  If  Skopia  is  not  to  be  identified  with  Justiniana  Prima, 
Mannert's  demands  still  remain  unanswered.  "  How  otherwise,"  he  asks,e  "  is  it 
possible  that  Procopius,  or  anyone  else,  while  describing  the  Emperor's  restorations 
in  the  smallest  and  most  unknown  Dardanian  towns,  should  have  passed  over  in 
obstinate  silence  the  City  which  up  to  this  moment  had  been  the  capital  of  the 
country?  "  The  old  identification  of  Justiniana  Prima  with  Ochrida,  the  ancient 
Lychnidus,  dates  no  further  back  than  the  thirteenth  century,  and  was  due  to 
the  desire  of  the  auto-kephalous  Bulgarian  Archbishops  of  that  See  to  profit  by 
Justinian's  Novella.  Moreover,  as  will  be  seen,  the  early  Byzantine  and  Bulgarian 
official  style  of  these  Archbishops,  though  it  couples  the  two  names  of  Justiniana 
Prima  and  Ochrida  expressly  refrains  from  asserting  their  identity/  The  attempt, 
followed  by  Gibbon,  to  identify  Justinian's  City  with  Kiistendil,  or  Gjustendil, 
simply  arose  out  of  a  false  etymology.  The  name  of  Kiistendil,  in  fact,  only 
originated  in  the  fifteenth  century,  from  the  name  of  a  local  despot,  Constantine." 

"•  W.  Tomaschek,  Hiscellen  aus  der  alien  Geographie  in  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Oesterreichischen 
Gymnasien  1874,  p.  659. 

b  Hermes,  B.  vi.  p.  323  seqq. 

0  "'louirnvoj  ix  BeJepiaj/oii  ippovpiov  jrXi)<tta£ovrof  Naiirffy '"  op.  cit.  p.  339.  Justin  was  assisting  the 
Emperor  Anastasius  against  the  Isaurian  rebels  in  the  capacity  of  Hypostrategos. 

d  "  Die  Sache  ist  entschieden."  As  to  the  opinion — supported  by  weighty  arguments  by 
Mannert,  Hahn,  and  Tozer — that  Scupi  and  Justiniana  Prima  were  identical,  Prof.  Tomaschek 
thinks  it  not  worth  the  trouble  of  refuting.  "  Diese  Meinung  zu  wiederlegen  verlohnt  sich  nicht 
der  Muhe."  Miscellen.  fy-c.  p.  658. 

e  Geographie  der  Griechen  und  Homer,  vii.  p.  105  (Landshut).  Mannert,  however,  had  not 
observed  the  difficulty  raised  by  Justinian's  attribution  of  this  city  to  Dacia  Mediterranea. 

f  See  p.  143. 

K  "  Gospodin  "  Konstantin,  Lord  of  Northern  Macedonia  (f  1394),  well-known  in  Serbian  epic 
as  the  friend  of  Marko  Kraljevic.  In  1500  the  territory  formerly  held  by  him  was  still  known  as 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  137 

Its  mediaeval  name  was  Velebuzd,  and  it  occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient  Pautalia, 
which,  as  a  bishopric,  is  expressly  distinguished  from  Justiniana  Prima.  Nor  can 
we  see  in  Justiniana  Prima  another  name  for  Naissus,  since  the  restoration  of 
Naissus,  or,  as  he  calls  it,  Naissopolis,  is  specially  mentioned  by  Procopius,  after 
his  account  of  the  creation  of  Justiniana  Prima  and  as  a  separate  act  of  the 
Emperor,  and  the  bishopric  of  Naissus  is  found  under  the  supremacy  of  the  Bishop 
of  Justinian's  City. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  traceable  in  Procopius' 
account  certain  internal  evidence  of  probability.  According  to  Procopius,  Jus- 
tinian coupled  his  foundation  of  his  new  Illyrian  capital  with  the  restoration  of 
Ulpiana,  another  ancient  Dardanian  city,  to  the  remains  of  which  I  have  already 
alluded  in  the  preceding  paper,"  which  he  called  Justiniana  Secunda.  Now  the 
relation  of  Justiniana  Prima  to  Justiniana  Secunda,  to  a  great  extent,  reproduces 
the  relation  already  existing  between  Scupi  and  Ulpiana.  If  Scupi,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  the  old  Dardanian  Metropolis,  Ulpiana  appears  to  have  ranked  nearest 
to  it  amongst  the  provincial  cities.  But  Procopius  informs  us  of  a  further  fact. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  Ulpiana — or,  as  it  was  now  called,  Justiniana  Secunda— 
the  Emperor  built  another  city,  which  he  called  Justinopolis,  in  honour  of  his 
uncle  Justinus.  Now,  if  Justinus  had  not  been  born  in  a  Dardanian  district,13  it 
is  hard  to  see  why  his  nephew  should  build  a  town  in  his  honour  in  that  province, 
as  is  proved  from  its  vicinity  to  Ulpiana.  But  Justinus,  as  we  learn  from  the 
fragment  of  John  of  Antioch,  was  connected  with  Bederiana.  Hence  it  appears 
that  the  words  TrX-^crta^ovTos  rq>  Nauro-w  must,  after  all,  be  taken  in  a  vague, 
general  sense,  and  as  not  excluding  the  possibility  that  this  "  phrourion "  was 
situate  on  Dardanian  soil  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  word. 

The  permanence  of  the  name  of  Scupi,  Scopi,  or  in  its  Byzantine  form 
Skopia,  in  spite  of  its  official  substitute,  again  receives  an  illustration  from  the 
case  of  Ulpiana.  Even  during  the  reign  of  Justinian  himself  we  find,  as  I  have 
already  shown,  the  names  Justiniana  Secunda  and  Ulpiana  used  indifferently  in 
official  acts  relating  to  the  same  bishop.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  no 
Bishop  of  Scupi  is  mentioned  at  this  time,  while  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Justiniana 


Zemlja  Konstantinova.  In  1559  his  City  of  Velebu/d  or  Banja  (this  latter  name  derived  from  its 
hot-baths)  appears  in  an  Italian  Itinerario  as  "  Constantin-bagno."  Kustendil  is  simply  the  Turkish 
form  of  Konstantin.  See  Jirecek,  Oesch.  d.  Bulgaren.  p.  333. 

"  See  p.  58. 

b  He  was  of  course  of  Thracian  descent. 

VOL.  XLIX.  T 


1 38  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

Prima  appears  on  more  than  one  occasion  towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century, 
may  show  that  for  awhile  at  least  the  more  imperial  name  eclipsed  the  older,  and 
what  was  doubtless  still  the  popular  form.  lu  the  fifth  century  we  find  a  special 
connexion  between  the  Bishops  of  Dardania  and  the  Bishop  of  the  South-Eastern- 
most Dalmatian  (Praevalitane),  diocese  of  Doclea  or  Doclitia.  The  Bishop  of  this 
Dalmatian  town  signs  among  the  Dardanian  Catholic  Bishops  in  the  letter 
addressed  by  them  in  451  to  the  Emperor  Leo.  It  is  at  least  a  noteworthy 
coincidence  that  the  last  mention  of  the  Bishop  of  Justiniana  Prima  should  occur  in 
a  letter  addressed  in  602  by  Gregory  the  Great  to  Johannes,  Bishop  of  Justinian's 
city,  to  be  forwarded  to  him,  should  circumstances  require  his  intervention,  through 
the  Bishop  of  Scodra,  and  relating  to  charges  brought  against  a  Bishop  of  Doclea.0 
There  remains  however  a  still  more  conclusive  argument  which  has  been 
curiously  overlooked  by  all  those  who  have  treated  of  this  vexata  qucestio,  and 
which  goes  far  to  neutralise  and  explain  the  statement  contained  in  Justinian's 
Novella,  that  Justiniana  Prima  lay  in  Dacia  Mediterranea.  It  appears,  namely,  from 
the  letter  addressed  in  492  by  John,  Metropolitan  of  Scupi,  to  Pope  Gelasius,  that 
in  his  quality  of  Bishop  of  the  metropolitan  city  of  Scopi,  "  Episcopus,"  as  he  styles 
himself,  "  Sacrosanctce  Ecclesice  Scopince,  Metropolitans  Civitatis,"  he  claimed  a 
supremacy  not  only  over  the  Bishops  of  Dardania  in  its  contemporary  official  sense 
but  over  other  Bishops  who  sign  beneath  him,  one  of  whom  was  Bonosus,  Bishop  of 
no  less  a  place  than  Serdica,  the  capital  of  Dacia  Mediterranean  In  view  of  this 
fact  the  letter  addressed  by  Gregory  the  Great  in  595  to  Felix,  Bishop  of  Serdica, 
enjoining  him  to  obey  his  superior,  and  the  Pope's  vicar,  Johannes,  Bishop  of 
Justiniana  Prima,  acquires  a  fresh  significance.  In  553  we  find  from  the  Acts  of 
the  Fifth  Synod  of  Constantinople  °  that  the  Bishops  of  Naissus  and  Ulpiana  had 
refused  to  attend  and  sided  with  Pope  Vigilius,  and  when  appealed  to  on  the  sub- 
ject refer  the  synod  to  their  Archbishop  Benenatus.  Both  Farlatod  and  Le  Quiene 

a  Mansi,  x.  329.  "  De  Paulo  Docleatinse  Civitatis  episcopo  lapse."  Justiniana  Prima  seems  to 
be  thus  brought  into  a  certain  geographical  connexion  with  Scodra  (Scutari  d' Albania),  from  which 
place  as  we  have  seen  a  line  of  Eoman  road  led  to  the  Dardanian  City  of  Ulpiana  (Justiniana  II.), 
and  thence  to  Scupi. 

b  Marius  Mercator,  in  Appendice  ad  Contradictionem  12  Anathetismi  Nestoriani,  "  Sardicensis 
Bonosus  qui  a  Damaso  urbis  Romse  episcopo  prsedamnatus  fuit : "  Le  Quien ;  Oriens.  Christianus,  t.  ii. 
p.  302.  Farlato  III.  Sac.,  t.  viii.  p.  34,  endeavours  to  make  Bonosus  Bishop  of  Naissus,  but  on 
110  valid  grounds.  His  statement  would  anyhow  not  affect  the  present  argument,  as  Naissus  was 
also  in  Dacia  Mediterranea. 

c  Mansi,  ix.  p.  199.  a  Illyricum  Sacrum,  t.  viii.  p.  17. 

c  Oriens.  Christianus,  t.  ii.  p.  310. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  139 

are  agreed  that  this  Benenatus  must  have  been  bishop  of  Scupi,  but  they  have 
both  failed  to  grasp  the  logical  deduction  that  the  Archbishop  of  "  the  Most  Holy 
Metropolitan  City"  of  Scupi,  as  it  appears  before  Justinian's  time,  has  now  become 
the  Archbishop  of  his  special  city.  The  Primacy,  then,  of  Illyricum  was  not  an 
altogether  new  creation,  but  in  part  represented  earlier  claims  of  precedency 
exercised  by  the  Bishops  of  Scupi.  The  language  of  Procopius  and  the  language 
of  the  Novelloe  are  thus  reconciled,  and  the  special  tie  of  allegiance  which  bound 
the  Bishop  of  Justinian's  city  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  is  seen  to  be  in  fact  the  direct 
inheritance  from  an  earlier  time  when  the  Metropolitans  of  Scupi  stood  forth  as 
the  principal  champions  of  Western  orthodoxy  in  Illyricum. 

When  we  find  the  Bishop  of  the  Dardanian  Metropolis  taking  precedency  of 
Dacian  Bishops  at  a  time  when,  politically,  Dardania  and  Dacia  Mediterranea  were 
separate  provinces  we  are  tempted  to  suspect  that  the  ecclesiastical  supremacy 
represents,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  a  survival  of  an  earlier  political  distribution. 

There  is,  in  fact,  clear  historic  evidence  that,  according  to  the  original  arrange- 
ment of  Aurelian,  Dardania  was  tacked  on  to  Dacia  Mediterranea,  insomuch  that 
in  the  early  lists  of  the  provinces  of  the  Moesian  diocese,  as  given  by  the  MS.  of 
Verona,  Rufus,  and  Polemius  Silvius,  Dardania  and  Dacia  Mediterranea  are  given 
indifferently  as  the  names  of  one  and  the  same  province.  At  some  time  after  the 
completion  of  the  list  of  Polemius  Silvius  and  before  that  of  the  Notitia*  the  pro- 
vince which  bore  the  double  name  of  Dardania  and  Dacia  Mediterranea  was  divided 
into  the  two  provinces  of  Dardania,  as  we  find  it  in  Hierocles,  with  Scupi  as  its 
Metropolis,  and  Dacia  Mediterranea  under  Serdica.  But  it  is  obvious  from  this 
that  there  may  have  been  a  time  when,  as  the  later  ecclesiastical  arrangement 
indicates,  Scupi  was  the  political  Metropolis  of  a  Dacia  Mediterranea  which 
included  the  later  Dardania. 

In  the  Notitia*  itself,  indeed,  Dardania  continues  to  be  reckoned  along  with 
Dacia  Mediterranea  and  Ripensis,  Moesia  Prima,  Pra3valitana,  and  a  part  of  Mace- 
donia Salutaris  as  one  of  the  "  Five  Dacias  "  which  had  now. replaced  the  "Three 
Dacias  "  of  the  original  Trans-Danubian  province.  There  is,  indeed,  evidence  that 
in  Justinian's  time  the  name  of  Dacia  could  still  be  extended  to  the  furthest  limit 
of  the  provinces  originally  included  in  the  "Five  Dacias."  Procopius  on  two 
separate  occasions  attributes  to  Dacia  Singidunum,  a  city  which  according  to 

a  See  Mommsen,  Revue  Aroheologique,  N.  S.  xiv.  p.  387.  The  words  of  Rufus  in  describing  the 
formation  of  Aurelian's  Dacia  are :  •'  Per  Aurelianum,  translatis  exinde  Romanis,  duce  Daciat  in 
regionibus  Moesics  et  Dardania;  facto;  sunt." 

b  Not.  Or.  iii.  14. 

T  2 


140  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

Hierocles'  list  was  included  in  Upper  Moesia,  and  what  in  this  respect  is  true  of 
Upper  Mcesian  cities,  applies  equally  to  the  cities  of  the  once  "  Dacian  "  Dardania. 
Dacia  was  the  more  renowned  name,  and  there  was  always  a  tendency  to  use  it, 
the  more  so  as  at  this  period  the  actual  provincial  divisions  were  becoming  vague 
and  undefined.11 

It  must  be  allowed  that  the  language  of  the  Novellce  is  inconsistent,  yet  it  will 
be  seen  that,  in  placing  Scupi  in  Dacia  Mediterranea,  Justinian  was  but  reverting 
to  an  earlier  arrangement,  still  apparently  kept  up  by  the  existing  ecclesiastical 
organisation.  And  the  prestige  of  the  Dacian  name  was  still  such  that  in  raising 
what  was  now  in  strict  official  phraseology  a  Dardanian  city  to  the  chief  place  in 
his  newly  constituted  Illyricum,  it  was  convenient  to  revert  to  this  earlier  usage 
which  attributed  Scupi  to  Dacia  Mediterranea.  The  Dacian  hegemony  could  not  be 
ignored  in  an  Illyrian  government,  the  geographical  limits  of  which  almost  precisely 
answered  to  what  was  still  known  as  the  "  Five  Dacias."  In  Justinian's  eccle- 
siastical arrangement  indeed  no  change  in  official  language  was  required,  for  Scupi, 
as  we  have  seen,  was  still  the  recognised  Metropolis  of  the  whole  of  that  original 
Mediterranean  Dacia  that  had  once  politically  embraced  Dardania. 

In  the  case  of  Justiniana  Secunda  we  have  seen  that  the  old  name  of  the  city 
continued  to  be  used  concurrently  with  the  official  title,  and  finally  in  an  altered 
form  survived  it.  The  same  process  undoubtedly  occurred  in  the  case  of  Justiniana 
Prima.  Towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  the  name  of  Scupi,  or  "  Scopis,"  as 
it  is  written  in  the  language  of  the  times  b  reappears  in  history,  and  Theophylact 
mentions  that  the  town  was  plundered  and  many  of  its  citizens  taken  captive  by  a 
Slavonic  band.0  It  is  probable  that  the  town  passed  definitely  into  Slavonic  hands 
about  695,  in  which  year  we  find  numerous  refugees  from  the  Dardanian  cities  taking 
refuge  within  the  walls  of  Thessalonica.a  Under  the  Bulgarian  princes  "  Skopje," 


8  D.  B.  Goth.  ii.  pp.  80,  418  (Bonn  ed.). 

b  Compare  Jornandes'  Sirmis,  8/-c.     In  Eavennas  the  form  Scupis  occurs,  cf.  Londinis,  Sfc. 

c  Hist.  vii.  2  (Bonn  ed.  p.  272).      Td  yap  'AaXSaira  Kai'Aicve  Kai  'S.KoTTig  KaTairpovofitvaavTtf,  &C. 

6  Acta  S.  Demetrii,  c.  ii.  It  is  there  mentioned  as  a  chief  cause  of  the  second  Slavonic 
onslaught  on  Thessalonica  that  that  city  sheltered  escaped  "  mancipia "  from  the  interior  of 
Illyricum.  One  city  only  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  hold  out  when  all  the  other  cities  and  provinces 
round  had  been  made  void  of  Roman  habitation ;  "  hsec  autem  "  (to  quote  the  Latin  version)  "  sola 
superesset  omnesque  e  Danubii  partibus  Paunoniaque  et  Dacia  et  Dardania  reliquisque  provinciis 
et  urbibus  transfugas  reciperet  atque  in  sinu  suo  foveret."  The  citizens  of  Naissus  and  Serdica  are 
specially  mentioned. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm.  141 

as  its  name  was  known  in  its  Slavonic  form,"  continued  to  be  an  important  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  centre.  The  eleventh  century  Byzantine  chroniclers"  call  it 
even  the  "  Metropolis  of  Bulgaria,"  a  title  which  conveys  a  hint  as  to  the  source 
whence  the  later  auto-kephalous  Bishops  of  Ochrida  drew  their  style  of  "  Bishops 
of  Justiniana  Prima." 

Apart  from  this  ecclesiastical  and  other  evidence  as  to  the  identity  of  Scupi 
and  Justiniana  Prima,  I  have  already  called  attention  to  two  facts,  arrived  at  by 
researches  on  the  spot,  which  ought  to  weigh  on  the  same  side,  against  the  confi- 
dent assertions  of  Professor  Tomaschek.  I  have  shown,  from  a  series  of  monu- 
ments, that  the  site  of  the  Koman  colony  and  later  metropolitan  city  of  Scupi  is  to 
be  found  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  important  Byzantine,  Slavonic, 
and  Turkish  emporium  of  Skopia,  or  Uskiip,  with  which  its  name  is,  in  fact, 
identical,0  and  that  to  hunt  for  it  in  the  Morava  Valley  would,  therefore,  be  super- 
fluous. I  have  further  shown,  that  a  direct  line  of  Roman  way  through  the  pass 
of  Kacanik  brought  Scupi  into  peculiarly  intimate  relation  with  the  Dardanian 
sister-town  of  Ulpiana ;  in  other  words,  with  Justiniana  Secunda.  It  remains  to 
consider  the  existing  Byzantine  monuments  of  Skopia  itself,  and  some  important 
evidence  connected  with  local  names  and  sites  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Previous  to  his  journey  undertaken  from  Belgrade  to  Salonica,  the  attention  of 
Von  Hahn  had  been  called  by  the  Austrian  Consul-G-eneral  Mihanovich  to  the 
striking  similarity  of  the  names  of  Taor  and  Bader,  two  villages  near  Skopia,  to 
the  Tauresium  and  Bederiana  mentioned  by  Procopius  as  native  places  of  Jus- 
tinian.3 Owing  to  unfavourable  weather,  the  snow  lying  then  on  the  ground,  Von 
Hahn  had  been  unable  during  the  course  of  his  journey  to  follow  up  the  inquiry 

a  Nikephoros  Bryennios,  iv.  18  (Bonn  ed.  p.  148),  in  the  eleventh  century  still  calls  Skopia  by 
its  ancient  name  of  Scomrot  and  places  it  correctly  on  the  Vardar  as  he  tells  us  the  Axios  was  then 
called. 

b  Skylitzes  and  his  copyist  Kedrenos  (Bonn  ed.  ii.  527).     The  revolted  Bulgarian  Prince,  Peter 

Deljan,    marches    "  Sia  re  flaitraov  Kal  riav  'S.KOViriiav  Tijg  MijrpOJroXEWf  BoiAyapi'af  "    (A.D.    1040).       When   Basil 

organised  the  Bulgarian  Church  in  1020  the  Bishop  of  Skopia  was  assigned  40  Kleriki  and  40 
n«poiKoi,  putting  it  on  a  level  with  the  largest  Bulgarian  Sees  (see  Jirecek,  Geschichte  der  Bulgaren, 
p.  202). 

c  By  the  neighbouring  Albanian  tribes,  the  best  local  representatives  of  the  Roman  provincials, 
the  town  is  still  called  "  Scup." 

d  Reise  von  Belgrad  nach  Salonik,  p.  156.  Tauresium  might  easily  represent  a  Vicus  Taurensium, 
pointing  to  some  form  with  which  Taor  would  connect  itself.  Neither  Taor  nor  Bader  appears  to 
be  of  Slavonic  origin.  As  a  set-off  to  this,  Prof.  Tomaschek,  who  seeks  his  Justiniana  Prima  near 
Kursumlje,  has  sought  to  connect  the  name  of  Tauresium  with  that  of  the  village  of  Tovrljan  in  the 
Toplica  district. 


142  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

with  any  definite  results,  but  he  had  heard  of  some  old  foundations  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Taor,a  had  been  shown  in  the  village  a  stone  "  postament,"  with  what 
appeared  to  him  to  be  a  Slavonic  inscription,"  and  had  seen  a  copy  of  another 
Slavonic  inscription  from  a  neighbouring  monastery,  which,  he  was  led  to  believe, 
contained  a  reference  to  Justinian  as  its  founder.0  On  the  strength  of  these 
observations  of  Yon  Hahn,  and  this  striking  similarity  of  names,  I  made  it  my 
special  business  to  explore  Bader,  Taor,  and  the  surrounding  region.  Both 
villages  lie  on  the  skirts  of  a  mountainous  triangle  that  lies  between  the  Yardar 
and  its  tributary  the  Pcinja,  near  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers,  and  partially 
shut  in  by  the  sedgy  lake  of  Jelatno.  The  starting-point  of  my  explorations  was 
Banja,  in  the  Pcinja  valley,  the  hot  baths  and  ancient  quarries  of  which  I  have 
already  described,  which,  apparently,  formed  the  thermal  station  marked  on  the 
Tabula  of  Peutinger  as  the  first  station  on  the  Thessalonican  road,  twenty-one 
miles  distant  from  Scupi/1  The  Koman  way  itself,  in  its  southward  course,  must 
have  proceeded  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Banja,  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
Pcinja,  which  it  would  here  cross,  and  the  heights  above  it  would  be  the  natural 
position  for  a  castle  commanding  the  pass.  At  this  point,  in  fact,  are  the  ruins  of 
a  Turkish  watch-tower,  known  as  the  Badersko  Kaleh,  which  formerly  commanded 
the  road  through  the  gorge ;  a  road  which  certainly  represents  the  Roman  line. 
The  name  of  this  Kaleh  is  interesting,  as  showing  that  the  name  of  Bader  still 
clings  to  both  banks  of  the  river,  and  its  function  at  least  supplies  a  raison  d'etre 
for  the  former  existence  of  a  Byzantine  "  phrourion,"  such  as  was  Bederiana,  in  its 
vicinity.  Bader  itself  lies  on  the  right  bank  of  the  stream,  which  is  here  easily 
fordable.  The  village  is  nothing  more  than  a  wretched  group  of  Bulgar  hovels 
enclosed  in  mud  walls ;  indeed,  its  sole  redeeming  feature  was  a  fountain  erected 
by  a  pious  Moslem  dame,  Fatima  by  name ;  its  position,  however,  hanging  on  a 
steep  above  the  "iron  gates"  of  the  stream,  was  certainly  lovely.  I  was  unable 
to  observe  any  remains  here  of  Eoman  date,  though  there  was  a  Christian  ceme- 
tery near  it  of  some  antiquity  and  considerable  extent  scattered  about  in  an  oak 

a  Op.  tit.  p.  157.  "  Hier  war  kein  Platz  fiir  Prokop's  Tetrapyrgion,  doch  erzahlten  die  -Bauem, 
dass  sie  beim  Beackern  der  auf  der  Platte  oberhalb  der  Dorfes  gelegenen  Felder  auf  Cementsubstruc- 
tionen  stiessen,  und  bejahten  unsere  Frage,  ob  diese  ein  Viereck  bildeten,  doch  mochten  wir  durch 
diese  Bejahung  die  Frage  noch  nicht  als  unwiderruflich  entschieden  betrachten.  Die  auf  der  Platte 
lagernde  Schneedecke  machte  die  Untersuchung  derselben  durch  den  Augenschein  unmoglich."  The 
peasants  also  spoke  of  a  quadrangular  tile  conduit  leading  to  these  remains. 

b  Op.  cit.  p.  158.  c  Op.  cit.  p.  162. 

a  See  p.  110. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricwm.  143 

wilderness.  About  an  hour's  walk  higher  up  the  lateral  valley,  at  the  opening  of 
which  Bader  lies,  is  the  village  of  Blace,  where  two  Eoman  inscriptions  were 
found  by  engineers  engaged  in  quarrying  operations  in  this  neighbourhood,  con- 
nected with  the  construction  of  the  Macedonian  line.  In  the  little  church  here,  I 
found  one  of  these  monuments,  an  altar  with  the  comprehensive  dedication  :  "  To 
Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus,  Juno  Regina,  Minerva  Sancta,  and  all  the  other  Gods 
and  Goddesses:"3  erected  by  Aur.  Titianus,  a  Beneficiarius  Consularis  of  the  7th, 
Claudian,  Legion,  to  which  we  have  so  often  had  occasion  to  refer,  in  the  Consulship 
of  Victorinus  and  Proculus,  that  is  in  the  year  200  A.D.  The  other  inscription  was 
no  longer  to  be  found ;  but  it  is  interesting,  as  referring  to  the  serpent- worship 
introduced  by  Alexander,  the  prophet  of  Abonotichos,  of  whom  Lucian  has  left  us 
an  account ;  and  whose  authority  was,  apparently,  popular  amongst  the  Dacians- 
I  noticed  one  or  two  other  fragments  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  church  of  Blace, 
which  seemed  to  be  of  Eoman  origin.  From  this  village,  which  occupies  a  central 
and  commanding  position  in  this  hilly  tract,  between  the  Pcinja  and  Vardar,  a 
straight  line  of  road,  embanked  in  places,  runs  along  the  watershed  almost  due 
South,  towards  the  village  of  Koslje,  and  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers.  To  this 
road  I  am  certainly  inclined  to  attribute  a  Roman  origin. 

In  the  Bulgarian  monastery  of  St.  John,  which  lies  on  the  left  steep  of  the 
Pcinja,  near  its  confluence,  I  saw  a  Slavonic  inscription,  a  copy  of  which  Von 
Hahn  had  been  shown  at  Velese,  and  which  he  supposed  to  contain  a  reference  to 
Justinian.  It  is  painted  in  black  letters  in  the  inside  of  the  little  Byzantine 
church,  above  the  doorway ;  but  it  did  not  by  any  means  answer  to  Von  Halm's 
description.  A  few  words  were  indecipherable,  but  the  inscription,  as  a  whole,  is 
clear  enough,  and  runs  as  follows  :— 

"  This  church  was  built  from  the  foundation  and  painted  within  by  the  present 

labour  and  expense  of  the  God-loving  Bishop  Kirioseph from  the 

Monastery  of  Zographu.  In  the  time  of  the  Patriarchate  of  the  blessed  and  .... 
Lord  and  Bishop  of  the  First  Justiniana  or  Ochrida,  the  Lord  Zozimos,  and  of  the 
....  Sultan  Mechmet.  At  that  time  Crete  was  taken.  And  the  founders 
(Ktetors)  were  from  Rudnik,"  Jovo,  Neda,  Nera,  .  .  .  ica,  Prodanj,  Stepanj,  Vaso, 
Damceta.  In  the  year  (1669)." 

The  mention  of  the  capture  of  Crete  enables  us  to  supply  the  date,  which  was 
obliterated  in  the  original. 

'  I  .  0  .  M  .  /  IVNONI  .  REG  .  MIN  /  SANC  .  CETEEIS  QVE  /  DIIS  DEABVSQVE  /  OMNIBVS  .  SACK  M  /  AVK  . 
TITIANVS  .  BF  .  /  COS  .  LEG  .  VII  .  CL  .  /  V  .  S  .  L  .  M 

6  A  neighbouring  village. 


144 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricvm. 


It  will  be  seen  that  this  inscription  does  no  more  than  record  the  official  title 
of  the  auto-kephalous  Bulgarian  Bishops  "  of  Justiniana  and  Ochrida,"  and  does 
not,  as  Von  Hahn  was  given  to  suppose,  in  any  way  connect  the  founding  of  the 
monastery  with  the  Emperor  Justinian.8 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  village  of  Taor  stands, 
to  the  Vardar  River  Pass  at  its  opening  on  the  Plain 
of  tiskiip,  in  much  the  same  relation  as  Bader  and 
the  Badersko  Kaleh  stand  to  that  of  the  Pcinja. 
The  village  itself  lies  in  a  beautiful  wooded  glen  by 
the  banks  of  the  river,  and  a  little  above  it  is  an 
old  ferry  across  the  stream  to  the  village  of  Orezan. 
A  few  hundred  yards  to  the  north  of  Taor,  at  the 
foot  of  the  undulating  heights  that  here  dominate 
the  level  expanse  on  which  Skopia  stands,  is  the 
little  church  of  St.  Ilija,  about  which  were  many 
Roman  fragments,  including  shafts  of  columns, 
broken  cornices,  and  a  sepulchral  slab  with  dolphins 
and  a  banqueting  scene  in  the  apex,  but  in  the  field 
below  a  Slav  inscription,  which  has  supplanted  the 
original  Roman  titulus  (fig.  89).  Much  might,  no 
doubt,  be  made  of  this  by  the  champions  of  Justinian's 
Slavonic  origin  were  not  the  letters  of  mediasval  form, 
certainly  not  earlier  than  the  fourteenth  century. 

Within  the  church,  and  serving  as  an  altar,  is 
a  block  which  is  probably  the  "postament"  de- 
scribed by  Hahn.b  It  is  simply  an  altar  of  Roman 
Imperial  date  turned  upside  down.  The  inscription 
in  small  letters  was  exceedingly  illegible,  but  the 
letters  that  I  was  able  to  make  out  seemed  to  be 
Fig.  89.  rather  Greek  than  Cyrillian  (fig.  90). 

a  The  translation  of  the  inscription  as  given  to  Hahn  (p.  162)  was  of  a  curious  kind:  "die  Inschrift, 
.  .  .  wenn  mann  sie  uns  richtig  iibersetzt  hat,  den  Arzt  eines  tiirkischen  Pascha's,  welcher  dessen 
Gattin  von  der  TJnfruchtbarkeit  heilte,  als  den  Wiederhersteller  des  von  Justinian  gegriindeten 
Klosters  nennt "(!) 

b  Op.  dt.  p.  158 :  "  Leider  stand  das  Postament  auf  dem  Kopfe  und  ist  die  Inschrift  so  verwischt 
dass  wir  nur  mit  grosser  Muke  einige  roh  gearbeitete  slavische  Charaktere  erkennen  konnten." 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


145 


I  explored  the  neighbouring  downs  above  the  village  for  any  ancient  founda- 
tions in  vain,  till  at  last  a  Bulgar  guided  me  to  a  terrace  above  the  church  of 
St.  Ilija,  which  was  literally  strewn  with  Roman  tiles  and  fragments  of  masonry, 
and  surrounded  by  foundations  of  ancient  walls  of  brick  and  rubble  masonry. 
That  this  was  a  "  phrourion "  or  "  castellum "  of  late  Roman  date  I  cannot 
doubt.  It  had  obviously  more  than  four  angles,  but  if,  as  I  am  inclined  to 
suppose,  the  points  ABC  and  D  in  the  annexed  plan  (fig.  91)a  were  occupied 


'.•  KorioA.'AKl-T, 
I/'.C-c!  7     " 


Fig.  90. 


Fig.  91. 


with  towers,  we  should  have  before  us  a  Tetrapyrgia  not  inconsistent  with 
Procopius'  description  of  the  castle  of  Tauresium.  In  any  case,  the  occurrence  of 
such  a  castle  on  the  spot  where  ex  hypothesi  we  were  led  to  look  for  Justinian's 
"  phrourion  "  must  be  regarded  as  a  remarkable  coincidence. 

Of  the  antiquity  of  this  ruin  there  appears,  indeed,  to  be  one  remarkable  piece 
of  documentary  evidence.  In  a  grant  of  the  Bulgarian  Czar,  Constantine  As£n 

8  The  foundations  about  the  corner  A  were  very  indistinct,  and  in  order  to  ascertain  the  outline 
of  this  part  of  the  castellum  excavations  would  be  necessary.  The  measurements  given  are 
approximate. 

VOL.  XLIX.  V 


146  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

(1258-1277)  to  the  monastery  of  St.  George,  near  Skopia,  is  mentioned  the 
"Gradiste,"  or  ruined  site  of  a  castle,  by  the  village  of  Tavor,a  the  later  Taor,  and 
the  lake  of  Jelatno.  "  Gradiste  "  is  a  term  frequently  applied  by  the  Slaves  to 
sites  once  occupied  by  Roman  constructions. 

Nor  has  the  local  saga  forgotten  this  ruined  site.  From  an  intelligent  Bulgar 
schoolmaster  at  Kuceviste,  in  the  Karadagh,  I  learnt  one  or  two  interesting 
popular  traditions  which  bear  upon  the  question  at  issue.  He  told  me  that 
old  men  of  this  district  say  that  "  Three  Emperors  were  born  at  Skopia,"  and 
that  there  was  a  tradition  that  "  Czar  Kostadin  "  was  born  at  Taor,  and  reigned 
afterwards  at  Skopia.  It  seems  to  me  by  no  means  impossible  that  the  Emperor 
Constantine,  as  an  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  political  celebrity,  has  usurped  Justinian's 
place  in  the  folk-lore  of  the  country. 

We  may  now  turn  to  an  examination  of  the  Byzantine  antiquities  of  Skopia 
itself.  That  the  original  walls  of  the  Akropolis  are  of  Byzantine  date  appears 
from  an  inscription  in  large  tilework  letters  on  the  upper  part  of  the  inner  wall  to 
the  left  of  the  main  entrance.  This  inscription  in  its  present  state  is  extremely 
difficult  to  decipher.  I  was  able,  however,  to  make  out  a  few  fragments,  sufficient 
to  show  its  Byzantine  origin— 

KAHC 

[H  N6AN///MH  |  ANePOOnC////]  [AC  Hr£IC   A6  TIC   Hr6] 

The  impression  given  by  these  fragments  is  that  they  formed  part  of  a  Byzan- 
tine inscription  of  the  usual  bombastic  style,  examples  of  which  are  to  be  seen  in 
the  inscription  recording  the  erection  of  a  tower  at  Durazzo  by  Theodore  Ducas 
Comnenos,b  and  in  another,  written  in  large  characters  of  the  same  ceramic 
construction  on  the  outside  of  the  old  cathedral-church  of  Hagia  Sophia,  at 
Ochrida.0  The  walls  themselves  of  the  Akropolis  are  in  their  older  portion  formed 
of  large  square  stones,  framed,  as  it  were,  with  tiles ;  a  Byzantine  form  of  construc- 

a  "  Selo  Tavor,  gradiSte  .  .  .  .  s  jezerom  Jelatnim."  (Safariik.  Pamdtky  25;  quoted  in 
Jirecek  Geschichte  der  Bulgaren,  p.  79. 

b  Given  in  Hahn  :  Albanesische  Studien,  p.  122.  When  I  saw  this  inscription,  it  was  broken 
into  two  fragments  and  used  as  a  support  for  the  wooden  post  of  a  verandah  in  the  Turkish 
Governor's  Konak. 

c  Hahn.  Drin  und  Vardar-Reise,  p.  115.  The  name  of  the  prelate  in  whose  honour  the  inscrip- 
tion (of  colossal  size)  was  put  up  has  disappeared,  but  we  are  told  : 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


147 


tion,  of  which  a  good  example  may  be  seen  in  the  great  tenth  century  church 
of  St.  Luke's,  at  Styri,  in  Greece,  and  of  which  there  are  many  later  examples 
amongst  the  Slavonic  buildings  of  Skopia  and  the  surrounding  regions." 

The  first  impression  which  the  town  of  Skopia  makes  upon  the  stranger,  is  that 
he  has  before  him  in  an  almost  perfect  state  of  preservation  a  Byzantine  city. 
In  wandering  amongst  the  moss-grown  domes  of  the  hamams,  the  ancient  brick 
and  stone-work  bazaars,  the  noble  caravanserais  of  which  the  famous  Kurshumli 
Han  b  or  Lead  Han  is  the  type  (fig.  92),  one  is  tempted  to  recognise  the  very  baths 


Pig.  92.     Kurshumli  Han, 

and  market-halls  with  which  Justinian  embellished  his  favoured  city.  A  more 
detailed  study,  however,  shows  that  many  of  these  antique  edifices,  Byzantine  as 
is  their  style  and  appearance,  are  really  of  Turkish  origin,  and  date  from  the  first 

B  The  beginnings  of  this  form  of  construction  may  be  traced  in  the  walls  of  the  Imperial  Palace 
at  Trier. 

b  This  Han  has  been  well-described  by  Mr.  Tozer,  Highlands  of  Turkey,  vol.  i.  p.  367.  The 
Sulei  Han  is  another  edifice  of  considerable  antiquity.  In  the  Fererli  Han  are  said  to  be  concealed 
inscriptions.  These  buildings  at  present  afford  lodgings  and  warehouses  for  merchants.  On  the 
piers  of  the  Kurshumli  Han  many  names  of  old  Ragusan  merchants  are  to  be  seen  painted  in  red 

letters,  e.  g.  "ANNO  DOMINI  1777  MAKINVS  ZAMAGNA  POST  BREVEM  MORAM "I  also 

noticed  the  names  of  Lucich  and  Radegla.  On  the  outside  wall  of  the  Han  is  a  Turkish  inscription. 

u2 


148  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

days  of  the  conquest,  when  a  large  Osmanli  colony  was  planted  in  the  town,  and 
Moslem  tTskiip  arose  to  be  the  "  bride  of  Rumili." 

The  mosques  supply  a  standpoint  for  comparison.  Thus,  after  a  prolonged 
study  of  the  Kurshumli  Han,  I  was  inclined  to  ascribe  to  it  a  Byzantine  origin, 
till  a  minute  examination  of  a  small  mosque  opposite  it  assured  me  that  both  were 
the  work  of  the  same  hands."  The  pillars  of  the  arcade  in  the  Han,  and  the 
abacus  surmounting  them,  exactly  answer  to  those  of  the  porch  of  this  mosque. 
In  the  same  way  baths,  which  externally  look  as  ancient  as  that  described  near 
Novipazar,  contain  Arabic  features  in  their  interior  construction  and  ornament. 
Thus,  the  great  Hamam  of  IJskup,  which,  with  its  low  octagon  capped  with 
a  roofed  cupola,  externally  much  resembles  the  old  octagonal  thermal  cham- 
ber near  Novipazar,  presents  internally  an  entirely  Oriental  appearance,  with 
ogival  arches  and  corner  niches  or  alcoves,  with  rows  of  angular  excrescences, 
which,  when  sufficiently  projecting,  give  them  somewhat  the  appearance  of 
stalactitic  grottoes.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mere  insertion  of  a  Turkish  inscrip- 
tion into  the  outside  wall  of  a  building  does  not  necessarily  prove  that  it  was  the 
work  of  the  Turkish  dignitary  thus  honoured,  and  some  of  the  buildings,  especially 
in  the  North-East  quarter  of  the  town,  may  well  date  from  prae-Turkish  and  even 
prse-Slavonic  times.  Of  these,  the  most  ancient  in  appearance  is  unquestionably 
the  ruined  Hamam  of  "  the  two  Sisters."  Two  sisters,  according  to  local  tradi- 
tion, daughters  of  a  king,  were  taken  by  a  pasha  to  wife.  He  died,  leaving  them 
childless,  and  the  widows  built  the  Hamam.  It  is  built — like  so  many  Byzantine 
buildings  of  this  district — of  square  blocks  of  stone  encased  with  tiles,  but  in  the 
present  instance,  many  of  the  blocks  are,  as  already  mentioned,6  wrought  out  of 
Roman  sepulchral  monuments.  Nothing  seems  more  difficult  than  to  deter- 
mine the  age  of  buildings  built  in  the  same  Byzantine  style  before  and  after  the 
Turkish  conquest.  But  the  existence  of  so  many  ancient  buildings  in  the  same 
style  at  Skopia  itself,  and  amongst  the  monasteries  of  the  surrounding  ranges,  is 
itself  sufficient  proof  of  the  strength  of  the  local  Byzantine  tradition.  In  no 
other  town  in  the  central  districts  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  is  the  living  impress 
of  New  Rome  so  strong  as  here.  Indirectly,  if  not  directly,  the  hand  of  Justinian 
is  still  felt  in  what  I,  for  my  part,  shall  not  scruple  to  call  his  native  city.  The 
numismatic  evidence  as  to  the  importance  of  Skopia  in  the  fifth,  sixth,  and 
succeeding  centuries  is  not  less  strking.  In  the  bazars  of  the  town,  in  addition 
to  coins  of  Macedonian,  consular,  and  early  imperial  date — and  amongst  them 

a  The  Turks  attribute  the  construction  of  the  Kursumli  Han  to  a  certain  Mahmoud  Pasha. 
b  P.  101. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  149 

autonomous  pieces  of  Thessalonica,  Stobi,  Pautalia,  and  Viminacium,  illustrating 
the  old  commercial  connexion  with  those  places — I  observed  an  abundance  of  coins 
of  Anastasius,  Justin,  and  Justinian,  besides  others  dating  from  later  Byzantine, 
Bulgarian,  and  Serbian  times.  Cnriously  enough,  the  parting  keepsake  given  me 
by  my  host  at  Uskup  was  a  large  brass  coin  of  Justinian  himself. 

The  Aqueduct  of  Skopia  is  visible  about  an  hour  distant  from  the  city  to  the 
North.  There  are  fifty-four  brickwork  arches,  supported  on  piers  of  alternating 
stone  and  brick,  spanning  a  small  valley  connecting  one  of  the  lower  undulations 
which  roll  across  the  plain  from  the  foot  of  the  Karadagh  with  the  range  of  hills 
on  which  the  akropolis  of  Skopia  stands.  From  this  spot  it  runs,  as  an  under- 
ground channel,  in  a  North-Easterly  direction  to  the  village  of  Grluha,  which 
lies  in  a  wooded  and  well-watered  glen  of  the  Karadagh  range.  The  source  is 
covered  and  preserved  from  possible  contamination  by  a  low,  square,  stone-tiled 
building  of  rubble  masonry,  which  cannot  pretend  to  any  vast  antiquity.  The 
spring  itself  is  known  to  the  villagers  as  "Lavovac."  In  the  Skopia  direction 
the  channel  is  again  lost  beneath  the  surface,  and  comes  out  finally  near  the  noble 
Mustafa  Mosque  (which  rises  above  the  town  not  far  from  the  entrance  to  the  fort- 
ress), where  its  first  function  is  to  supply  the  fountain  that  embellishes  the  court 
of  the  mosque.  In  surveying  the  arches  of  this  Aqueduct  as  they  span  the  valley — 
so  Byzantine  in  their  general  effect — the  traveller  is  again  tempted  to  imagine 
that  he  sees  before  him  the  actual  handiwork  of  Justinian,  and  that  this  is  the 
very  Aqueduct  by  which  the  Emperor,  according  to  Procopius,  conducted  a 
perennial  stream  to  his  native  city.  In  this  case  again,  however,  a  closer  study 
has  led  me  to  modify  this  opinion.  Though  several  ancient  fragments, — including, 
besides  that  containing  a  part  of  the  titles  of  Severus,  a  portion  of  a  Eoman 
sarcophagus  and  an  Ionic  capital,  not  improbably  of  Byzantine  date, — have  been 
walled  into  the  fabric,  the  general  appearance  of  the  work  and  the  character  of  its 
preservation  is  not  such  as  to  warrant  the  belief  that  in  its  present  state  at  least 
it  dates  from  Justinian's  time.  There  is  no  single  feature  in  the  construction 
which  is  not  reproduced  in  mosques,  hamams,  and  hans  of  Turkish  date  in  Skopia, 
while  the  ogival  character  of  many  of  the  arches,  which  may  be  gathered  from 
my  sketch  (fig.  93),  is  certainly  not  inconsistent  with  a  late  origin  ;  though  not, 
perhaps,  conclusive,  as  such  pointed  arches  do  occasionally  occur  in  undoubtedly 
Eoman  aqueducts.1  On  the  whole,  therefore,  I  am  reduced  to  suppose  that  the 
upper  part,  at  least,  of  the  Aqueduct  in  its  present  state  represents  the  recon- 

a  For  pointed  arches  in  the  Aqueduct  of  Segovia,  built  in  Trajan's  time,  see  Archaeologia,  vol.  iv. 
page  410,  note. 


150 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


struction  in  Turkish  times  of  a  pre-existing  Byzantine  work.     The  local  traditions 
that  I  am  able  to  gather  thoroughly  support  this  view.     The  prevalent  tradition 


Fig.  93.    The  Aqueduct  of  Skopia. 

amongst  Christians,  as  well  as  Turks,  is,  that  the  Aqueduct  was  a  pious  work  of 
the  same  Musta  or  Mustafa  Pasha  who  built  the  mosque,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  its  first  goal,  in  Skopia."  On  the  other  hand,  I  also  came  upon  traces,  and 

a  An  older  Christian  tradition  regarding  the  aqueduct  is,  however,  mentioned  in  the  relation  of 
the  Eagusan  ambassadors  who  passed  through  tJskup  in  1792.  "  Nella  vicinanza  di  Uschiup 
videro  un  antico  acquedotto  mezzo  rovinato  volgarmente  detto  Gerina  Ciupria,  cioe  Ponte  di  Jerina 
moglie  di  Giorgio  Despot,  per  ehe  da  lei  fabricate  acquedotto  fatto  a  forza  di  archi  molto  simile  a 
quello  di  Pisa."  Jerina  or  Irene,  wife  of  the  Serbian  despot  George  Brankovich,  is  popularly  credited 
with  many  buildings  throughout  those  countries.  The  description  "  mezzo  rovinato  "  is  interesting 
as  showing  that  some  restoration  of  the  work  must  have  taken  place  since  the  end  of  the  last 
century. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


151 


that  from  an  unexpected  quarter,  of  a  saga,  which  points  to  the  existence  of  the 
Aqueduct  in  some   form  in  much  more   remote   times.     Whilst   examining   the 


Fig.  51     Arches  in  the  old  Bezestan,  Skopia. 

milliary  column  which  exists  in  a  street  of  Skopia,  I  read  out  the  name  of  Trajan 
to  a  group  of  enquiring  Turks  who  were  collected  round  me  whereupon  one  of, 
the  most  venerable  of  the  number,  old  Abderrahman  Aga,  at  once  exclaimed, 
"  Trojan, — Kapetan  Trojan !  Why,  he  it  was  who  built  the  Aqueduct."  The 
name  of  the  great  engineering  Emperor,  who  bridled  the  Danube  and  conquered 
Dacia,  still  lives  in  the  folk-lore  of  the  Peninsula ;  and  in  this  instance  "  Kapetan 
Trojan  "  appears  to  have  appropriated  Justinian's  work,  in  the  same  way  as  we 
have  seen  "  Czar  "  Constantine  usurp  his  birthplace. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  discover  in  Skopia  itself  something  like  a  proof 


152  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

that  the  Aqueduct  had  once  existed  throughout  its  extent  in  an  earlier  form. 
Hearing  of  an  old  "  Bezestan  "  or  "  cloth  hall,"  at  present  closed  (partly,  indeed, 
in  a  state  of  demolition),  and  hidden  from  view  by  the  surrounding  booths  of  the 
bazar,  with  some  difficulty  I  obtained  access  to  it.  What  was  my  surprise  to 
find  the  central  court  traversed  by  three  large  brickwork  arches,  supported  by 
stone  piers  of  well-cut  masonry,  surmounted  by  a  well-executed  cornice  or  abacus, 
and  evidently  representing  a  section  of  that  part  of  the  aqueduct  which  supplied 
the  lower  town  of  Skopia.  The  court  itself  had  obviously  been  altered  in  later 
times,  and  holes  for  beams,  supporting  some  later  flooring  or  roof,  had  been 
knocked  out  of  the  sides  of  the  central  line  of  arches.  That  parts  of  the  building, 
however,  belonged  to  the  same  date  as  the  fragment  of  the  aqueduct  which  it 
included  was  obvious,  from  the  fact  that  the  arches  coalesced  with  the  structure 
of  the  walls  at  the  two  extremities  of  the  court. 

The  construction  of  the  piers  and  arches  seemed  to  me  in  this  case  to  be  not 
earlier  than  late  Roman  times,  and  distinctly  superior  to  that  of  the  Aqueduct 
outside  the  city,  one  obvious  defect  of  which  is  that  the  piers  are  too  large  for  the 
brick  arches  they  support.  The  old  Bezestan  itself,  which  forms  in  part  at  least 
an  organic  whole  with  this  early  work,  is  a  good  example  of  the  style  of  blended 
stone  and  brick-work  which  at  Skopia,  as  we  have  seen,  survived  Byzantine  times. 
The  walls  of  its  central  court  contain  small  chambers,  access  to  which  is  obtained 
by  small  round  arched  doors,  and  in  the  middle  of  each  side  of  the  court  is  an 
entrance  arch  of  larger  dimensions.  The  interior  is  at  present  cumbered  with 
debris  of  brickwork,  and  the  whole  is  threatened  with  speedy  demolition.  If  we 
may  be  allowed  to  regard  the  central  arches  as  a  surviving  relic  of  the  actual  fabric 
of  Justinian's  Aqueduct,  we  may  venture  to  see  in  the  ruined  building  which  it 
traverses  one  of  the  very  market  halls  with  which,  according  to  Procopius,  the 
Emperor  adorned  his  native  City. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  153 


NOTES  ON  THE  ROMAN  ROAD  LINES  FROM  SCUPI  TO  NAISSUS 

AND  REMESIANA. 

In  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana  and  the  Geographer  of  Ravenna,  there  appears  a 
line  of  road  bringing  Scupi  into  direct  connexion  with  the  historically  better 
known  city  of  Naissus,  the  birthplace  of  Constantine,  and  thus  with  the  great 
central  highway  of  Illyricum,  the  "Agger  Publicus  "  that  ran  from  Singidunum,  the 
present  Belgrade,  past  Serdica  (Sophia)  to  Philippopolis,  and  eventually  to  Byzan- 
tium. Grave  difficulties  are  suggested  by  the  mileage  and  stations  of  this  route, 
which  itself  falls  into  two  parts : 

1.  A  cross-line  from  Scupi  to  Hammeo,  the  Acmeon  of  Ravennas,  a  station 
twenty  miles  distant  from  Naissus  on  the  military  road  already  referred  to,"  which 
brought   Naissus    into    communication    with    Ulpiana,    and    eventually    with   the 
Adriatic  port  of  Lissus. 

2.  The  section  from  Hammeo  (or  Acmeon)  to  Naissus  common  to  the  route 
Naissus-Ulpiana,  and  Naissus-Scupi. 

In  Ravennas  we  have  nothing  more  than  a  confused  list  of  cities.  In  the 
Tabula  there  is  no  intermediate  station  given  between  Scupi  and  Hammeo 
(Acmeon),  which  at  the  lowest  computation  must  have  been  three  days  distant. 
It  was  this  omission  that  led  Professor  Tomaschek,  wrongly,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
look  for  the  site  of  Scupi  itself  in  the  valley  of  the  Bulgarian  Morava.  "We  may  be 
allowed  to  suspect  that  stations  on  the  line  Scupi-Hammeo  have  been  erroneously 
transferred  on  the  Tabula  to  the  line  Scupi-Stobi,  where  the  chain  of  stations  is  too 
long.  But  the  whole  question  is  obscure  and  I  shall  here  content  myself  with  a 
few  antiquarian  observations  made  during  a  journey  from  Skopia  to  Nish  (the 
ancient  Naissus)  some  of-  which  throw  a  certain  amount  of  light  on  the  course  of 
the  Roman  road-line  and  the  position  of  two  at  least  of  the  principal  stations. 

The  modern  road  that  traverses  the  low  Southern  offshoots  of  the  Karadagh  to 
Kumanovo  affords  a  certain  guide  to  the  earlier  part  of  the  Roman  route  from 
Scupi,  in  the  Naissus  direction.  The  physical  configuration  of  the  country  and 
the  interposition  of  the  Karadagh  ranges  admit  in  fact  of  no  alternative  line  in 
that  part  of  the  route. 

•  See  p.  65  seqq. 
VOL.  XLIX.  X 


154 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyrwum. 


At  Kumanovo,  outside  the  orthodox  church,  was  an  altar  to  Jupiter  Optimus 
Maximus  D(olichenus)  erected  by  a  certain  Achilleus  for  the  health  of  Caracalla 
and  Julia  Domna  in  the  consulship  of  Sabinus  and  Anulinus,a  A.D.  216. 

I  was  informed  that  this  stone  had  been 
brought  from  the  village  of  Lopod  about  an 
hour  and  a-half  to  the  West  of  Kumanovo, 
where  another  inscription  is  said  to  exist  near 
the  mosque.  At  this  place,  therefore,  rather 
than  at  Kumanovo  itself,  should  be  sought  the 
first  station  on  the  Roman  road  from  Scupi  to 
Naissus.  Above  this  village,  on  an  eastern  spur 
of  the  Karadagh,  rises  the  noble  Byzantine 
church  of  Matejci,  near  which  I  observed  a 
Roman  sepulchral  slab  with  an  illegible  in- 
scription. 

The  church  itself,  with  its  brickwork  central 
tower,  its  four  surrounding  cupolas,  and  its 
triple  apse,  stands  like  some  peak-castle  of  the 
Middle  Ages  on  the  summit  of  one  of  the  beech- 
wood-covered  spurs  of  the  Black  Mountain. 
Its  position  at  an  elevation  of  about  3,000  feet 
looking  forth  over  the  broad  Kumanovo  plain, 
and  the  distant  Serbian  and  Bulgarian  ranges  is 
most  commanding  and  may  vie  with  that  of 
the  temple  of  ^Egina.  I  found  the  monastery, 
such  as  it  is,  tenanted  by  a  few  Bulgar  peasants, 
and  the  church  itself,  one  of  the  noblest  monu- 

lovi  Optimo  ~M.aximo  Dolicheno 

PRO  SALVTB  IMP.  M.  AVEELI  /  ANTONINI  PII  /  AVG  .  ET  IVLIAE  / 
AVG  MATEI  KASTWram  /  ACHILLEVS  EOEVN/DEM  SEEVVS 
KAL  .  NOVEMBRIS  /  SABINO  II  ET  ANV/LINO  COnSulibus. 


"•  This  stone  had  been  previously  observed  by  Von  Halm  (Reise  von  Belgrad  nach  Salonik,  239. 
C.  I.  L.  iii.  1697).  His  observations  were  conducted,  however,  under  most  unfavourable  climatic 
conditions,  and  his  copy  is  inaccurate  in  every  single  line.  He  made  out  the  dedication  to  be  one  to 
Mithra. 


1    PROSALVTE 

[MP-M-AVRELI 

ANTONINI  PI! 

AVC-ET  IVLIAE 

AVG-MATRIKA5T 

:  ACHLLcVJ'  ECRXv 

D  M  S  E  R-WvT-  Po^ 
KAL-NoVEMBk^- 

SABINOIIETANV 

- 

LINO    OS 

Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  155 

merits  of  Eastern  Rome  in  this  region,  far  advanced  on  the  road  to  total  ruin. 
The  great  central  cupola  had  fallen  in,  and  the  two  massive  columns  on  either  side 
of  the  entrance  were  overthrown.  Their  capitals  were  very  remarkable  and 
recalled  those  of  the  church  containing  the  Emperor  Dusan's  effigy  at  Ljubiten. 
The  four  angles  of  one  were  adorned  with  scallop  foliage,  two  heads  of  bulls,  and 
one  of  a  ram ;  of  the  other  with  the  same  foliation,  a  ram's  head,  an  eagle,  and  a 
kind  of  Ionic  volute.  In  its  ground  plan,  with  its  two  side  apses,  and  indeed  in 
its  spacious  dimensions,  twenty-eight  paces  long  by  seventeen  broad,  it  differs  from 
most  of  the  churches  hereabouts. 

The  inscriptions  on  the  frescoes,  with  which  the  whole  interior  of  the  church 
had  been  covered,  were  in  Greek.  Of  the  wall-paintings  themselves,  which,  in 
spite  of  the  ruinous  condition  of  the  church,  are  in  some  places  brilliantly  pre- 
served, the  full-length  image  of  the  Theotokos  and  Child  (to  whom,  according  to 
the  local  tradition,  the  church  was  dedicated)  to  the  East  of  the  blocked-up 
southern  entrance  is  amongst  the  most  graceful.  Over  the  door  is  a  large  repre- 
sentation of  the  Pantokrator.  To  the  left,  entering  the  church,  the  whole  of  the 
second  bay  of  the  western  wall  is  filled  with  a  sacred  genealogical  tree,  on  the 
central  stem  of  which  I  could  read  the  names  of  David  and  Solomon  ;  on  either 
side  of  this  the  coiling  foliage  enclosed  rows  of  prophets  and  patriarchs.  To 
the  right  of  the  entrance  the  sacred  tree  is  balanced  by  another,  Imperial  and 
Orthodox.  Unfortunately,  this  is  much  effaced ;  but  enoiigh  remained  to  show 
that  it  was  a  Byzantine  counterpart  of  the  tree  of  the  Nemanjids  in  the  royal 
Serbian  church  of  Decani  :a  the  figures  here  were  smaller  and  inferior  to  the 
Serbian,  but,  in  other  respects,  much  resembled  them.  One  legend  still  remains, 
attached  to  a  figure  in  the  highest  row  but  one  of  the  tree, 

ICAAKIOC  BACIAeYC  PcoMewN, 

to  show  that  this  was  intended  to  represent  the  genealogical  tree  of  the  imperial 
house  of  the  Komneni.  In  the  South-East  corner  of  the  church  are  three  more 
imperial  full-length  portraits  :  an  Emperor,  holding  a  roll  in  Byzantine  fashion ; 
an  Empress,  whose  robes  are  elaborately  ornamented  with  a  fleur-de-lys  pattern ;  and 
a  younger  Emperor;  in  this  case  again  the  style  much  recalling  the  representations 
of  Dusan  and  his  son  and  consort.  In  the  centre  of  what  is  now  the  ruined  body  of 

•  About  two  hours  distant  from  Kumanovo  to  the  East,  at  Naguric,  is  a  splendid  example  of  an 
old  Serbian  church,  with  an  inscription  recording  its  erection  by  King  Miljutin,  and  frescoes  within 
of  the  King  and  his  consort  Simonida.  Like  Decani,  it  is  evidently  the  work  of  a  Dalmatian  architect, 
and  represents  a  compromise  between  Italian  and  Byzantine  styles.  I  must  however  reserve  its 
description  for  another  occasion. 

x  2 


156  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

the  church,  a  later  chapel  has  been  erected  for  purposes  of  worship,  and  about  one 
hundred  yards  below  are  ruins  of  another  of  smaller  dimensions,  with  frescoes  of 
a  later  date. 

At  Kumanovo  itself  I  obtained  several  coins ft  and  other  antiquities,  the  bulk  of 
which  were  said  to  have  been  found  at  Prsovo,  a  small  town  some  three  hours 
distant ;  and  I  had  previously  met  an  engineer  who  had  been  recently  occupied 
with  the  construction  of  a  road  near  this  place,  who  informed  me  that,  to  his 
knowledge,  three  Roman  inscriptions  had  been  found  there.  To  Prsovo  I  accord- 
ingly proceeded,  following  the  western  edge  of  the  plain  that  skirts  this  side  of 
the  Karadagh.  The  little  town  itself  consists  of  five  or  six  hundred  houses,  of 
which  only  ten  are  Christian,  and  lies  at  the  point  where  a  tributary  of  the 
Morava  issues  from  a  winding  gorge  of  the  Black  Mountain,  and  where,  to  the 
North- West,  a  pass  leads  across  the  range  to  Grilan,  five  hours  distant.  The  inscrip- 
tions had,  unfortunately,  vanished ;  their  disappearance  but  too  probably  connect- 
ing itself  with  the  needs  of  road  paving ;  but  traces  of  Roman  occupation  were 
not  wanting.  The  Kaimakam  informed  me  that  some  children,  playing  in  a  field 
by  the  stream,  had  recently  found  several  coins,  one  of  which  was  brought  me  as  a 
specimen.  It  proved  to  be  a  denarius  of  the  Empress  Faustina.  From  an  intelli- 
gent Albanian  guide,  Mustafa  by  name,  I  learnt  that  on  the  height  above  the 
village  there  had  formerly  been  a  stone  with  a  wolf,  as  he  thought,  sculptured  on 
it,  and  an  inscription.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  glen  he  showed  me  a  spot  where 
ancient  foundations  and  Roman  tiles  abounded ;  and  informed  me  that  many 
graves  had  been  dug  up  here,  ornaments  being  sometimes  found  with  the  remains. 
Above  this  spot  were  some  curious  niches  with  remains  of  frescoes,  but  these  of 
mediaeval  Byzantine  or  Slavonic  date,  cut  in  the  face  of  the  cliff.  The  present 
population  is  Albanian,  belonging  to  three  "Fises"  -"Plahac,"  "  Sopa,"  and 
"  Kilment "  ("  Clementi,"  as  pronounced  by  my  guide).  From  what  I  learned  from 
him  as  to  the  local  dialect,  Roman  or  Rouman  influence  on  the  language  must  be 
here  very  marked,  and  I  was  much  struck  with  his  remark :  "  Albanian,  Italian,b 

*  The  coins  included  silver  pieces  of  the  Paeonian  princes,  Patraos  and  Audoleon,  Macedonian, 
Roman,  and  Byzantine.  Pffionian  coins  seem  more  abundant  in  this  district  East  of  the  Karadagh 
than  in  the  immediate  environs  of  Skopia.  They  are  also  abundant  about  Vranja  in  the  upper  valley 
of  the  Bulgarian  Morava. 

b  Mustafa  had  picked  up  a  little  Italian  from  some  workmen  engaged  on  the  new  Serbian  line. 
Amongst  words  in  the  local  dialect  which  struck  him  as  like  Italian  he  instanced  Szavle=Sand. 
(Cf.  Ital.  Sabbia,  Bouman,  Sablu),  Plop  or  Plep^poplar  (Ital.  Pioppo,  Macedo-Rouman  Plop),  Sielcerr 
willow  (Italian  Salice,  Macedo-Rouman  Salice  or  Salce),  Supra=above  (It.  Sopra,  Rouman  Supra, 
ordinary  Albanian  Siper),  Ca'olli  also  Cavolli.  horse  (It.  Cavallo,  Rouman,  Gallu,  ordinary  Albanian 
Colli  or  Calli),  &c. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  157 

and  Ylach  are  all  the  same."  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Golema  is  a  village  with 
the  purely  Eouman  name,  Pratosielce="Willow-mead,  and  Koncul  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Morava  has  an  equally  Eouman  sound. 

The  Koman  remains  at  Prsovo — and,  according  to  my  guide,  several  inscrip- 
tions had  been  recently  broken  up  here — seem  to  mark  it  as  a  considerable  Station 
on  the  Eoman  road-line  between  Scupi  and  Naissus.  Of  the  further  course  of  the 
Way  into  the  valley  of  the  Bulgarian  Morava,  approached  from  this  place  by  an 
easy  descent,  I  could  find  no  direct  evidence.  That  the  hot-baths  of  Vranja  were 
known  to  the  Romans  is  highly  probable.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  this  town 
Eoman  coins  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and,  from  the  coins  of  Paeonia  and 
Damastion  that  I  obtained  here,  it  would  certainly  appear  that  this,  the  natural 
avenue  of  approach  from  the  ^Egean  to  the  Danubian  basin  was  frequented  by 
traders  in  prae-Eoman  times. 

At  Leskovac,  the  only  trace  of  Eoman  habitation  that  I  observed  was  a  large  tile 
with  part  of  a  stamp  beginning  with  B  .  .  .  but  broken  off,  and  some  fragmentary 
capitals,  on  the  site  of  an  old  church  of  St.  Elias,  now  in  course  of  restoration. 

"Whilst  exploring  the  wild  country  that  lies  to  the  North  of  Leskovac — a  part 
of  the  former  Arnaontluk — till  the  Serbian  occupation,  almost  inaccessible  to 
strangers — I  came  upon  some  more  important  remains.  I  had  learnt,  from  some  of 
the  natives,  that  at  a  spot  called  "Zlata,"  beyond  the  valley  of  the  Pusta  Ejeka,  or 
Desert  Eiver,  and  about  four  hours  ride  from  Leskovac,  was  an  ancient  bridge,  or 
dam,  by  which,  according  to  the  local  tradition,  the  waters  of  a  stream  had  been 
diverted  from  the  Turkish  besiegers  of  a  stronghold  that  rose  beside  it.  The 
village  of  Zlata  itself  turned  out  to  be  a  wretched  group  of  straw-thatched  hovels, 
near  which  however  were  the  remains  of  an  old  church,  dedicated,  according  to 
tradition,  to  the  Bogorodica  (Theotokos),  amongst  the  ruins  of  which  I  found  part 
of  a  marble  slab,  containing  a  relief  of  a  cross  on  a  globe  of  singularly  Eavennate 
aspect  (see  sketch-plan  B).  At  the  "West  end  of  the  village,  on  the  slope  of  a  hill 
which  here  rises  above  the  stream,  there  were  visible  two  high  blocks  of  brick- 
work, which,  on  nearer  inspection,  proved  to  be  parts  of  a  Eoman  gateway  (see 
sketch-plan  C),  a  part  of  the  spring  of  the  arch,  of  narrow  bricks,  being  visible  on 
one  side.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  city  gate,  on  the  Naissus  side — the  Porta  Naissitana, 
of  a  considerable  Eoman  Oastrum,  the  plan  of  which  can  be  best  understood  from 
the  annexed  sketch-plan.  The  outer  wall  of  this  Castrum  climbs  the  hill  above  to 
the  brink  of  a  precipitous  ravine  to  the  North.  This  outer  wall,  the  massive  brick- 
work of  which  was  still  visible  in  places,  stood  in  direct  relation  with  the  gateway. 
Beyond  it,  however,  was  what  had  been,  in  all  probability,  the  original  castrum,  a 


158 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  159 

ruined  rectangle  of  the  same  brickwork,  the  approximate  dimensions  of  which  are 
given  in  my  sketch-plan,  the  upper  wall  of  which  overlooked  the  Northern  ravine. 
In  the  North-Bast  corner  of  this  were  the  remains  of  the  oblong  Prcetorium, — 
colossal  masses  of  brickwork  and  cement  in  boulder-like  confusion.  The  Prcetorium 
occupied  what  was  the  most  level,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  commanding, 
part  of  the  area  of  circumvallation. 

The  most  remarkable  part,  however,  of  this  Roman  civic  settlement  remains  to 
be  described.  This  was  a  huge  brick  wall  running  across  a  hollow  watercourse  a 
little  below  the  remains  of  the  gateway.  This  watercourse,  which  runs  parallel  to 
the  lower  or  Southern  wall  of  the  Castrum,  is  formed  by  two  brooks,  known  as 
the  Zlata  Potok  and  Zitni  Potok,  which  flow  into  one  another  a  little  lower  down 
the  gully.  The  cross-wall  itself  is  of  extraordinary  dimensions,  gradually 
increasing  from  six  to  as  nearly  as  possible  twelve  feet  in  thickness,  and  rising 
twenty  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  ravine.  At  one  point  it  has  been  breached  by 
the  Zlata  Potok,  and  it  is  not  traceable  beyond  the  second  stream.  It  is  composed 
of  square  flat  bricks  and  cement,  its  upper  surface  presenting  the  appearance 
shown  in  fig.  c. — a  method  of  construction  which  recalls  Trajan's  bridge-head  at 
Turn  Severin  and  the  walls  of  Serdica.  On  the  Eastern  face  are  visible  two  semi- 
circular turret-like  projections,  which  evidently  served  as  buttresses,  one  of  which 
is  entered  by  a  round  arch  and  contains  a  small  domed  chamber.  On  the  other 
side,  almost  choked  with  rubbish  and  just  above  the  present  level  of  the  soil,  is 
seen  the  top  of  a  small  arch  communicating  with  a  hollow  space,  too  full  of 
fragments  to  admit  of  my  entering  it.  It  is  here  that  an  Arnaout  is  said  to  have 
found  a  heap  of  gold,  which,  however,  the  genius  of  the  spot  woiild  not  permit 
him  to  remove;  and  from  this  tale  of  treasure-trove  this  place  is  called  "  Zlata,"- 
the  plural  form  of  "  Gold." 

That  this  huge  work,  the  colossal  strength  of  which  still  impresses  the 
spectator,  was  originally  constructed  to  dam  up  the  waters  of  the  streams  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  The  natives  called  it  "  Stari  Most "  or  the  Old 
Bridge  ;  but  the  tradition  already  referred  to,  that  it  was  built  to  divert  the  water 
from  below,  contains  a  real  kernel  of  truth.  That  it  may  have  also  served  as  a 
bridge  is  probable  enough,  but  the  primary  purpose  of  its  massive  construction 
was  to  form  a  dam  ;  and  this  fact  accounts  for  its  great  thickness  in  the  centre  of 
the  gully,  where  the  pressure  of  the  pent  up  waters  would  naturally  be  greatest. 
The  Zlata  brook  has  in  fact  only  succeded  in  breaching  it  by  attacking  its  wing, 
where  the  thickness  of  the  wall  is  diminished  by  three  or  four  feet,  and  where  the 
support  of  the  turret-buttresses  is  wanting.  The  practical  object  attained  by  this 


160  Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 

huge  dam  was  also  obvious  enough.  Its  effect  would  be  to  secure  a  capacious 
reservoir  of  fresh  water  at  a  spot  where,  in  summer,  water  is  apt  to  be  deficient. 
Both  brooks  were  dry  when  I  saw  their  channels  in  the  month  of  July.  A  further 
proof  of  the  connexion  of  the  work  with  the  water  supply  of  the  Roman  town  is 
to  be  found  in  a  subterranean  channel,  now  covered  with  earth  and  debris,  leading 
from  the  Southern  slope  of  the  gully  in  the  direction  of  the  Castrum. 

The  Castrum  itself  lies  on  a  promontory  of  a  low  range  of  hills,  tending 
directly  in  the  direction  of  Nish,  and  exactly  on  the  line  formerly  taken  by 
the  Roman  road  from  Naissus  to  Ulpiana,  and  eventually  to  Lissus.  Its  distance 
from  the  site  of  Naissus  squares  almost  to  a  mile  with  that  of  the  second  station 
on  this  road,  the  HAMMED,  of  the  Tabula  Peutingeriana,  set  down  there  as  twenty 
miles  distant  from  Naissus  and  six  from  the  intermediate  station,  AD  HERCVLEM,  the 
Castrum  Herculis  of  Jordanes.  Theodemir  the  Amalung,  the  father  of  Theodoric, 
must  therefore  have  passed  through  this  station  on  his  way  to  Ulpiana,  at  the 
same  time  as  he  passed  through  the  preceding  station.  The  name  of  Hammeo 
appears  in  the  Geographer  of  Ravenna,  the  only  other  authority  who  mentions  it, 
as  ACMEON,  which  must  probably  be  taken  as  the  preferable  form,  and  the 
identification  of  its  site  is  especially  pertinent  to  our  present  subject,  since  it  was 
at  this  point  that  the  junction  took  place  between  the  two  Roman  road-lines  Scupi- 
Naissus  and  Ulpiana-Naissus. 

The  view  from  the  Prastorium  height  is  most  commanding,  and  well  brings  out 
the  relation  of  this  Roman  stronghold  to  the  geography  of  the  district.  To  the  West 
rise  the  mountain  mass  of  the  Petrova  Grora,  dipping  down  to  the  left  as  if  to  indi- 
cate the  pass  formerly  followed  by  the  continuation  of  the  Roman  road  to  Ulpiana. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  same  range  runs  an  old  road  which  still  brings  Zlata  into 
connexion  with  Kursumlje  and  the  Toplica  valley.  The  general  impression  of 
the  scene,  the  oblong  well-marked  Castrum  on  the  height,  overlooking  to  the 
North  a  precipitous  ravine,  and  looking  forth  on  the  wild  highlands  beyond, 
strangely  recalled  one  of  the  Wall  Chesters  of  Britain ;  and,  considering  the 
remains  still  extant  above  ground,  an  excavation  would  assuredly  yield  results  not 
inferior  to  those  obtained  at  Borcovicus  or  Cilurnum." 

a  Since  this  account  was  written,  I  see  that  the  ruins  of  Zlata  are  alluded  to  by  Von  Hahn 
(Beise  von  Belgrad  nach  Salonik,  p.  55).  On  his  way  from  2/itni  Potok  to  Leskovac,  he  passed  the 
ruins  of  "  Slata  " — the  Albanian  form  of  the  Serb  Zlata.  He  saw  upon  the  hill  the  remains  of  an 
"  TJmfassungs-mauer  "  of  hard  burnt  brick  and  firm  cement,  and  speaks  of  the  remains  of  a  bridge 
on  both  sides  of  the  brook,  by  which  he  certainly  refers  to  the  dam.  Hahn  apparently  had  no 
opportunity  to  explore  the  remains  further,  but  he  noticed  their  Roman  appearance  and  rightly 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Ulyricum. 


161 


The  antiquities  of  Naissus  itself  would  deserve  a  separate  investigation,  and  I 
must  here  content  myself  with  a  few  passing  observations.  In  his  work  on 
Danubian  Bulgaria  and  the  Balkan,  Herr  Kanitz  has  endeavoured  to  show  that  the 
actual  site  of  Naissus  was  not  to  be  sought,  as  had  been  hitherto  believed,  at  Nish, 
the  city  which  certainly  preserves  its  name,  but  at  the  village  of  Brzibrod,  three- 
quarters  of  a  hour  distant  from  Nish.a  Here,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nisava, 
Herr  Kanitz  discovered  the  remains  of  an  ancient  wall  of  circumvallation,  and 
near  it  the  foundations  of  an  octagonal  building,  which  was  possibly  a  Christian 
baptistery.  The  identification  of  these  remains  with  the  ancient  Naissus  was 
however  quite  inconsistent  with  the  position  of  that  town  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  as  described  in  the  recently  discovered  fragment  of  Priscus'  history,15  and 
the  clearest  evidence  of  the  accuracy  of  Priscus'  account  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the 


DEAE-IVNONl 
ATIL7FEUCIA 


\ 


Fig.  90. 


Fig.  97. 


brought  them  into  connection  with  the  Roman  road  from  Naissus  to  Ulpiana.     He  learnt  from  an 
Arnaout  Aga  a  local  tradition  that  Sultan  Murad  had  taken  the  stronghold  from  a  certam    Krahca 

(Queen) . 

•  Dmau-Bulgarim  und  der  Balkan,  Bd.  1,  p.  157  seqq.  (1875). 

-  See  Frag***,  inedits  de  VlMarien  grec  Priscus  recueiUis  et  pulhes  parC.  Wescher  m  Eevue 
Archeologique  N.S.  vol.  xviii.  (1868),  p.  86  seW.  Cf.  Jirecek,  Heerstrasse,  p.  21.     Pnscus,  however, 
erroneously  calls  the  river  "  the  Danube." 

VOL.  XLIX.  Y 


162 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


"  Grad  "  or  fortress  of  Nish  itself,  where,  as  we  know  from  "William  of  Tyre,  the 
Mediaeval  city  stood.  The  result  of  the  work  of  clearance  effected  within  the 
older  "  Grad  ",  which  stands  on  the  Northern  bank  of  the  river  opposite  to  the 
newer  town  on  the  Southern  bank,  has  been  to  reveal  large  parts  of  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Roman  walls  as  well  as  the  Southern  or  river  gate  of  the  ancient 
Naissus,  the  gate,  namely,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  chief  object  of  Attila's 
attack.  The  foundations  of  this  gate,  flanked  by  two  square  towers,  are  to  be  seen 
about  a  hundred  yards  further  from  the  river  than  the  Turkish  gate  on  this  side. 
Many  monuments  and  architectural  fragments  had  also  been  unearthed  during  these 
military  works,  and  by  the  kindness  of  the  Serbian  Commandant,  General  Benitsky, 
I  was  able  to  copy  the  two  following  hitherto  unpublished  inscriptions  (figs.  96 
and  97).  The  first  is  a  votive  altar  to  Juno,  the  other  an  altar  of  the  same 


VICTJAVG 


SPLENDIDIS&s 
tMAETDEVO 

TISSIMANVM 

INIEORVMPI? 
VINCI  AMOE| 

SVPERlOp 


7JWICTO  AVG  ///  CABINO  R  ///  SPLENDIDISSIMA  ET  DEVOTISSIMA  NVMINI  EOEVM 
PROVINCE  MOES/.4  SVPERIOfl. 


\ 


Fig.  98. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  163 

description  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus  Labrandeus,  or  perhaps 
Liberator,  by  a  certain  Aur.  Vitalis,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  member  of  the 
O(rdo)  Od(essitanus)  the  local  Senate  of  Odessus  on  the  Pontic  shore. 

It  is  impossible  to  close  this  account  without  some  reference  to  the  neighbour- 
ing Municipium  of  Kemesiana,  the  next  station  South-East  of  Naissus  on  the  great 
Military  "Way  that  traversed  the  centre  of  the  Peninsula,  the  site  of  which  is  at 
present  occupied  by  the  village  of  Bela  Palanka."  Here,  walled  into  a  house  oppo- 
site the  old  Turkish  Palanka,  was  an  inscription  (fig.  98)  apparently  recording  the 
erection  of  a  votive  altar  for  the  health  of  the  Emperors  Carus b  and  Carinus  (in 
the  year  283  therefore)  by  the  province  of  Upper  Moesia. 

Remesiana  derives  its  chief  historical  interest  from  its  bishop,  St.  Nicetas, 
who  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  and  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  completed  in  the 
remotest  glens  of  Hasmus  and  Rhodope  that  missionary  work  in  the  Illyrian 
Peninsula  which  St.  Paul  had  begun.  His  labours  of  conversion,  alike  amongst 
the  barbarian  settlers  in  the  new  Cis-Danubian  Dacia  in  which  this  city  lay,  and 
amongst  the  wild  Bessian  gold-miners  of  the  Thracian  highlands,  are  recorded  in 
the  Ode  °  of  his  friend  and  contemporary  St.  Paullinus  of  Nola : 

"  0  vices  rerum,  bene  versa  forma! 
Invii  monies  prius  et  cruenti 
Nunc  tegunt  versos  monachis  latrones 
Pacis  alumnos  .... 

Te  patrem  (licit  plaga  tota  Bcrrse, 
Ad  tuos  fatus  Scytha  mitigatur, 
Et  sibi  discors  fera  te  magistro 
Pectora  ponit. 

Et  Getsa  currunt  et  uterque  Dacus, 
Qui  colit  terras  medio  vel  ille 
Divitis  multo  bove  pileatus 

Accola  ripaj d  .  .  .  . 

ft  The  Turkish  Mustafa  Pasha  Palanka. 

b  The  part  of  the  stone  containing  the  name  of  Carus  is  broken  off :  the  R  .  .  I  (the  last  letter 
doubtful)  after  CAKING  is  enigmatical.  To  restore  KEGI  would  be  too  bold,  though  we  recall 
Vopiscus'  curious  statement  with  regard  to  this  Emperor  "  Regem  denique  ilium  Illyrici  plerique 
vocitarunt  "  (Vop.  Carinus). 

c  8.  Paulini  Nolensis,  c.  xxx,  De  Nicetee  reditu  in  Daciam,  written  about  the  year  398. 

d  i.  e.  the  Provincials  of  Dacia  Mediterranea  and  Dacia  Bipensis.  Remesiana  itself  was  in  Dacia 
Mediterranean 

Y2 


164 


•Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


Callidos  auri  legulos  in  aunim 
Vertis,  et  Bessos  imitaris  ipse, 
E  quibus  vivum,  fodiente  verbo, 
Eruis  aurum." 

Of  the  position  of  Remesiana,  lying  on  the  Via  Militaris,  twenty-four  miles 
distant  from  Naissus,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  though  it  is  remarkable  that  two 
monuments  discovered  on  this  site  tend  to  show  that,  under  the  earlier  Empire  at 
least,  the  official  name  assumed  by  this  Roman  city,  which,  like  so  many  others  of 
this  region,  seems  to  have  looked  to  Trajan  as  its  founder,  was  Respublica 
Ulpianonwn.* 

Several  traces  are  still  visible  of  St.  Nicetas'  city.  The  old  Turkish 
"  palanka,"  an  oblong  castrum  with  a  Northern  and  Southern  gate  and  bastion 
towers  at  the  angles,  has — like  those  already  described  at  Niksid,b  Sijenica,  and 
elsewhere — a  singularly  Roman  aspect.  The  walls  themselves  are  largely  com- 
posed of  squared  blocks  and  tiles  from  the  ancient  city,  and  are  certainly  partly 
built  on  older  foundations,  which  are  also  traceable  in  a  case  of  ruined  wall, 
which  forms  a  continuation  of  the  Western  side  of  the  "  palanka."  I  further 
learnt  that  some  workmen  in  recently  building  a  house  outside  the  North-Eastern 
tower  had  come  upon  extensive  foundations  of  an  ancient  building,  then  unfor- 
tunately no  longer  exposed  to  view.  I  was  shown,  however,  a  marble  fragment 


1  [[US 


Fig.  99. 

"  C.  I.  L.  III.  p.  268  (No.  1685,  1686).     This  site,  as  Mommsen  justly  observes,  must  not  be 
confounded  with  that  of  the  Dardanian  Ulpiana. 
b  See  Archaeologia,  vol.  XLVIII.  p.  86-7. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  165 

discovered  amongst  these  foundations,  which  proved  to  be  of  the  highest  interest 
in  connexion  with  the  Christian  traditions  of  Ramesiana.  It  contained  part  of 
a  Eoman  inscription— judging  from  the  characters— of  fourth  or  fifth  century 
date,  and  evidently  relating  to  the  dedication  of  a  church,  which  may  well  have 
been  the  actual  church  of  St.  Nicetas. 

The  inscription  in  its  present  state  is  too  imperfect  to  admit  of  confidence  in  its 
completion.  That  it  contained  the  names  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  may  however 
be  regarded  as  certain,  and  from  their  names  appearing  in  the  nominative  case, 
we  may  look  for  some  kind  of  invocation.  It  is  to  be  observed  that,  in  the  case 
of  the  recently-discovered  dedication  slab  above  the  door  of  the  Christian  basilica  of 
Salonae— the  only  Illyrian  parallel  that  I  can  recall— we  find  an  invocation  of  divine 
protection  on  the  Roman  Commonwealth,  then  synonymous  with  Christendom ; a 
and  it  may,  perhaps,  be  inferred  that  this  was  an  invocation  of  the  same  kind,  in 
which  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  were  called  on  to  protect  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
general  and  the  Church  of  Remesiana  in  particular.  I  would,  therefore,  venture 
to  suggest  some  such  restoration  as  the  following  : 

t  ECCLESIA[M  PROTEGANT  PE] 
TBVS  ET  P[AVLVS  APOSTOLI] 
t  SANT[I  QVE  OMNES] 

The  dedication  to  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  has  a  special  interest  in  relation  to 
the  close  ecclesiastical  connexion  subsisting  between  Illyricum  and  the  Apostolic 
See.  The  Illyrian  Bishops,  through  their  metropolitan,  continued  to  acknowledge 
the  authority  of  the  Bishops  of  Rome  to  the  very  moment  of  the  Slavonic  con- 
quest, and  Justinian  himself,  in  his  new  civil  and  ecclesiastical  settlement  of 
Illyricum,  ratified  this  arrangement.  In  the  controversies  of  the  Age  we  find  the 
Bishops  of  the  Roman  cities  of  Dacia  Mediterranea,  to  which  Remesiana  belonged, 
fighting  the  battles  of  Western  orthodoxy  against  the  Byzantine  East ;  and  the 
personal  relations  of  St.  Nicetas  himself  with  Italy  are  only  another  symptom  of 
the  solidarity  of  Latin-speaking  Illyricum  with  the  cities  of  Latin  Christianity. 
The  coupling  of  the  two  apostolic  names  in  early  dedications  is  repeated  in  the 
case  of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  in  the  Aliscamps  at  Aries,"  of  Loja  in  Spain,0  of 


t 


*  DEVS  XOSTKR   ^L    PBOPITIVS   ESTO 
KEI  PVBLICAE  ROMANAE. 


"  De  Rossi:—  (Bullettino  di  Archeologia  Cristiana,  1874,  p.  145),  seqq.,  where  see  also  the  dedica- 
tion of  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli. 
c  Op.  cit.  1878,  p.  37. 


166 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum. 


the  basilica  built  by  Justinian,  before  his  accession,  at  Constantinople,2  and  in  that 
of  the  Eoman  basilica  of  8.  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  on  which  its  founder,  "  Xystus,"- 
in  other  words,  Pope  Sixtus  III.  (432 — 440  A.D.)  inscribed  the  dedicatory  lines  : 

HAEC  PETEI  PAVLIQVE  SIMVL  NVNC  NOMINE  SIGNO 

XYSTVS  APOSTOLICAE  SEDIS  HONORE  FRVENS 
VNVM  QVAESO  PARES  VNVM  DVO  SVMITE  MVNVS 

VNVS  HONOR  CELEBRAT  QVOS  HABET  VNA  FIDES. 

At  Pirot,  a  few  hours  further  on  the  Roman  Via  Militaris,  the  course  of  which 
— a  raised  causeway,  often  overgrown  with  brushwood,  and  flanked  by  two  lateral 


Fig.  100. 

a  Op.  cit.  1872,  p.  14.  The  Legates  of  the  Apostolic  See  in  the  East  wrote  to  Pope  Hormisdtis  in 
519,  that  Justinian,  then  Comes, — "  basilicam  Sanctorum  Apostolorum  (Petriet  Pauli)  constituit,  in  qua 
desiderat  et  beati  Lawrentii  Martyris  reliquias  esse,"  &c. 


Antiquarian  Researches  in  Illyricum.  167 

ditches — is  clearly  visible,  crossing,  recrossing,  and  at  times  coalescing,  with  the 
modern  road  that  traverses  the  pass  above  the  site  of  Remesiana,  I  was  so  fortunate 
as  to  come  upon  some  further  relics  of  Roman  Christianity.  In  the  suburbs  of  this 
town,  beneath  the  floor  of  the  small,  half-ruinous  Church  of  St.  John  the  Divine, 
the  foundations  of  what  had  evidently  been  a  far  earlier  church  had  recently 
been  uncovered.  Visiting  the  spot,  I  observed  some  Roman  tilework,  of  much 
the  same  character  as  that  of  Zlata,  and  was  shown  a  curious  relic  of  the  early 
prae-Slavonic  Christianity  of  the  spot, — a  bronze  Corona  suspended  from  a  cross, 
fragments  of  the  glass,  bell-shaped  lamps,  which  it  had  once  supported,  and 
another  small  detached  cross,  also  of  bronze.  The  shape  of  the  crosses  bears  an 
obvious  resemblance  to  those  on  the  dedicatory  slab  from  Remesiana,  and  both 
may  be  safely  referred  to  the  same  period. 

With  the  mention  of  these  Christian  relics  from  the  scenes  of  St.  Nicetas' 
labours,  I  may  conclude  my  present  investigation  into  the  antiquities  of  a  region 
the  Roman  highways  of  which  were  trodden  by  the  pilgrim  feet  of  this  last  of 
the  Illyrian  Apostles.  St.  Paulinus  of  Nola,  in  his  Ode,  already  quoted,  on  St. 
Nicetas'  return  from  Italy  to  his  New  Dacian  home  at  Remesiana,  distinctly  traces 
his  journey  to  Thessalonica  by  sea,  thence  by  the  highroad  up  the  Axios  Valley  to 
Stobi,  and  thus  to  Scupi,  the  cross-line  from  which  city  to  Naissus  gave  him  easy 
access  to  his  own  See. 

"  Ibis  Arctoos  proctil  usque  Dacos, 
Ibis  Epiro  gemina  videnclus, 
Et  per  JSgeos  penetrabis  sestus 

Thessalonicen  .... 

Tu  Philippseos  a  Macetum  per  agros 
Tu  Stobitanam  b  gradieris  urbeni 
Ibis  et  Scupos  patrise  propinquos, 
Dardanus  hospes." 

a  Here  Philippceos  is  to  be  taken  not  as  referring  to  Philippi,  but  as  an  epitheton  ornans  for 
Macedonia  in  general.  Thessalonica  was  the  special  city  referred  to. 

»  Accepting  Pagius'  admirable  emendation,  "  Stobitanam "  for  "  Tomitanam."  Tomi  lay  far 
away  from  any  possible  line  of  route  that  St.  Nicetas  could  have  taken. 


II. — Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea.     By  JOHN  HENBY  PARKER,  G.B., 

Hon.  M.A.  Oxon.,  F.S.A. 


Read  May  27,  1880. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  ARDEA  AND  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE  ENVIRONS. 

THE  original  City  or  fortress  of  Ardea  was  built  upon  a  rock  on  tlie  coast  of 
the  Mediterranean,  although  the  sea  has  receded  so  much  in  that  part  that  it  is 
now  three  miles  off.  This  is  equally  the  case  at  Ostia,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tiber,  which  is  not  many  miles  from  Ardea.  It  is  extremely  probable  that  this 
was  among  the  earliest  settlements  of  the  Greeks  in  that  part  of  Italy,  which 
afterwards  came  to  be  called  Magna  Graecia,  although  many  modern  critics  will 
not  allow  this.  According  to  my  ideas,  in  all  these  cases  of  early  settlements  the 
walls  themselves  afford  better  evidence  than  anything  that  has  been  written  about 
them,  because  these  settlements  were  made  and  the  walls  were  built  centuries 
before  the  use  of  writing.  The  comparison  of  a  score  of  examples  of  existing 
remains  therefore  tells  more  of  true  history  than  any  verbal  criticism  can  do. 

The  town  is  situated  in  the  valley  called  dell'  Incastro,  from  the  name  of  a 
small  river  formed  by  the  union  of  several  streams  between  two  hills  of  volcanic 
tufa  called  Banditella  or  Focignano,  between  which  is  a  third,  still  bearing  the  name 
of  Ardea. 

This  name  is  mentioned  by  Servius,  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Aeneid,  where  he 
says  it  was  so  called  from  the  height  and  importance  of  the  city ;  but  Hyginus 
says  the  name  was  taken  from  the  bird  which  we  call  the  heron.  The  version  of 
the  early  history  given  by  Virgil  in  his  Aeneid,  especially  when  explained  by  the 
excellent  Commentary  of  Servius,  always  adds  greatly  to  the  interest  of  it.  The 
following  are  the  words  of  Virgil,  which  perhaps  it  is  better  not  to  translate  : — 
VOL.  XLIX.  z 


170  Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea. 

Postquam  visa  satis  primes  acuisse  furores, 

Consiliumque  omnemque  domum  vertisse  Latini ; 

Protenus  hinc  fuscis  tristis  dea  tollitur  alis 

Audacis  Rutuli  ad  muros :  quam  dicitur  urbem 

Acrisioneis  Danae  fundasse  colonis, 

Praecipiti  delata  noto.    Locus  Ardea  quondam 

Dictus  avis :  et  nunc  magnum  manet  Ardea  nomen ; 

Sed  fortuna  fuit.     Tectis  hie  Turnus  in  altis 

Jam  mediam  nigra  carpebat  nocte  quietem. — Aeneid,  vii.  406 — 414. 

The  Commentary  of  Servius  is  as  follows : — 

Danae,  Acrisii  regis  Argivorum  filia,  postquam  est  a  Jove  vitiata,  pater  earn  intra  arcam 
inclusam  praecipitavit  in  mare  ;  quae  delata  ad  Italiam  inventa  est  a  piscatore  cum  Perseo,  quern 
illic  enixa  fuerat,  et  oblata  regi  [Pilumno]  qui  earn  sibi  fecit  uxorem  ;  cum  qua  etiam  Ardeam 
condidit,  a  quibus  Turnum  vult  originem  ducere. 

The  hill  of  Ardea  is  of  a  square  form  and  nearly  three  miles  in  circuit,  it  is 
almost  entirely  isolated  and  fortified  in  the  best  manner  of  the  ancient  system  of 
fortification,  like  that  called  in  Eome  the  "  Walls  of  the  Kings."  The  same 
system  was  used  everywhere  at  the  same  period,  where  the  building  material 
was  the  same.  In  some  districts  the  hard  stone  will  only  split  into  polygonal 
blocks  instead  of  the  oblong  form,  which  the  soft  tufa  naturally  takes,  but 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  one  is  earlier  than  the  other  on  that 
account ;  the  saw  was  not  used  in  either  until  a  later  period.  It  was  long  sup- 
posed that  polygonal  masonry  was  always  earlier  than  quadrangular,  but 
an  examination  of  the  quarries  from  which  the  stone  is  taken  explains  the  real 
cause  of  this  difference  of  construction.  There  are  quarries  of  both  kinds 
within  a  few  miles  of  Rome;  the  most  usual  is  the  soft  tufa,  or  the  harder 
kind  of  tufa  with  a  rough  surface  called  p&permo,  from  the  resemblance  to 
pepper-corns  of  the  small  knobs  in  it.  This  kind  is  generally  found  on  the  Alban 
hills ;  there  are  fine  ancient  quarries  of  it  near  Marino,  and  near  the  great  tomb  of 
Cecilia  Metella,  about  two  miles  from  Borne,  there  is  a  quarry  of  the  hard  kind 
called  silex,  or  in  Italian  selce ;  this  is  used  for  paving-stones,  and  seems  ever- 
lasting. The  word  silex  is  commonly  translated  flint ;  it  is  as  hard  as  flint,  but  is 
not  like  it  in  any  other  respect.  A  stream  of  lava  from  the  great  volcano  on  the 
hill  at  Alba  (the  crater  of  which  now  forms  the  Lake  of  Albano)  ran  across  the 
Campagna  for  several  miles,  and  forms  the  hill  on  which  that  great  tomb  stands. 
Tufa  is  formed  of  the  volcanic  dust  from  the  same  volcano,  similar  to  what  over- 
whelmed Pompeii,  condensed  by  exposure  to  moisture  in  the  course  of  ages. 


Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea.  171 

AEDEA. 

Three  accompanying  Plates  show  a  Plan  and  Section  of  the  City,  and  the 
following  four  views  of  it,  namely : — 
The  Bast  Side. 

The  Angle  formed  by  the  Bast  and  North  Sides. 
The  Exterior  of  the  Gate. 
The  Interior  of  the  "Walls,  North- West  Side. 

The  first  view  shows  the  general  character  of  the  construction  of  the  walls,  which 
is  of  the  earliest  type  that  is  known  anywhere ;  it  is  what  Yitruvius  calls  opus 
quadratum,  but  of  the  rudest  character  where  cut  stone  is  used  at  all.  The  same 
general  character  prevails  in  all  the  early  cities  on  the  hills  of  Italy,  and,  I  am 
informed,  of  Greece  also ;  I  have  never  seen  these,  but  well-informed  persons  who 
have  seen  them  tell  me  that  the  character  is  the  same,  although  the  stones  are 
often  larger — this  of  course  depends  upon  the  building  material — the  quarries 
from  which  the  stone  is  taken.  At  Athens  I  understand  that  the  rock  of  the 
Acropolis  is  solid  marble,  which  accounts  for  the  Grecian  style  of  architecture ;  in 
many  districts  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  such  large  stones  as  are  necessary  for 
Grecian  columns  or  entablatures.  The  Roman  tradition  is  that  the  Walls  of  the 
Kings  in  Rome  were  in  the  first  instance  copied  from  those  of  Ardea  by  the 
Etruscan  kings,  and  that  the  other  cities  of  Btruria  copied  the  construction  from 
Rome,  not  Rome  from  them.  This  may  be  all  fancy,  but  the  tradition  is  a  singular 
one. 

In  this  view  the  square  projecting  tower  has  been  rebuilt  of  the  old  materials 
at  some  later  period,  probably  after  having  been  partially  destroyed  by  the 
battering-ram.  We  see  this  because  the  joints  between  the  stones  are  fine  or 
close ;  in  the  earliest  construction  they  are  always  wide  or  thick,  as  they  are  in 
other  parts  of  the  walls  here  visible,  and  throughout  the  wall  of  the  original  city, 
now  the  citadel,  and  where  the  mediaeval  and  modern  village  is  situated." 

The  second  view  shows  an  angle  of  the  wall  of  the  original  city,  in  which  the 
construction  of  opus  quadratum  comes  out  very  clearly,  and  where  the  herbage 
also  gives  some  idea  of  how  much  this  very  ancient  city  is  concealed  by  the  trees 
and  shrubs,  and,  in  the  valleys,  by  the  canes,  which  are  often  six  feet  high.  This 
has  made  it  impossible  to  get  photographs  of  the  original  gate  and  the  embank- 
ment, with  a  road  up  to  it,  which  Professor  Cicconetti  made  out  distinctly ;  he  was 

a  The  use  of  mortar  also  indicates  a  comparatively  late  date. 

z2 


172  Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea. 

at  Ardea  to  make  the  plans  and  sections  three  or  four  days — I  was  only  there  a 
few  hours  myself  with  my  friend  Mr.  Pullan,  whose  knowledge  of  eastern  cities 
made  his  opinions  very  useful.  We  both  agreed  as  to  the  antiquity  and  impor- 
tance of  Ardea,  and  intended  to  go  there  again  with  more  time  at  our  disposal ; 
but  this  was  during  my  last  season  in  Rome,  and  the  doctors  forbid  my  going 
there  again ;  I  could  therefore  only  send  Mr.  Cicconetti  to  make  a  survey  of  it, 
with  a  photographer  to  take  such  photographs  as  he  found  practicable.  The  place 
appears  to  me  to  be  one  to  which  the  attention  of  the  Fellows  of  our  Society 
should  be  directed  as  one  of  the  landmarks  of  history,  and  the  views  give  them  a 
good  idea  of  its  present  state.  It  seldom  happens  that  we  have  such  a  combination 
of  important  remains  with  so  much  history,  excepting  always  the  case  of  Rome 
itself ;  but  there  the  ancient  walls  are  so  much  disguised  by  modern  work  that  it 
is  not  easy  for  beginners  to  distinguish  them  :  here  there  is  nothing  to  mislead ;  we 
have  the  time  of  the  Kings  of  Rome  very  clearly  brought  out  before  vis,  not  mixed 
with  anything  but  what  nature  has  done  in  the  course  of  so  many  centuries. 

The  third  view  shows  the  present  gateway,  which  is  mediaeval,  inserted  in  the 
old  wall,  but  in  all  probability  it  replaces  an  old  postern  gate,  at  least  of  the  time  of 
the  Roman  occupation,  as  there  could  be  no  other  connection  between  the  ancient 
citadel  of  the  Rutuli  and  the  Roman  city  without  going  a  mile  round.  Professor 
Cicconetti  says  that  the  only  entrance  to  the  original  city  was  at  the  opposite  end, 
on  the  high  ground  or  top  of  the  rock,  with  an  embankment  to  lead  up  to  it,  and 
a  draw -bridge  over  the  stream  at  the  foot  of  the  rock ;  but  at  the  time  of  the 
Roman  city  there  must  have  been  a  postern-gate  here  to  communicate  with  it.  On 
the  left  hand  the  mediaeval  church  is  seen  in  the  distance. 

The  fourth  view  is  taken  just  within  the  gate,  and  shows  the  two  roads  up 
the  hill,  one  on  either  side  of  the  church.  These  roads  were  originally  made 
for  horsemen  only,  and  the  one  to  the  right  is  still  inaccessible  for  carriages,  but 
the  one  to  the  left  has  been  made  easy  for  carriages  up  to  the  door  of  the  palace 
at  the  top  of  the  cliff  by  cutting  away  a  good  deal  of  the  rock.  To  the  left  of  this 
view  part  of  the  interior  of  the  wall  is  seen  at  the  point  where  the  station  for  the 
archer  remains. 

The  site  is  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first  to  the  south  is  the  most  formidable, 
and  was  the  ancient  city  of  the  Argivi.  It  was  the  metropolis  of  the  Rutuli,  and 
the  citadel  of  the  Roman  colony  ;  this  is  now  the  Castle  of  Ardea.  The  second 
part,  which  is  in  the  middle,  has  the  name  of  Civita  Vecchia,  because  it  was  said  by 
tradition  to  have  been  the  old  city.  The  third  part  to  the  north  is  smaller,  and 
was  an  addition.  The  ancient  citadel,  or  acropolis,  is  now  the  site  of  the  modern 


Archaeologia 


Vol.  XLIX 


"if a 


a,  Castle-  of  Ardea. 

b,  Civitu  VerfJtia/. 

c,  Ancient  WuU,  of  Tufa, . 

d,  Gate/. 

f.    Church,. 


,60 


J  Akernian  Photo- iith 


ARDEA. 

I.  Plan  of  the   City.  II  Section  looking  South. 

PuJbliehed,  by  the-  Society  of  Antujiuu-ws  of  London,   1885. 


Archaeologia. 


Vol.  XLIX. 


J  Akeriuap  Photo-lif 


East    Side. 


East  Side. 


gw^-v  •  *««?.'•  T?^rPr?'  ^?*.^^ 

ARDEA. 


North  Side. 


by  the-   Society  o 


of  .London-    7885. 


Arohaeologia. 


Vol.  XLIX. 


Exterior  of  the  Gate. 


Interior  of  the  Walls,  North  West  Side. 

ARD  EA. 

Published,  by  the  Society  of  AnUqiLCirUe  of  London,   1885. 


J  Akerman  Photo.-llth. 


Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea.  173 

village ;  this  is  only  accessible  from  the  south,  where  the  rock  is  rather  lower  than 
in  other  parts,  and  the  road  has  been  cut  up  to  the  level  of  the  platform  above,  on 
which  stands  the  mediaeval  church  and  palace  of  the  Cesarini  family.  On  the 
north  side  the  natural  position  is  very  strong,  on  a  lofty  cliff  of  rocks,  scarped  in 
parts  to  make  it  more  vertical ;  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff  is  a  wall  of  the  massive 
blocks  of  tufa  usual  in  the  time  of  the  Kings  (first  and  second  views).  This  is  said 
to  be  the  type  followed  in  the  wall  of  Servius  Tullius,  but  it  is  in  fact  the  general 
character  of  that  early  period.  The  present  gate  of  Ardea  is  the  work  of  the 
Colonnas  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  the  baronial  palace  adjoining  to  it  is  of  the 
same  period  (third  view),  but  the  stone  of  which  the  gate  is  made  belonged  to 
the  ancient  gate.  Four  roads  or  streets  cross  the  village,  and  it  is  evident  that 
the  rock  has  been  cut  to  make  them,  as  some  ancient  caves  are  cut  through ;  these 
caves  or  subterranean  chambers  were  probably  granaries.  These  cave  granaries 
bear  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  some  in  a  Buddhist  fortification,  of  which  an 
engraving  is  given  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects  for 
1879  ;  and  to  others  in  the  very  ancient  British  village,  foimd  at  Standlake,  near 
Stanton-Harcourt,  in  Oxfordshire,  a  few  years  since,  of  which  there  is  a  model  in 
the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford.  There  are  small  windows  in  them,  or  these  may 
perhaps  be  loopholes  for  archers  only.  There  are  no  remains  of  ancient  buildings, 
excepting  the  foundations  of  the  church  of  S.  Peter  (fourth  view),  which  are  of  the 
eighth  century  of  Eome,  or  the  first  of  the  Empire,  and  of  the  Christian  era.  The 
present  church  is  said  to  be  of  the  thirteenth  century,  but  is  a  very  poor  one  for 
that  period.  Near  the  church  is  an  ancient  cippus  with  the  inscription  of  Manius 
Septicius. 

D         M 

MANI 

SEPTICI 

PATRIS 

Near  this  is  also  the  basement  of  an  ancient  temple,  supposed  to  have  been  the 
celebrated  temple  of  Juno  mentioned  by  Pliny,  who  says  that  there  were  paintings 
in  it  of  M.  Ludius  Helota,  with  an  inscription  of  the  year  of  Home  564.  Pliny 
also  says  that  there  were  several  temples  at  Ardea,  in  which  there  had  been 
several  paintings,  but  which  had  no  roofs  in  his  time  :— 

But  already  in  fact  had  the  art  of  painting  been  perfectly  developed  in  Italy.  At  all  events 
there  are  extant  in  the  temples  at  Ardea  at  this  day  paintings  of  greater  antiquity  than  Eome 
itself;  in  which,  in  my  opinion,  nothing  is  more  marvellous  than  that  they  should  have  remained 
so  long  unprotected  by  a  roof  and  yet  preserving  their  freshness.  (Plinii  Nat.  Hist.  xxxv.  6.) 


174  Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea. 

It  would  not  be  right  to  pass  in  silence  the  painter  of  the  temple  at  Ardea,  the  more 
particularly  as  he  was  honoured  with  the  citizenship  at  that  place,  and  with  the  following  inscrip- 
tion in  verse  upon  one  of  the  paintings  which  he  executed  there  : 

These  paintings,  worthy  of  this  worthy  place, 
Temple  of  Juno,  queen,  and  wife  of  Jove, 
Plautius  Marcus,  from  Alalia,  made. 
May  Ardea  now  and  ever  praise  him  for  his  skill. 

These  lines  are  written  in  ancient  Latin  characters."     (Plinii  Nat.  Hist.  xxxv.  37.) 

It  is  believed  that  if  excavations  were  made  in  that  part  of  Ardea  called  Civita 
Vecchia  remains  of  ancient  houses  and  temples  would  be  found.  Pliny  in  another 
place  mentions  the  public  palace  of  Ardea,  Aedes  Piillica. 


ANCIENT  HISTORY. 

Ardea  is  the  most  perfect  ancient  city  remaining  near  Eome.  The  walls  are 
built  of  large  blocks  of  tufa  in  quadrangular  masonry,  in  the  same  style  as  those  of 
Roma  quadrata,  of  Veii,  Tusculum  Volterra,  Fiesole,  and  so  many  other  ancient 
cities  which  retain  parts  of  their  primitive  fortifications,  but  none  are  so  perfect 
as  those  of  Ardea  shown  in  the  accompanying  views.  The  present  gate  is  at  the 
south-west  corner  (third  view),  and  two  zigzag  roads  or  streets  diverge  from  it 
to  the  right  and  left  to  the  summit,  passing  on  either  side  of  the  church,  which 
stands  on  a  higher  part  of  the  rock  in  front  of  the  gate  (fourth  view).  This 
church  is  entirely  modernized,  and  part  of  it  turned  into  dwellings,  but  it  has  an 
apse  and  the  walls  belong  to  a  building  of  the  twelfth  (?)  or  thirteenth  (?)  century, 
and  it  has  a  modern  bell-cot  or  a  wall  with  holes  for  the  bells;  it  probably 
occupies  the  site  of  an  old  temple.  The  palace  of  the  Cesarini  family  occupies  the 
summit  of  the  rock  at  the  east  end  of  the  citadel;  it  is  for  the  most  part 
modernized,  but  has  Gluelphic  battlements  of  the  fourteenth  or  fifteenth  century, 
and  the  walls  are  mostly  of  the  same  period.  This  protected  the  approach  to  the 
present  gate,  which  probably  was  a  postern,  and  the  road  to  the  right  led  up  to 
the  palace.  The  platform  on  which  the  village  stands  is  quite  fifty  feet  high,  and 

a  For  the  various  readings  of  this  passage  see  Smith's  Diets.  Gr.  and  Bom.  Geogr.  "  Ardea,"  and 
Biogr.  "  Ludius." 


Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea.  175 

the  walls  were  built  round  this  where  they  were  wanted,  chiefly  on  the  left  hand 
in  going  up  from  the  gate,  and  in  this  part  there  is  an  embrasure  apparently  for 
both  a  catapult  and  a  balista.  The  rock  has  evidently  been  cut  away  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  a  triangular  recess,  on  each  side  of  which  is  an  aperture  for 
placing  some  military  engine,  exactly  as  cannon  would  be  placed  in  modern  times. 
This  embrasure  is  thirty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ground  on  the  exterior ;  on  the 
inner  side  it  is  on  the  slope  of  the  road  as  it  descends  the  hill. 

Some  modern  German  writers  do  not  admit  the  truth  of  the  narrative  given  by 
Virgil,  Strabo,  Solinus,  and  Pliny — 

We  will  begin  with  Ostia,  a  colony  founded  by  a  king  of  Rome,  the  town  of  Laurentum,  the 
grove  of  Jupiter  Indiges,  the  river  Numicius,  and  Ardea,  founded  by  Danae,  the  mother  of 
Perseus." 

of  the  Greek  origin  of  this  very  early  city ;  but  the  history  rests  upon  the  same 
authority  as  all  other  history  of  that  period,  which  was  before  the  use  of  writing ; 
therefore  we  cannot  have  any  contemporaneous  written  history. 

M.  Petit  Radel,  in  L'Histoire  des  temps  historiques  de  la  Grece,  p.  154,  considers 
the  epoch  of  that  foundation  to  be  about  1400  B.C.  This  agrees  with  Solinus, 
Poli/hist.,  c.  viii. 

On  account  of  the  veneration  which  the  inhabitants  of  Ardea  had  for  Juno,  the 
goddess  of  the  Argives,  they  dedicated  their  principal  temple  to  her. 

In  the  Bulletino  del  Institute  de  Correspondenza  Archeologica,  1845,  pp.  214-218, 
Signor  Campagna,  in  describing  a  magnificent  vase  found  at  Cere  (Cervetri),  on 
which  are  represented  the  adventures  of  Danae,  shows  that  it  is  a  representation 
of  the  myth  of  Danae  with  the  foundation  of  Ardea. 

Being  situated  in  a  fertile  territory,  and  having  a  large  maritime  commerce, 
Ardea  became  a  powerful  city,  and  sent  colonies  even  into  Spain,  who,  with  the 
Zacynthii,  built  the  city  of  Saguntum,  which  was  afterwards  attacked  by 
Hannibal." 

Virgil  relates  that  Turnus,  King  of  the  Eutuli,  was  killed  by  Aeneas.  It 
seems  chat  after  the  death  of  Turnus  the  Eutuli  abolished  royal  government. 
Tarquinius  Superbus  went  to  war  with  Ardea  because  it  had  given  hospitality  to 
the  refugees  from  Rome,  according  to  Dionysius,  or  rather  on  account  of  its  riches, 


»  Plinii  Nat.  Hist.  iii.  9.  "  Livy,  Hist.  xxi.  7. 


176  Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea. 

according  to  Livy ; a  this  was  eventually  the  cause  of  the  downfall  of  monarchy 
in  Rome,  because  from  the  siege  of  Ardea  the  son  of  the  king  sent  to  Collatia  to 
find  Lucretia. 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  kings  from  Rome,  the  Romans  made  a  truce  with 
Ardea  for  fifteen  years,  and  from  that  time  it  always  remained  a  firm  friend  to 
Rome  ;  for  that  reason  the  Romans,  in  A.TJ.C.  247,  when  they  made  a  treaty  with 
the  Carthaginians,  made  it  a  condition  that  their  ships  should  not  damage  those  of 
Ardea.  This  is  stated  by  Polybius  (lib.  iii.  c.  22),  but  his  authority  is  doubtful  as 
to  its  early  date. 

"When  Rome  was  taken  by  the  Gauls  M .  Furius  Camillus  was  exiled  to  Ardea : 
he  returned  to  Rome  in  A.U.C.  365,  to  drive  out  the  barbarians,  as  we  are  told  by 
Livy.b  He  also  mentions  Ardea  in  other  places ;  b  it  was  reckoned  as  one  of  the 
thirty  Roman  colonies  of  which  the  inhabitants  ranked  as  citizens  of  Rome ;  bxit 
twelve  of  these,  of  which  Ardea  was  one,  were  not  willing  to  comply  with  the 
conditions,  and  the  consuls  remonstrated  with  them  in  A.U.C.  543,  reminding  them 
that  they  were  Romans,  and  owed  to  the  present  State  natural  affection  and 
gratitude ;  but  they  refused  to  yield  to  these  considerations.  This  was  at  the 
time  that  Hannibal  was  preparing  to  attack  Rome.0 

Five  years  afterwards  ten  of  the  principal  inhabitants  were  summoned  to 
Rome  by  the  Senate,  and  they  were  ordered  to  supply  double  the  number  of 
soldiers  they  had  ever  sent  before ;  they  raised  all  the  difficulty  they  could,  but 
eventually  the  number  of  soldiers  were  sent.1'  Again,  in  the  year  of  Rome  566, 
Minius  Serrinius  was  sent  to  Ardea  to  be  kept  in  ciistody  there.6 

Strabo  relates  that  in  the  wars  of  Sylla  the  Samnite  soldiers  besieged  Ardea.' 
The  same  author  mentions  the  malaria  in  the  climate  of  Ardea  during  the  summer 
months,  for  which  it  still  has  a  bad  name,  and  it  seems  always  to  have  been  so, 
for  it  is  mentioned  by  Seneca g  and  by  Martial.11  The  Emperor  Hadrian  ordered  a 
new  census  to  be  made  of  the  colony  of  Ardea.1  As  no  inscriptions  of  that  period 
have  been  found  there,  it  is  supposed  that  Ardea  was  already  deserted  as  early  as 
the  second  century. 

The  Roman  city  is  at  a  considerably  lower  level  than  this  arx  or  citadel,  and 


a  Livii  Hist.  1.  57.  b  Livii  Hist.  v.  43.  c  Ibid,  xxvii.  9. 

d  Ibid.  xxix.  15.  e  Ibid,  xxxix.  19.  f  Strabo  lib.  v. 

*  Epist.  105.  h  Martialis  Ep.  iv.  60.  '  Vide  Frontinus  de  Coloniis. 


Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea.  177 

is  more  extensive ;  there  are  some  remains  of  the  walls  built  against  cliffs  and 
faced  with  opus  reticulatum,  which  mark  them  to  belong  to  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  or  certainly  between  the  time  of  Sylla  and  Hadrian,  and  I  am 
informed  by  Signer  Cicconetti,  who  made  the  plan  and  section  for  me,  that  this  is 
of  the  earliest  type  of  opus  reticulatum,  that  is  of  the  time  of  Sylla,  which  is 
probably  the  time  when  the  Roman  city  was  built,  which  is  now  popularly  called 
Civita  Vecchia,  or  the  old  city.  This  name  was  probably  given  in  the  middle  ages, 
when,  after  having  been  entirely  deserted,  a  palace  was  built  and  a  village  was 
made,  in  what  had  been  the  citadel  in  the  time  of  the  Roman  occupation,  and  had 
been  originally  the  city  of  the  Rutuli. 


MEDIAEVAL  HISTORY. 

In  the  middle  ages  Ardea  must  have  been  of  far  more  importance  than  it  is  now, 
but  the  notices  of  it  are  slight.  Nibby  conjectures  that  it  had  been  destroyed  by 
the  barbarians,  more  especially  the  Saracens,  as  being  near  the  sea.  When  they 
ascended  to  Rome  in  the  ninth  century  and  destroyed  the  churches  of  S.  Peter 
and  S.  Paul,  almost  at  the  gates  of  Rome,  and  in  A.D.  840  went  up  almost  as  far 
as  Subiaco,  it  is  not  likely  that  a  place  so  near  the  coast  as  Ardea  escaped  them ; 
it  is  probable  that  that  part  of  the  city  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Civita  Vecchia, 
or  the  old  city,  was  destroyed  at  that  period,  and  that  the  remaining  inhabitants 
then  defended  themselves  in  the  ancient  acropolis  or  citadel,  which  is  in  a  very 
strong  position,  and  must  have  been  originally  almost  impregnable.  In  A.D.  1074 
half  of  the  castle  of  Ardea  with  its  fortifications  belonged  to  the  Monks  of  S.  Paul 
outside  of  the  walls  of  Rome.  This  is  mentioned  in  the  Constitution  of  Pope 
Gregory  VII.a  A  bull  of  Pope  Anacletus  II.  of  A.D.  1130  mentions  that  these 
monks  held  the  whole  city  of  Ardeatina."  In  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century 
Ardea  was  occupied  by  a  monk  of  S.  Paul  called  Nicolaus,  and  by  Giordanus 
Orsini,  but  in  the  year  1265  Clement  VI.  restored  it  to  the  Monastery  of  S.  Paul. 

"  "  Medietatem  castelli  Avdeae  cum  rocea  sua  et  turre  majore  cum  omnibus  suis  pertincntiis." 
Constit.  Greg.  VII. 
»  Codd.  Vat.  7997. 

VOL.  XLIX.  2  A 


178  Architectural  Features  of  tlie  City  of  Ardea. 

In  December,  1738,  the  anti-pope,  Clement  VII.,  gave  Genzano  with  the  chateau 
or  palace  and  castle  of  Ardea  and  other  fiefs  to  Jordanus  Orsini." 

Pope  Urban  VI.  sold  Ardea  for  13,000  florins  to  Jacovellus  Orsini,  but  his  son 
of  the  name  of  John  restored  it  to  the  monastery  of  S.  Paul  for  10,000  florins.  This 
restitution  took  place  in  1395,  four  years  after  the  death  of  John.  Innocent  VII. 
gave  Ardea  to  the  apostolic  chamber,  under  the  government  of  James  de  Indilinis, 
canon  of  S.  Peter's,  by  a  bull.1'  Afterwards  Ardea  was  in  the  power  of  Raymond 
Orsini,  Count  of  Nola;  it  was  taken  from  him  by  Pope  Martin  V.,  who  restored  it 
to  the  Roman  Church.0  But  under  the  government  of  the  same  Pope,  J.  A. 
Colonna  had  possession  of  this  fief,  and  that  family  still  had  the  palace  there  in 
1501,  when  Alexander  VI.  gave  it  to  Roderic  Borgia  of  Aragon,  Duke  of  Vesello, 
in  a  celebrated  bull  which  was  published  entire  for  the  first  time  by  A.  R.  De 
Mollo.'1  After  the  death  of  Alexander  VI.  the  Colonna  family  remained  in  power 
at  Ardea ;  in  1556  and  1557,  the  soldiers  of  the  Duke  of  Elba  occupied  the 
castle ;  at  last  in  1564,  Marco  Antonio  Colonna  soid  Civita  Lavinia  and  Ardea  to 
Juliano  Cesarini  for  105,000  crowns,  and  the  family  of  Cesarini  still  hold  it.  But 
Ardea  is  no  longer  a  separate  fief,  being  united  with  Grenzano. 

ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  ROADS  TO  ARDEA. 

There  are  two  roads  from  Rome  to  Ardea  at  the  present  time.  That 
commonly  used  is,  to  go  by  the  railway  to  the  Albano  station,  and  then  across 
country  direct  to  Ardea ;  but  for  three  miles  this  road  is  quite  impracticable  for 
carriages,  and  can  only  be  used  on  foot  or  on  a  donkey,  except  by  a  detour 
which  makes  the  road  three  or  four  miles  longer.  The  direct  road  passes  by  Lonti 
di  Papa,  and  the  Via  di  Porto  D'Anzio,  which  makes  about  eight  miles,  and  the 
latter  part  is  practicable  for  a  carriage,  but  in  the  previous  part  it  has  to  cross 
several  ravines. 

A  more  direct  road  from  Rome  is  not  to  make  use  of  the  railway  at  all,  but 
pass  by  the  church  and  monastery  of  S.  Paul  to  the  Three  Fountains  (Ad  Aquas 
Salvias),  passing  by  the  grotto  and  the  Solfatara,  at  which  was  the  oracle  of 

a  Nicolas  Eatti,    Storia  di  Genzano,  nella  stamperia — Salomoni,  MDCCXCVII.,   in   No.  5  of  tlio 
Documents  belonging  to  that  anti-pope. 
b  Antiq.  i.  377  ;  et  in  Novis,  iv.  60. 

c  Bulla  Martini  V.  in  Antiq.  ii.  Officior.  44 ;  in  Nov.  vii.  68. 
11  Gori,  Archivio  Storico,  vol.  ii.  fasc.  1,  pp.  99-109. 


Architectural  Features  of  the  City  of  Ardea.  1 79 

Faunus  described  by  Virgil  ;a  this  road  is  twenty-three  miles  long,  and  is  practi- 
cable in  a  carriage. 

The  ancient  Via  Ardeatina  went  out  at  the  Porta  Ardeatina  in  the  wall  of 
Aurelian,  where  the  gateway  of  the  first  century  still  exists,  but  has  long  been 
closed ;  it  can  then  be  traced  through  the  vineyard  for  about  a  mile  to  its  junction 
with  the  Via  Appia,  close  to  the  chapel  of  Domine  quo  Vadis  and  the  tomb  of 
Priscilla.  The  Via  Appia  is  shewn  to  have  been  a  later  road  than  the  Via 
Ardeatina,  as  it  deviates  from  that  point  to  make  room  for  the  tombs  by  the  side 
of  the  old  road.  The  two  roads  were  made  to  meet  at  that  point  in  order  to  make 
use  of  the  same  bridge  over  the  river  Almo,  now  called  Aqua  Saccio,  and  going  to 
the  right  passes  by  the  Tor  Marancia  close  by  the  catacomb  of  SS.  Nereus  and 
Achilleus,  in  a  part  where  in  1827  the  Duchess  of  Chablais  made  excavations  and 
found  many  works  of  ancient  art,  which  are  now  in  the  Vatican  Museum.  This 
ancient  road  was  twenty-four  miles  long,  and  is  marked  upon  the  map  given  by 
Canina.b  The  ancient  pavement  remains  the  greater  part  of  the  distance,  though 
in  a  very  neglected  state. 

a  Virgilii  Aencid.  1.  vii.  ''   Itomn  A  niton,  vol.  vi.  pi.  vi. 


2  A  2 


HI. — Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows,     By  WILLIAM  COPELAND  BOKLASE, 

M.P.,  F.8.A. 


Read  Feb.  3,  1881. 


THE  coast-line  of  the  extremity  of  Western  Cornwall  has  been  so  often  laid  under 
contribution  of  late  by  the  artist's  pencil,  that  its  general  features  are  familar  to 
many  who  have  never  paid  the  country  a  personal  visit.  The  fantastic  forms 
which  the  weather-worn  granite  assumes  as  it  rears  itself  in  bosses  (or  "  karns  " 
as  they  are  locally  termed)  between  the  deeply-cleft  gullies  down  which  the 
streams  of  red  mine-water  find  their  broken  way,  are  the  characteristics  of  that 
portion  of  the  cliff  which,  lying  between  the  promontories  of  the  Land's  End  and 
Cape  Cornwall,  are  turned  most  directly  towards  the  setting  sun.  It  is  along  this 
line  of  coast — some  six  or  seven  miles  in  extent — that  the  stone  cairns  which 
formed  the  burying-places  of  an  early  population  are  found  in  greater  abundance 
than  is  the  case  in  any  other  portion  of  the  district.  Along  this  same  strip  of 
sea-board  are  no  less  than  three  of  those  fortifications  known  as  cliff  castles, 
defended  in  each  case  by  lines  of  ramparts  crossing  the  necks  of  headlands  from 
side  to  side,  terminating  at  either  end  in  the  abrupt  precipice  of  the  cliff,  and 
always  intended  to  resist  attack  from  the  land  side.  Within  these  lines  stone 
cairns  are  frequently  found — a  fact  which  seems  to  point  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  latter  are  the  more  recent  of  the  two ;  since,  were  it  not  so,  the  castle-builders 
would  have  availed  themselves  of  the  pile  of  stone  already  on  the  spot  and  ready 
to  their  hand.  I  may  here  mention  that  in  a  bank  of  stone  contiguous  to,  and 
perhaps  a  portion  of,  one  of  these  cliff  castles— that  at  Kenidjack— a  workman 
recently  found  and  brought  to  me  two  remarkably  fine  bronze  socket-celts.  With 
them  was  a  broken  paalstab,  a  piece  of  bronze  cast  off  from  the  mould,  a  quantity 
of  well-smelted  copper,  and  some  roughly-smelted  tin. 

But  not  only  in  ancient  times  was  every  promontory  on  this  coast  crowned  by 
a  conical  tomb,  consisting  of  a  basement  of  large  slabs  set  on  edge,  containing  and 


182  Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows. 

supporting  a  heap  of  smaller  stones,  which  covered  in  general  a  chamber  within 
(for  such  was  undoubtedly  the  pristine  form  of  the  cairns  along  the  cliffs) ;  but 
each  natural  granite  boss  was  itself  surmounted  by  its  group  of  these  little 
burying-places,  while  the  cliffs  and  hill-tops  above  and  further  inland— (wherever 
indeed  an  aspect  ranging  from  south-east  to  south-west  could  be  secured,  for  in 
other  situations  they  are  invariably  absent) — were  studded  with  lines  or  groups  of 
larger  mounds,  of  which  alone  such  traces  remain  as  have  survived  the  quarrying 
powers  of  those  masons  and  hedgers  who  have  used  them  continuously  for  the 
purposes  of  their  work,  from  the  commencement  of  Cornish  agriculture  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  until  the  present  day. 

And  here  the  question  may  well  arise,  "  Why  is  it  that  this  narrow  tract  of 
western  land  is  so  much  more  thickly  strewn  than  other  districts  with  the  monu- 
ments of  the  dead  ?  "  The  same  phenomenon  is,  I  believe,  to  be  observed  along 
the  western  shores  in  Ireland  and  in  Brittany ;  and  if,  as  it  is  much  to  be  wished, 
the  coasts  of  Spain  and  Portugal  could  contribute  their  quota  of  evidence  as  well, 
it  is  possible  that  there  also  the  same  would  be  the  case.  It  can  scarcely  be 
accidental.  The  internal  arrangement  of  the  mounds  presents,  as  I  presently 
hope  to  point  out,  the  same  marked  preference  on  the  part  of  their  constructors 
for  the  self-same  side.  Canon  Greenwell  and  other  English  explorers  have  noted 
the  same  result.  Does  it,  it  may  be  asked,  mark  an  intelligent  preference,  based 
on  a  worship  of  nature — such  as  was  known  to  the  Aryan  nations  of  the  East,  and 
is  still  known  to  the  Maoris  and  the  Red  Indians — for  the  death-quarter — the  side 
of  the  setting  sun  ?  Was  it  for  this  object  that  these  primitive  people  brought 
down  their  dead  to  burn  them  on  the  utmost  limit  of  the  western  shore  ?  Does 
it,  on  the  other  hand,  point  only  to  the  survival  of  a  superstitious  custom,  the 
outcome  of  an  earlier  form  of  worship  ?  A  line  of  four  holed-stones  in  the  moor- 
land above  this  cliff  of  which  I  am  speaking  points  due  east  and  west ;  as  does 
also  the  well-known  Maen-an-tol,  with  its  shadow-stone  on  either  side — both  of 
which  monuments  Mr.  Lukis  has  carefully  planned.  Superstitions  connected  with 
the  sun  and  with  these  holed-stones  are  still  prevalent  in  the  country.  While  I 
admit  that  the  means  are  not  at  our  disposal,  and  probably  never  can  be, 
adequately  to  answer  these  questions,  I  must  add  that  the  invariable  recurrence  in 
cairn  after  cairn  of  the  same  arrangement,  left  in  my  own  mind  a  presumption  in 
favour  of  the  plan  having  been  dictated  by  a  precedent  derived  from  some  more  or 
less  definite  form  of  early  faith.  But,  as  my  object  is  not  to  offer  a  theory,  but  to 
present  a  plain  unvarnished  record  of  facts,  I  will  pass  from  this  subject,  and 
proceed  to  select  from  among  upwards  of  two  hundred  sepulchral  mounds  of 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows. 


183 


various  kinds,  which  I  have  examined  in  the  county,  a  few  typical  specimens  from 
the  district  to  which  I  have  referred;  and  I  will  begin  by  noticing  the  structure 
and  contents  of  a  few  of  the  smaller  cairns  on  the  cliff. 

Four  specimens  on  the  estate  of  Boscregan,  which  in  Cornish  signifies  "  the 
dwelling  by  the  '  crigs  '  or  cairns,"  will  perhaps  best  serve  for  the  purpose  of 
description,  since  they  are  situated  within  a  few  yards  of  each  other,  are  all  of 
different  type,  and  have  all  been  thoroughly  explored. 

Figs.  1  and  2  are  on  the  summit  of  a  natural  granite  boss  known  as  Karn 
Leskys,— that  is  to  say,  "  rock  of  burning,"  so  called,  as  we  may  suppose,  not  on 
account  of  any  survival  of  a  tradition  of  the  funeral  piles  which  once  were  lighted 
there,  but  from  the  beacons  which  have  blazed  there  since.  The  two  little  circles 
given  in  the  plan  are  contiguous ;  they  lie  in  a  direction  due  east  and  west,  and 
the  faint  traces  of  a  third  are  to  be  found  at  the  distance  of  a  few  paces  to  the 
south.  The  westernmost  circle  of  the  two  consists  of  a  ring  of  earth  and  stone 
eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  but  only  twelve  inches  in  height  above  ground.  It 
enclosed  an  area  slightly  sunk,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  a  little  hillock  eighteen 
inches  high.  On  cutting  through  this  circle  nothing  was  found  in  the  outer  ring, 
but  the  remains  of  a  low  wall  were  brought  to  light  surrounding  the  central  heap, 
which  proved  to  be  a  pile  of  small  round  pebbles  from  the  beach  below.  The  other 


Fig.  1. 


KARN   LESKYS. 


Fig.  2. 


circle,  however,  which  joined  it  on  the  eastern  side,  had  been  hedged  round,  as  is 
the  almost  invariable  rule,  with  a  ring  of  contiguous  granite  blocks,  most  of  which 
were  still  in  their  place.  They  inclosed  a  bank  of  earth  and.  stone  two  feet  in 
height,  the  upper  portion  of  the  tumulus  having  been,  removed  by  stone  carriers. 
The  diameter  was,  as  in  the  adjoining  circle,  eighteen  feet.  I  drove  a  trench  to 
the  middle,  and  laid  bare  the  rough  wall  of  an  inner  ring,  six  feet  in  diameter. 


184 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows. 


Within  this, — arranged  all  round  the  area,  for  there  was  nothing  in  the  actual 
centre, — were  no  less  than  ten  separate  deposits  of  pottery,  comprising  the  greater 
portions  of  seven  sepulchral  urns.  Their  bases,  most  of  which  were  perfect  (the 
vessels  having  been  crushed  in  by  pressure  from  above,  at  the  time  probably 
when  the  stones  which  may  have  formed  cists  round  them  were  removed)  rested 
on  the  natural  soil,  though  it  is  probable  that  in  a  few  cases  (where  the  bottoms 
were  not  found)  the  urns  themselves  had  been  inverted.  The  largest  vessel  had 
been  placed  on  the  western  side  of  the  ring.  When  perfect  it  cannot  have  been 
less  than  from  nineteen  to  twenty  inches  high,  with  a  diameter  of  fifteen  inches  at 
the  mouth,  being  therefore  the  largest  sepulchral  urn  (with  one  exception  presently 
to  be  noticed)  yet  found  in  Cornwall.  The  pottery  is  five-eighths  of  an  inch  thick, 
and  it  is  hard  baked :  the  clay  is  full  of  the  decomposed  granite  of  the  district ; 
it  is  black  in  the  centre,  but  of  a  yellowish  colour  externally.  On  either  side, 
three  inches  below  the  rim,  is  a  perforated  handle  three  inches  broad,  and  the 
same  in  length.  On  a  line  with  this  handle  (which  feature  I  may  here  say  is  the 
most  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Cornish  urns)  a  bulge  runs  round  the  vessel, 
— not  of  the  heavy  type  known  in  Dorsetshire,  but  giving  additional  symmetry  to 
the  whole — and  from  this  point  downwards  the  urn  tapers  away  to  a  base  nine 
inches  in  diameter.  The  whole  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  urn  was  ornamented 
with  a  laureated  chevron  pattern  arranged  perpendicularly,  and  this  pattern,  as  is 
usual,  extended  over  the  handles  as  well.  Adhering  to  the  interior  was  a  quantity 


TAPEKING  TYPE. 


CYLINDRICAL  TYPE. 


of  burnt  human  bone — the  remains  of  an  adult, — mixed  with  charcoal  and  ashes. 
While  separating  the  fragments  in  order  to  restore  [it,  I  made  the   interesting 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows.  185 

discovery  that  a  second  urn  had,  at  some  period  subsequent  to  its  interment,  been 
thrust  down  into  it,  apparently  splitting  it  to  pieces.  The  height  of  the  inclosed 
urn,  whose  upper  rim  was  on  a  level  with  that  of  the  outer  one,  was  sixteen  inches, 
and  the  diameter  at  the  mouth  twelve  inches.  The  pottery  is  half  an  inch  thick, 
dark-coloured  throughout,  not  so  well  baked  as  that  of  the  larger  vessel ;  but, 
like  that,  filled  with  small  angular  pieces  of  quartz.  It  had  two  perforated 
handles,  each  two  and  a  half  inches  wide  by  three  inches  long ;  and  over  them,  as 
well  as  around  the  upper  band  of  the  vessel,  was  a  double  chevron  ornament,  made, 
as  it  appears,  with  a  stick,  and  not  displaying  the  care  used  in  the  laureated  or 
twisted-cord  pattern.  The  base  was  seven  inches  in  diameter ;  and  the  interior 
was  full  of  burnt  human  bones.  The  shape  was  much  more  cylindrical  than  that 
of  the  larger  urn,  and  a  rim  had  taken  the  place  of  the  bulge.  Both  these 
forms  of  urn  are  common  in  Cornwall,  and  if  this  was  a  secondary  interment,  it 
must  tend  to  show  that  the  tapering  type  is  not  the  more  recent  of  the  two.  Two 
flints — one  with  a  naturally  formed  hole  in  it,  and  the  other  a  chip  used  perhaps 
as  a  strike-a-light,  were  found  amongst  the  ashes  in  the  second  urn.  A  parallel 
example  of  one  urn  having  been  found  pressed  down  into  another  occurred  not 
long  ago  in  an  adjoining  parish.  The  other  fragments  found  in  this  prolific  cairn 
presented  the  following  characteristics  : — (a)  the  base,  six  inches  and  a  half  in 
diameter,  and  some  other  portions  of  a  coarse  dark  earthy  vessel,  half  an  inch 
thick,  and  full  of  burnt  human  bones ;  (V)  the  handle  (two  inches  broad)  and  other 
parts  of  a  vessel  bearing  the  usual  ornamentation ;  (c)  five  pieces  of  a  very 
prettily  ornamented  cylindrical  vessel,  five  inches  in  diameter,  and  probably  six 
inches  high,  the  pottery  fairly  well  baked,  of  a  reddish  tinge,  and  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  thick,  the  sides  covered  with  a  series  of  laiireated  chevrons,  which,  from  a 
fragment  of  the  base,  seem  to  have  reached  (as  in  the  case  of  the  drinking  cups 
known  in  other  parts  of  England)  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel ;  (d)  portions  of  a 
rough  hard-baked  urn  (size  uncertain),  the  interior  of  the  rim  ornamented  with 
chevrons ;  (e)  five  pieces  of  rough  dark  earthy  pottery,  having  an  attempt  at  sand 
glaze  on  the  inside.  Besides  this  pottery,  there  occurred  in  the  earth  thrown  out 
from  this  mound  numerous  beach  pebbles,  one  of  which,  a  flat  one,  one  inch  and 
three  quarters  long  by  one  inch  and  a  half  broad,  had  been  artificially  •  perforated, 
and  splinters  of  flint,  common  to  the  downs  of  the  locality,  but  most  frequently 
met  with  near  tumuli  and  within  the  lines  of  the  cliff  castles.  The  next  cairn 
(fig.  3)  lies  on  another  natural  granite  elevation  one  hundred  and  fifty  paces 
south  of  the  last,  known  as  Karn  Creis  or  the  "  Middle  Earn,"  consisting  of  two 
peaks  twenty-six  paces  apart.  The  diameter  in  -this  case  too  was  eighteen  feet. 

VOL.  XLIX.  2  B 


186  Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows. 

A  ring  of  stones  surrounded  it,  and  a  second  and  concentric  circle  had  been  drawn 
round  the  immediate  centre,  in  which  was  a  dismantled  cist,  lying  east  and  west, 


Fig.  3  Fig.  4. 

KAKN  CBEIS. 

four  feet  long  by  three  feet  wide.  In  one  corner  of  this  lay  a  single  fragment  of 
pottery,  marking  perhaps  the  position  of  an  urn.  In  its  general  arrangement  and 
structure  this  cairn  resembles  many  others  on  this  coast,  nearly  all  of  which,  like 
it,  have  been  previously  rifled. 

On  the  other  peak  at  Karn  Creis  lay  the  last  of  these  cairns  to  which  I  pro- 
pose to  advert.      The  construction  of  this  little    burying  place  deserves  atten- 
tion.    A  large  natural  granite  rock  in  situ,  of  a  square  tabular  shape  (fig.  4), 
measuring   eight   feet   across   and  four  feet   in   height,   had    been    surrounded 
by  a  ring  of    stones   eighteen  feet  in   diameter,   and   the   whole   had   probably 
been  covered  in  by  a  heap  of  small  stones.     Similar  arrangements  in  the  same 
locality  have  been  previously  noticed  by  Dr.   Borlase  and  others.      One  such 
occurs  at  Karnmenelez,  near  Camborne,  and  another  at  Tresco,  in  Scilly ;  and,  to 
judge  by  the  results  of  previous  explorations  of  my  own  in  a  cairn  in  the  parish 
of  Morvah,  in  which  such  a  rock  containing  an  artificial  cup-basin  occurred,  I 
venture  to  assert  my  conviction  that  in  cases  where  such  rocks  are  found  they 
were  purposely  selected  to  form  the  bases  of  the  funeral  piles  on  which  the  bodies 
were  burnt.     On  the  south  side  of  this  cairn  some  two  feet  of  filling  still  remained 
between  the  central  rock  and  the  outer  ring.     On  removing  this  some  interesting 
discoveries  were  made.     Resting  immediately  against  the  side  of  the  natural  rock 
was  the  greater  part  of  a  plain  barrel-shaped  urn.     The  pottery  was  thin  and 
earthy,  copiously  mixed  with  gravel,  and  averaging  from  a  quarter  to  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  in  thickness.     It  possessed  two  cleats  or  embryo  handles,  each 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows.  187 

one  inch  wide,  perforated  by  holes  only  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  or 
just  large  enough  for  a  cord.  The  diameter  of  the  vessel  was  eight  inches,  and 
it  was  one  foot  high.  Amongst  the  ashes  and  bones  with  which  it  was  filled  were 
a  few  rough  chips  of  flint  and  a  fragment  of  a  globular  vessel  of  glass  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  thick,  of  an  olive-greenish  hue  when  held  up  to  the  light,  but  the 
surface  covered  with  a  blueish-black  coating  of  an  irridescent  appearance.  The 
globular  portion  of  the  vessel  from  which  it  came  must  have  been  three  inches 
in  diameter.  As  in  the  case  of  some  beads  described  by  Professor  Buckman  and 
found  in  Wiltshire,  this  piece  of  glass  has  been  found  on  analysis  to  contain  no 
lead,  but  much  iron.  Whether  articles  of  glass  were  of  native  manufacture  in 
Britain,  or  were  imported  (as  seems  to  be  implied  by  a  passage  in  Strabo.  lib.  iv. 
c.  5)  is,  I  believe,  a  point  still  undetermined.  Eighteen  inches  to  the  east  of  this 
urn,  and  still  under  the  brow  of  the  natural  rock,  were  discovered  the  fragments 
of  a  second  urn  of  a  somewhat  more  globular  form  than  the  others.  The  pottery 
averages  from  half  an  inch  to  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  thickness ;  the  base 
measures  seven  inches  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and  the  mouth  eight  inches.  The 
inside  of  the  rim  is  ornamented  with  a  series  of  parallel  lines  of  the  twisted-rope 
pattern  placed  diagonally,  and  the  outer  band  of  the  vessel  below  the  rim  is  deco- 
rated, as  usual,  with  the  chevron  laureated  device— never  found  on  domestic  vessels 
—ranged  in  series  of  acute  angles  placed  horizontally.  The  handles  are  two  inches 
broad,  pierced  with  holes  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  texture  of  the  pottery 
is  finer  than  usual,  though  black  and  earthy.  Close  to  the  side  of  this  last  lay 
the  bottom  and  several  fragments  of  the  rudest  urn  I  have  yet  met  with  in 
Cornwall.  It  was  filled  with  burnt  human  bones,  some  of  which  had  become  so 
firmly  imbedded  in  the  clay  that,  when  removed,  they  left  their  stamp  in  it — a 
fact  which  proves  that  they  had  been  placed  in  the  vessel  while  the  clay  was  still 
wet,  and  probably  also  that  the  only  baking  the  urn  received  was  what  it  got 
from  the  flames  of  the  funeral  pile.  The  bottom  was  five  inches  in  diameter, 
and  it  belonged  not  to  the  cylindrical  but  to  the  tapering  type,  expanding  to  nine 
inches  near  the  top.  The  pottery  was  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch  thick. 
Opposite  this  urn,  and  hugging  the  inner  face  of  one  of  the  stones  of  the  ring, 
stood  a  little  vessel  three  inches  and  three  quarters  in  diameter  at  the  base  and 
four  inches  and  a  half  at  the  mouth.  The  rim  is  gone,  but  it  is  otherwise  perfect, 
and  is  four  inches  high.  It  presents  a  slight  bulge  below  the  upper  rim  and  what 
are  handles  in  the  larger  vessels  are  represented  by  two  unperforated  knobs.  It 
belongs  to  that  class  of  vessel  which  probably  in  Cornwall  took  the  place  of  the 
more  elaborate  "  drinking  cups  "  or  "  food  vessels  "  of  other  districts,  and  to  which, 

2u2 


188  Typical  Specimens  .of  Cornish  Barrows. 

since  they  are  models  of  the  larger  ones,  I  have  given  the  name  of  "  miniature 
urns."  That  they  did  serve  the  purpose  of  food  vessels,  I  think,  is  pretty  clear 
from  the  fact  that,  in  one  which  accompanied  four  other  larger  vessels  in  a  cist  at 
Busvargus,  in  this  same  district,  I  recently  discovered  that  the  contents  consisted 
chiefly  of  the  bones  of  small  birds.  The  pottery  in  this  instance  was  of  a  reddish 
colour,  half  an  inch  thick  ;  a  few  burnt  human  bones  lay  near  the  mouth,  but  the 
bottom  was  filled  with  snuff-coloured  powder. 

One  foot  further  to  the  east  of  this  little  urn,  in  an  angle  formed  by  a  turn  in 
the  encircling  ring,  were  found  three  pieces  of  black  hard-baked  sand-glazed 
pottery,  three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick.  One  of  these  is  part  of  a  plain  bevelled 
rim,  and  on  another  can  be  traced  a  rude  pattern  made  by  the  incision  of  a  pointed 
instrument.  Together  with  these  last  fragments  my  trowel  brought  to  light 
twelve  peculiar  beads  made  of  glazed  earthenware.  The  colour  of  the  glaze  is 
bright  blue,  such  as  that  of  the  finest  turquoise.  Ten  of  them  are  cylindrical  and 
fluted,  but  the  two  others  are  larger  and  barrel-shaped,  though  fluted  like  the  rest  (A). 
The  length  of  the  cylindrical  ones,  when  perfect,  is  five-eighths  of  an  inch,  and 
the  diameter  nearly  one  quarter  of  an  inch.  Similar  ones  to  these  have  occurred, 
though  very  rarely,  in  other  parts  of  England ;  those  found  by  my  friend  Mr. 
Woodruff,  F.S.A.,  together  with  urns  of  a  remarkably  Cornish  type,  in  a  Kentish 
barrow,  and  figured  in  the  Archaeolorjia  Cantiana,  vol.  ix.  pi.  ii.  p.  24,  being  perhaps 
the  most  like  them  of  all.  The  barrel-shaped  ones  are  of  the  same  length,  but  their 
diameter  is  double  that  of  the  others.  Owing  to  this,  when  worn  on  a  chain,  it  is 


CYLINDRICAL  BEAD.        BARREL-SHAPED  BEAD.      DISC  IN  BARREL-SHAPED  BEAD. 

clear  that  the  cylindrical  ones  would  have  run  into  them,  were  it  not  that  this  is 
obviated  by  the  insertion  at  each  end  of  little  discs  of  what  I  take  to  be  Kimmeridge 
clay,  each  perforated  with  a  tiny  hole,  scarcely  large  enough  for  a  pin  to  pass  through, 
but  through  which  the  thread  of  the  necklace  was  clearly  meant  to  run— to  such 
minuteness  in  detail  had  the  necklace-makers'  art  been  brought  (B).  The  discovery 
of  personal  ornaments,  as  also  of  articles  of  intrinsic  value,  in  Cornish  cairns  is  a 
very  rare  occurrence.  The  gold  cup  found  near  Liskeard  is  the  exception  which 
proves  the  rule  in  this  respect.  The  fact  may  be  variously  interpreted.  Either 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows.  189 

the  people  were  not  in  possession  of  them,  or  their  burial-places  have  in  general 
been  rifled,  or  while  actually  possessing  them,  Cornishmen  were  too  wise  to  part 
with  them  in  such  a  manner.  As  to  these  beads,  my  impression  is  that  they  are  of 
native  origin.  Canon  Greenwell  has  indeed  spoken  of  Cornwall  as  a  remote  part 
of  the  country  where  "  the  characteristic  features  of  early  burial  may  have  been 
found  in  connection  with  interments  of  comparatively  late  times ;  "  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  Cornwall  in  great  probability  received  civilizing  influences  as 
early  as  any  part  of  Britain,  for  civilisation  travels  on  the  lines  of  commerce,  and 
it  was  on  account  of  her  tin  (which  must  have  come  from  Cornwall)  that  Britain 
was  first  known  to  the  ancient  world.  At  the  time  then,  when  these  beads  were 
deposited  in  this  cairn  Cornwall  might  have  been  in  sufficiently  intimate  relations 
with  other  parts  of  the  country  to  have  imported  them,  or  sufficiently  civilized  to 
have  made  them  herself.  Anyhow  they  would  be  in  my  opinion  of  native  British 
origin. 

With  them  were  found  a  little  button  formed  of  a  substance  undetermined, 
but  of  the  appearance  of  a  concrete.  In  shape  it  is  half  a  sphere,  the  flat  surface 
measuring  nine-sixteenths  of  an  inch  long  by  seven-sixteenths  broad.  It  is 
traversed  from  side  to  side  by  an  indentation  which  bisects  it.  In  each  of  the 
divisions  of  the  surface  thus  formed  is  a  hole  large  enough  to  admit  a  c 

pin's  head,   and  these  two  holes  meet  under  the  indented  line  (c).      f          ^ 
Similar  ones  have  been  found  elsewhere  in  jet :    A  heart-shaped  stone     V  J 

with   flinty   excrescences,  with   a   natural   perforation,    possibly   the 
charm  for  the  necklace  :    The  base  of  a  leaf-shaped  arrow-head  of 
dark  brown  flint  finely  worked.     The  burnt  fragments  of  bone  which  accompanied 
these  articles  were   extremely  delicate   in   texture — those  apparently  of  a  young 
woman  or  child. 

Having  concluded  that  part  of  my  subject  which  deals  with  the  smaller  stone 
tumuli  or  cairns,  I  now  arrive  at  the  far  larger  piles  which  in  general  surmount 
the  highest  of  our  hills  and  the  more  prominent  portions  of  the  cliffs. 

On  the  cliff  which  towers  above  Cape  Cornwall,  near  Ballowall,  St.  Just, 
—the  headland  which,  until  recent  researches  proved  it  otherwise,  was  always  held 
to  be  the  westernmost  extremity  of  the  land — rises  the  bastion  of  granite  known 
as  Karn  Grluze,  or,  in  English,  "  the  grey  karn."  The  land  immediately  around  has 
from  time  out  of  mind  been  one  of  special  importance  to  the  miners,  as  a  conse- 
quence of  which  an  enormous  mass  of  refuse  stuff,  covering  several  acres  of  ground 
and  averaging  some  twenty  feet  in  height,  mars  to  a  great  extent  the  beauty  of  the 
spot.  A  curious  local  tradition  attaches  to  this  pile  of  refuse,  to  the  effect  that 


190  Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows. 

miners  returning  from  their  work  at  night  have  seen  lights  burning  and  rings  of 
fairies  dancing  on  and  around  it.  Having  one  day  climbed  to  the  top  of  this  heap 
to  gain  a  better  view  of  fishing  boats  at  sea,  my  attention  was  attracted  to  the  fact 
that  in  one  spot,  at  the  very  summit,  the  pile  was  composed,  not  of  the  usual 
material  broken  under  ground,  but  of  the  granite  stones  common  to  the  surface  of 
the  land.  It  was  clear  therefore  that  they  had  been  purposely  thrown  there  by 
the  hand  of  man.  Fancying  that  they  might  be,  as  indeed  I  soon  proved  that 
they  were,  the  upper  portion  of  a  large  cairn  which  owed  its  preservation  to  the 
covering  of  mine  stuff  which  centuries  had  accumulated  round  it,  I  caused  a  gang 
of  miners  to  drive  a  trench  from  the  outside  of  the  whole  mound  towards  the 
point  where  the  surface-stones  appeared  on  the  top.  By  this  method,  after  many 
days'  labour,  the  structure  of  an  enormous  tumulus  was  laid  bare  on  the  western 
side,  with  the  following  most  interesting  results  : — At  a  distance  of  ten  feet  from 
the  edge  of  the  pile  an  outer  wall  was  uncovered,  formed  of  massive  blocks  of 
granite,  some  of  them  seven  and  eight  feet  long,  set  on  edge  contiguously,  and 
supporting  a  second  layer  placed  horizontally  on  their  top.  It  took  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  of  these  blocks,  as  we  afterwards  found,  to  form  the  outer  circle 
of  the  entire  cairn.  It  formed  at  once  the  inclosing  ring  and  the  basement  of  the 
immense  pile  of  stone  which  lay  within.  This  pile  measured  in  diameter  sixty-seven 
feet  north  and  south,  and  from  seventy  to  eighty  feet  east  and  west,  while  the  entire 
accumulation  of  debris  denuded  from  it  on  all  sides  measured  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  across.  The  symmetry  of  the  circle,  when  seen  in  ground 
plan  as  laid  down  by  Mr.  Lukis,  is  spoiled  by  a  considerable  bulge  on  the  south-west 
side.  Passing  the  outer  ring  and  continuing  the  trench  towards  the  centre,  the 
workmen  broke  through  a  congeries  of  loose  stones  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in 
breadth,  and,  after  removing  a  sufficient  number  to  gain  a  passage  through  them, 
reached  a  second  wall,  resting,  like  the  former  one,  on  the  natural  surface,  and  sur- 
rounded at  its  base  by  a  stratum  of  ashes  and  charred  wood.  The  diameter  of  this 
second  circle  was  thirty  feet  north  and  south  by  thirty-seven  feet  east  and  west.  Its 
construction  was  very  different  to  that  of  the  outer  wall.  In  some  places,  though  it 
had  clearly  been  truncated,  it  was  still  twelve  feet  high,  and  was  neatly  constructed 
throughout  in  a  beehive  form,  with  layers  of  square  or  flat  stones.  The  dome  shape 
was  so  distinctly  marked  that,  at  a  height  of  five  feet  from  the  base,  it  had  gradually 
inclined  inwards  no  less  than  two  feet.  Unlike  the  beehive  huts,  well  known  to 
antiquaries  in  the  same  district,  and  which  are  self-supporting,  this  dome  depended 
for  its  stability  on  the  pile  of  stones  which  it  enclosed.  At  a  height  of  foxir  feet 
six  inches  from  the  ground,  a  layer  of  well-chosen  square  stones  ran  all  round  the 


Vol.  XLIX. 


SECTION  OF  BARROW  ON  LINE  ABGHKLMNO 


BARBOW    AT    BALLOWAL,    ST.    JUST,    CORNWALL. 
W.  C.  LUKIS,  P.S.A.,  AND  W.  C.  BOHLASE,  F.S.A.,  17TH  JULY,  1874. 

MAON.  MEB.  TAKEN  TO  BE  20°  30'  W.  OF  NORTH. 
Scale  ya  inch  to  one  foot. 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows.  191 

structure,  forming  a  kind  of  rude  plinth,  from  which  the  upper  portion  of  the 
cone  rose  more  perpendicularly  than  was  the  case  with  the  lower  part. 

From  this  fact  I  should  imagine  that,  according  to  the  original  design,  this 
plinth  marked  the  level  to  which  the  cairn  was  carried  between  the  oiiter  and  this 
second  wall.  From  this  point  the  central  cone,  which  would  have  been  exposed  to 
view  above  this,  would  take  its  rise — to  the  height  (to  judge  by  measurements 
and  by  the  accumulation  of  debris) — of  not  less  than  perhaps  twenty  feet.  On 
breaking  through  this  second  wall,  at  a  distance  of  four  feet  within  it,  a  third 
concentric  wall  was  uncovered,  also  built  in  the  form  of  a  dome,  but  more  perpen- 
dicularly than  the  other,  and  of  smaller  stones.  The  space  between  these  two 
domes,  which  for  fear  of  destroying  the  structural  or  I  may  almost  say  archi- 
tectural features  I  have  not  explored,  had  been  filled  in  with  large  flat  stones 
dropped  in  aslant.  This  central  circle  proved  to  be  twenty-two  feet  in  diameter 
north  and  south  by  twenty-seven  feet  east  and  west. 

Before  I  proceed  to  describe  the  various  places  of  sepulture  which  were  dis- 
covered during  the  process  of  overturning,  as  I  have  done,  every  stone  within  each 
of  these  circles  except  those  between  the  domes,  I  wish  to  point  out  a  fact  which  at 
once  struck  me,  and  which  has  struck  every  arcliaaologist  conversant  with  Oriental 
tumuli  who  has  seen  it  since  it  has  been  laid  bare,  namely — the  close  similarity 
which  exists  between  the  structure  of  this  great  cairn  and  certain  other  structures 
in  other  lands.  Not  to  mention  the  Talayos  of  the  Balearic  Isles,  this  tumulus 
certainly  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  topes  of  Afghanistan  and  India.  Such 
an  one  is  the  tope  of  Bhojpur,  described  by  General  Cunningham.  The  external 
construction  in  that  case  is  of  stone,  the  interior  being  filled  up  with  loose  stones, 
bricks,  and  rubbish.  An  outer  circle  of  walling  supports  a  terrace  four  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  soil.  This  terrace  is  approached  by  an  inclined  plane  or  by  steps, 
which  on  the  ground  plans  appears  as  a  bulge  from  the  side  of  the  original  outer 
circle.  A  plinth  encircles  the  conical  structure  which  rises  from  the  terrace,  and 
this  plinth  is  at  no  great  height  above  the  level  of  the  terrace  itself.  Were  a 
restoration  to  be  attempted  of  this  cairn  at  Ballowall  a  structure  would  be  raised 
which  would,  if  I  mistake  not,  be  found  to  agree  in  all  these  several  points  with 
the  topes  which  it  was  customary  to  raise  in  the  East  over  the  relics,  or  at  an 
earlier  period  over  the  burnt  bodies,  of  Buddhist  teachers  of  noted  sanctity.  The 
same  features  are  also  noticeable  in  the  great  Sanki  Tope,  as  also  in  Persian 
monuments,  and  finally  in  Asia  Minor  also,  where,  as  in  the  case  of  the  tomb  of 
Tantalus,  the  plinth,  so  rudely  indicated,  as  I  believe  it  is,  in  the  unhewn  stones 


192  Typical  Specimens  of  Gornisli  Barrows. 

of  the  Cornish  mound,  has  developed  itself  into  a  characteristic  feature  of 
architecture. 

I  will  now  notice  the  several  sepulchral  chambers,  &c.,  which  were  discovered 
during  the  process  of  overhauling  the  mound ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  with  one 
exception  they  all  lie  in  a  straight  line  drawn  across  the  centre  from  south-west  to 
north-east.  On  laying  bare  the  outer  ring  it  was  found  that  on  the  south-west  side 
one  of  the  stones  of  the  circle  was  wanting.  Access  was  by  this  means  given  to  a 
chamber  nine  feet  long,  three  feet  high,  and  averaging  from  three  feet  six  inches 
to  two  feet  six  inches  wide.  The  roof  was  formed  by  two  covering  stones  with  a 
third  wedged  in  between  them,  and  the  north-east  end  was  closed  by  a  single  slab. 
In  every  respect  it  was  clearly  identical  with  the  chambers  in  certain  mounds 
known  in  the  same  locality  and  in  Scilly  as  the  "  Giant's  Graves."  It  proved  to 
be  paved  throughout,  and  under  the  pavement  quantities  of  burnt  human  bones  of 
adults,  and  fragments  of  broken  pottery — some,  such  as  that  figured,  curiously  orna- 
mented with  circular  indentations — were  discovered.  The  place  must  have  been 
disturbed  and  rifled,  unless  we  may  suppose  that  the  bones  and  shards  were  subse- 
quently collected  and  thrown  there,  which  may  have  been  the  case,  as  they  had  been 
dispersed  all  over  the  floor  of  the  chamber.  Two  feet  north-east  of  the  end  of  this 
vault  was  a  long  grave-shaped  cist,  four  feet  long  by  two-feet  six  inches  wide  and 
two  feet  deep.  The  sides  consisted  each  of  a  single  granite  block ;  two  stones 
formed  the  cover,  and  a  single  stone  lay  along  the 'floor,  on  which  it  is  probable  that 
an  imburnt  body  of  which  not  a  trace  remained  had  been  placed.  This  cist  rested 
on  the  natural  soil  and  was  scarcely  a  foot  distant  from  the  base  of  the  outer  dome. 
Two  other  discoveries  were  made  in  the  outer  circle;  one  on  the  south-east  side, 
namely,  a  grave  or  pit  six  feet  long,  three  feet  wide,  and  three  feet  six  inches  deep, 
cut  in  the  hard  natural  soil  six  feet  from  the  outer  dome  ;  the  other  a  very  carefully 
protected  cist  eighteen  inches  square  and  ten  inches  deep,  abutting  on  the  outer 
dome  on  the  north-east  side — being  the  only  example  I  have  found  of  a  cist  on 
that  side  of  any  cairn.  A  large  square  block  of  stone  lay  at  the  bottom,  five  flat 
stones  were  set  slantwise  against  the  south-east  side,  and  several  others  heavy 
blocks  against  the  north-east  side.  It  contained  the  indistinct  traces  of  having 
contained  some  article  of  wood  unburnt,  but  no  trace  of  an  interment. 

As  the  workmen  penetrated  the  third  wall,  which  formed  the  inner  dome, 
ashes  became  more  plentiful,  and  on  arriving  at  the  centre  a  pit  was  discovered  sunk 
in  the  natural  soil.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a  T,  the  shaft  of  that  letter  being  repre- 
sented by  a  pit  eight  feet  long,  lying  in  a  direction  south-west  and  north-east. 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows.  193 

The  depth  at  the  south-west  end  was  three  feet,  but  it  descended  by  two  steps 
until  the  floor  at  the  other  end  was  reached  seven  feet  under  the  surface.  Here  it 
joined  the  transverse  portion,  which  was  eight  feet  long  by  two  feet  wide,  was 
rudely  rounded  off  at  either  end,  and  had  been  hollowed  out  like  a  cave  under  the 
hard  soil.  This  part  lies  under  the  north-east  side  of  the  inner  circles,  and  if  it 
was  a  grave  at  all  it  is  here  that  the  body  would  have  been  interred.  I  have  my 
misgivings  however  that  it  may  be  the  work  of  miners  at  a  later  date.  No  traces 
of  interment  were  found  in  it,  but  a  quantity  of  black  greasy  mould,  amongst 
which  was  a  bead  of  soft  micaceous  stone  one  inch  and  a  quarter  in  diameter, 
which  differs  from  a  spindle-whorl  in  being  more  globular  in  shape.  In  cleaning 
up  the  floor  of  this  inner  circle  immediately  around  this  pit  the  workmen  brought 
to  light  no  fewer  than  five  little  stone  cists,  of  very  neat  construction,  and  all 
arranged  on  the  south  and  south-west  sides. 

The  first  of  these  was  four  feet  from  the  south-west  end  of  the  pit.  It  was 
three  feet  long  and  about  one  foot  wide,  covered  in  by  three  stones — more  like  a 
drain  than  anything  else.  At  the  south-east  end  it  was  closed,  but  at  the  other 
end  it  curved  round  towards  the  mouth  of  the  pit.  The  depth  was  about  eighteen 
inches.  At  the  south-west  corner,  close  against  the  wall,  stood  a  small  and 
perfectly  plain  cylindrical  little  urn,  mouth  upwards.  It  was  filled  with  dark- 
coloured  earth  and  charred  wood,  on  the  top  of  which  lay  two  minute  portions  of 
burnt  bone.  The  height  is  five  inches  and  three  eighths,  and  its  diameter  four 
inches  and  three  quarters. 

In  the  same  cist  were  three  other  fragments  of  another  small  vessel  which  had 
been  provided  with  two  knobs  or  cleats.  Two  feet  to  the  south-east  of  this  cist 
was  a  second ;  and  the  same  distance  to  the  north-east  a  third,  which  though 
it  was  perfect  when  discovered  has  since  been  destroyed.  It  was  two  feet  long, 
one  foot  three  inches  wide,  and  covered  by  two  stones.  "Within  it  lay  another 
miniature  urn  on  its  side,  closely  hugging  the  south-east  wall,  and  evidently 
placed  purposely  in  that  position.  It  is  four  inches  and  a  half  high  and  four 
inches  wide  at  the  mouth.  The  pottery  is  very  coarse,  black,  and  earthy,  and, 
like  the  former  one,  was  not  made  on  the  wheel.  It  is  as  good  a  representation  in 
miniature  of  the  one  form  of  Cornish  sepulchral  urn  (i.  e.  the  type  with  the  bulge 
and  tapering  extremity)  as  is  the  other  little  one  in  the  other  cist  of  those  of 
the  cylindrical  type.  It  appeared  as  if  these  little  cists  had  been  placed  in  a  rude 
circle,  for  two  feet  north-east  of  this  cist  was  another,  this  time  a  double  one,  each 
of  the  compartments  measuring  two  feet  long  by  one  foot  wide. 

VOL.  XLIX.  2  C 


194  ^Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows. 

On  a  portion  of  the  upper  part  of  the  cairn  falling  away,  a  sixth  and  last  cist 
was  discovered  at  a  height  of  five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ground.  It  measured 
one  foot  square,  and  contained  several  fragments  of  a  thin  well-baked  vessel  of  the 
domestic  type,  such  as  is  found  in  the  hut  villages  of  the  neighbourhood,  clearly 
distinguishable  from  the  sepulchral  pottery,  and  assignable  to  the  Romano-British 
date.  "With  the  shards  were  some  unburnt  bones  of  animals,  among  which  was 
the  jawbone  of  a  lamb. 

On  the  western  slope  of  a  hill  at  Tregaseal,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Just,  and 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  cairn  just  described,  stands  the  tumulus  to  which 
I  will  next  call  attention.  It  is  rather  oval  than  round,  measuring  in  length 
from  north-west  to  south-east  forty-one  feet,  and  in  breadth  some  ten  feet  less. 
Twelve  stones  of  the  outer  ring  were  still  in  their  place,  and  there  were  traces  of 
an  inner  circle  on  the  north-west  side.  The  greater  portion  of  the  north  side, 
and  apparently  the  centre  also,  had  been  carted  away  for  hedging,  and  an  urn 
had  been  discovered  in  the  process.  Undeterred,  however,  by  hearing  this,  I  set 
to  work  in  August,  1879,  upon  the  portion  that  still  remained,  and  was  soon 
rewarded  by  discoveries  of  a  particularly  interesting  nature.  On  the  south-east 
side,  and  apparently  communicating  with  the  outer  ring  by  a  passage  way  which 
had  lost  its  covering  stones,  was  a  fine  stone  chamber,  the  sides  of  which  were 
formed  by  slabs  of  granite,  four  on  one  side  and  five  on  the  other,  terminated  at 
the  north-west  end  by  a  single  block,  and  at  the  south-east  end  by  a  smaller  stone, 
which  had  fallen  inwards.  It  was  eleven  feet  long  and  four  feet  high,  varying  in 
width  from  three  to  four  feet,  and  was  paved  throughout.  The  roof  was  formed 
of  two  remarkably  well-chosen  slabs,  which,  however,  only  extended  half  the 
length  of  the  chamber,  the  others  having  seemingly  been  removed.  One  of  these 
slabs  presented  the  peculiarity  of  a  natural  boss,  rising  to  a  height  of  five  inches 
from  its  surface  ;  and  I  have  little  doubt  (from  other  similar  examples  of  stones 
having  peculiar  formations  occurring  in  connection  with  rude  stone  monviments) 
that  this  feature  had  led  to  its  selection.  The  floor  of  this  chamber,  as  at 
Ballowall,  was  strewn  with  ashes  and  the  burnt  bones  of  full-grown  human 
subjects,  amongst  which  was  a  quantity  of  broken  pottery  and  a  long  sand-stone, 
perforated  at  one  extremity  and  intended  for  a  whetstone.  At  the  north-west 
end  of  the  chamber  was  a  raised  platform  formed  of  two  flat  stones,  both  under 
and  upon  which  burnt  bones  were  found.  A  flint  scraper  and  other  broken  flints 
occurred  in  the  material  of  the  barrow,  which  on  the  north  side  was  composed  of 
stone  and  on  the  sputh  of  earth.  But  the  feature  of  greatest  interest  occurred 


led 

I 
o 

% 

I 


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8 


I 


II? 

"•»    EH  .2 


3  4^  ° 

Cfi     f*n    fl    ? 

#  fl  ri 

a   S       a 
§S       g 

ld.   s 


H 
Q 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barrows. 

when  the  workmen  were  clearing  away  the  stones  and  earth  immediately  outside 
the  north-west  end  of  the  chamber.  Here  a  cist  had  been  rudely  constructed, 
about  three  feet  in  height,  subsequently  to  the  chamber  itself,  as  was  evident  from 
the  fact  that  advantage  had  been  taken  of  the  stones  of  the  latter  in  forming  the 
walls  and  roof  of  the  former.  The  cist  proved  to  be  full  of  fine  earth,  which,  as  it 
came  shaling  down,  displayed  an  urn — the  largest  of  the  sepulchral  type  yet  found 
in  Cornwall,  if  not  in  England,  measuring  twenty-one  inches  high,  with  a  diameter 
of  sixteen  inches  at  the  mouth,  and  eighteen  inches  at  the  bulge  (seven  inches 
below  the  rim),  from  which  point  it  tapers  away  to  a  base  only  six  inches  in 
diameter.  The  shape  of  the  vessel  may  fairly  be  said  to  be  artistic  :  two  handles, 
each  five  inches  in  breadth,  spring  from  the  sides,  and  the  whole  of  the  upper 
portion  is  ornamented  with  double  indented  lines  arranged  in  bands,  or  in  acute 
angles,  or  in  diamond  form.  Similar  bands  are  carried  round  the  inside  of  the 
rim.  The  urn  stood  in  an  inverted  position,  the  mouth  resting  on  a  granite  rock 
in  situ.  It  was  about  half  full  of  calcined  human  bones.  The  bottom,  which  had 
been  broken  in  by  the  shifting  of  the  cover  of  the  cist,  showed  on  the  inside  a 
cross,  standing  out  in  relief,  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch.  It  is  chamfered  or 
rather  bevelled  at  the  edges ;  the  arms  are  of  equal  length,  and,  as  they  do  not 
reach  to  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  clearly  could  not  have  been  intended  to  strengthen 
it.  It  has  evidently  been  made  with  care  and  trouble,  and  is  no  mere  conventional 
pattern  for  the  sake  of  quartering  the  circle.  I  have  seen  in  the  British  Museum 
another  example  from  one  of  the  Devonshire  caves ;  and  Canon  Grreenwell  notices 
one  or  two  other  specimens  from  "Wilts  and  Dorset. 

The  last  tumulus  I  propose  to  notice  is  that  which  crowns  the  summit  of  the 
last  hill  in  England — Chapel  Karn  Brea.  The  estate  on  which  it  stands  derives 
its  name  from  a  chapel  which  once  stood  on  the  top  of  this  very  cairn.  The 
accompanying  drawing,  made  by  my  ancestor  Dr.  Borlase,  which  has  never  yet 
been  correctly  engraved,  represents  the  mound  and  chapel  as  they  appeared  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  In  1816  the  stones  of  the  little  building  were 
removed  in  order  to  make  additions  to  a  barn,  and  all  that  now  remains  is  the 
rude  pile  used  by  the  fishermen  as  a  landmark  and  'called  the  "  tummal." 
Satisfied  that  such  an  accumulation  of  stones — for  it  is  fifteen  feet  high  and  sixty- 
two  feet  in  diameter — would  never  have  been  gathered  together  by  the  chapel- 
builders,  I  several  years  ago  sunk  a  pit  to  the  centre,  which,  however  never 
reached  the  level  of  the  natural  soil.  Not  contented  with  so  poor  a  trial,  in  the 
autumn  of  1879  I  caused  a  trench  thirty  feet  wide  to  be  driven  towards  the 

2c2 


196  Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barfows. 

centre  from  the  south-west  side.  An  outer  ring  of  well  selected  granite  blocks 
was  first  encountered,  of  which  from  twenty  to  thirty  appeared  on  the  surface  in 
different  places  round  the  mound.  From  the  fact  that  three  or  four  of  these 
were  found  lying  one  above  the  other  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  very  pos- 
sible that  similar  stones,  arranged  in  layers  or  steps,  were  once  placed  pyramid 
fashion  around  it  so  as  to  encase  the  whole.  There  are  traces  also,  as  I  think,  of  a 
detached  circle  of  single  stones  having  surrounded  this  cairn.  At  a  distance  of 
fourteen  feet  inside  this  first  ring  we  came  upon  a  rude  perpendicular  wall  four  feet 
high;  three  feet  inside  that  again  was  a  second;  and  at  a  like  distance  a  third,  at  the 
foot  of  which  we  found  a  spindle- whorl  of  baked  clay.  At  a  point  in  this  inner 
wall,  which  faced  the  south-west,  stood  a  single  slab,  apparently  used  as  a  rude 
entrance,  and  supported  by  a  stone  buttress  or  prop.  It  reminded  me  at 
once  of  the  entrances  to  chambers,  such  as  those  I  have  already  described,  and  I 
came  to  the  conclusion,  which  I  have  no  doubt  is  the  correct  one,  that  in  this  case 
the  cairn  had  been  raised  at  different  ages,  and  that  this  inner  circle  was  the 
exterior  of  the  primitive  place  of  sepulture.  "Within  this  entrance  was  a  trench 
running  in  a  north-north-westerly  direction,  faced  on  either  side  with  stones  set 
on  edge.  It  was  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  terminated  at  another  point  in  the 
inner  circle.  From  the  bottom  of  it  were  taken  up  a  small  piece  of  coarse  sepul- 
chral pottery  and  two  chips  of  burnt  human  bone.  Driving  on  towards  the 
centre  and  having  for  our  guide  some  rough  walling  on  the  right,  at  a  distance  of 
eight  feet  from  the  stone  door,  we  came  to  the  mouth  of  just  such  another 
chamber — except  that  its  construction  was  ruder- — as  I  have  described  before  in 
the  cases  of  Ballowall  and  Tregaseal.  The  floor  proved  to  be  two  feet  below  the 
natural  surface.  The  internal  length  was  seven  feet  six  inches.  Its  •  direction 
was  north-north-west  and  south-south-east.  At  the  bottom,  at  the  northern  end,  it 
tapered  to  a  point,  but  the  plan  was  squarer  as  the  walls  ascended.  The  width  in 
the  centre  was  three  feet,  and  at  the  entrance  two  feet  six  inches.  It  was  four  feet 
high,  and  was  roofed  in  by  four  stones  of  various  .sizes.  So  rudely  constructed 
were  the  walls  that  they  would  scarcely  serve  for  a  hedge,  and  without  the  support 
of  the  pile  which  surrounded  them  it  is  impossible  that  they  could  have  supported 
the  roof.  In  this  circumstance  they  differ  materially  from  those  I  have  described, 
and  probably  afford  evidence  of  greater  antiquity.  The  chamber  was  more  than 
"half  full  of  slimy  earth  and  stone,  mingled  with  ashes  which  appeared  to  have 
fallen  through  from  above.  A  few  atoms  of  very  rude  pottery,  and  a  whetstone 
not  perforated,  were  taken  up  from  the  bottom.  Continuing  the  excavation  to 


893 
s 


I  it 

1_J  -       P3 

Ha      M     O 

O     « 

B  *  ft 

GO        •     O 

usi.^ 


s 


rt 
u   *" 

H      ® 

*  a 


SECTION  FBOM  D  TO  O  LOOKING  BAST 


Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barroivs.  197 

the  south-east,  at  a  distance  of  six  feet  six  inches  from  the  entrance  of  the  chamber, 
and  at  a  higher  level,  stood  a  fine  cist  or  dolmen,  covered  by  a  single  well-chosen 
slab,  five  feet  square  on  the  top  and  one  foot  six  inches  thick.  The  cist  itself 
measured  internally  three  feet  by  two  feet  six  inches,  and  two  feet  in  depth.  There 
was  nothing  in  it,  and  the  floor  was  composed  of  the  loose  materials  of  the  earlier 
mound  on  which  it  had  been  built.  From  the  evidence  of  an  old  farm  labourer 
who  had  known  the  place  for  years,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  there  was 
another  similar  cist  removed  from  the  west-south-west  side.  In  the  debris  of  the 
cairn  above  this  some  pieces  of  Romano-British  pottery  were  found,  and  among 
them  a  small  fragment  of  Samian  ware.  A  buttress  sunk  to  support  the  corner- 
stone of  the  chapel  had  reached  to  within  a  foot  or  two  of  the  cover  of  the  cist ; 
but  it  was  plain  that  the  builders  of  the  chapel  had  never  disturbed  either  that 
or  the  chamber,  and  were  therefore  ignorant  of  their  existence.  Veneration  for 
the  spot  on  the  part  of  the  natives  probably  induced  the  Christian  missionaries 
to  adopt  it  for  themselves,  and  the  fact  that  an  annual  tour  is  made  by 
country-people  to  a  stone  on  the  hill-side  below  points  in  the  same  direction. 
Reaching  the  level  of  the  foundation  of  the  chapel,  mediaeval  pottery  and  glass 
occurred,  as  well  as  some  of  the  very  curious  ridge-tiles  of  the  edifice.  Taken 
altogether,  the  evidence  derivable  from  the  exploration  of  this  cairn — although 
the  discoveries  were  next  to  none — was  very  instructive.  It  is  clear  from  it  that 
the  period  of  the  chambered  mounds  or  giants'  graves — perfect  specimens  of  which 
we  possess  at  Pennance  and  Brane  in  the  same  district,  and  also  in  Scilly, 
preceded  that  of  the  cist  or  dolmen  proper;  and  the  occurrence  of  the  Samian 
ware,  and  other  objects  at  higher  levels,  afford  us,  like  so  many  geological  strata, 
evidences  of  human  society  in  each  successive  age,  even  down  to  the  ferret-bell 
which  I  found  in  a  rabbit-hole  at  the  top.  I  may  add  that  this  cairn,  being  on  my 
own  property,  will  be  carefully  preserved.  Occupying  as  it  does  a  position  so 
important  to  mariners,  I  have  restored  it  to  its  original  height,  leaving  the 
chamber  and  cist  exposed  to  view. 

In  conclusion  I  should  like  to  add  one  word  as  to  the  plans  and  drawings  I 
have  made  use  of  in  illustration  of  my  subject.  They  were  made  by  Mr.  Lukis 
during  his  visit  to  Cornwall  in  the  autumn  of  1879.  In  the  work  of  planning  the 
rude  stone  monuments  of  Cornwall  I  accompanied  him  and  rendered  such  assist- 
ance as  I  could.  To  give  you  an  example  of  the  value  of  the  series  of  plans  he 
then  made,  I  may  mention  that  they  represent  every  rude  stone  monument 
known  in  the  county,  and  there  are  no  two  of  them  alike.  More  than  this, 


198  Typical  Specimens  of  Cornish  Barroivs. 

several  of  the  monuments,  and  those  not  the  least  in  importance,  have  never  been 
planned,  and  indeed  have  scarcely  been  known  to  exist  before.  On  one  of  them — 
a  singular  dolmen  in  the  Lizard  district — we  discovered  cup-markings  which, 
with  one  doubtful  exception,  had  not  occurred  in  Cornwall  previously.  Another 
monument — a  circle,  in  the  parish  of  Blisland,  on  Hawks  Tor — is  next  in  size  to 
Abury  itself;  it  presents  the  remarkable  features  of  a  surrounding  trench,  a 
central  pillar,  and  a  cist  close  by,  while  the  stones  are  of  remarkable  height, 
though,  owing  to  many  having  fallen,  they  had  hitherto  escaped  observation. 
The  fact  that  the  Society  is  publishing  this  most  interesting  series  is  a  matter  of 
sincere  gratification  to  those  who  bore  a  part  in  a  work,  which  thev  hope  soon 
to  see  extended  to  other  portions  of  the  United  Kingdom. 


IV. — On    the  Series   of  Watt  Paintings  in   the    Church  of  St.   Mary,  Guildford. 

By  JOHN  GREEN  WALLER. 


Head  otli  April,  1883. 


THE  Series  of  Paintings  on  the  vault  of  the  apse  to  the  north  aisle  of  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Guildford,  unlike  so  many  which  have  exercised  our  attention  for  a  long 
time  past,  are  of  no  new  discovery,  but  were  disclosed  as  far  back  as  1825.  In  1838, 
they  were  described,  and  a  solution  proposed  by  my  old  friends,  Edward  John 
Carlos  and  John  Gough  Nichols,  in  the  Archaeologia,  vol.  xxvu.  p.  413.  There 
are  no  two  names  which  recall  to  me  more  reverent  associations  than  those  of 
the  friends  I  have  mentioned.  Mr.  Carlos  was  my  master  in  archaeology,  and 
Mr.  Nichols's  services  are  well  known  to  this  Society.  But  at  the  time  they  wrote 
little  or  nothing  was  known  of  the  popular  religious  art  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Didron  had  but  begun  his  researches,  and  Maury  had  not  written  at  all ;  whilst,  in 
this  country,  whitewash  still  covered  most  of  the  walls  of  our  churches.  There- 
fore it  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that  their  attempted  solution  is  inaccurate,  nor 
have  those  who  have  followed  them  been  more  fortunate.  Guesses  have  been 
vaguely  made,  always  an  unsure  process,  for  there  is  nothing  more  likely  to 
deceive  than  attempts  to  find  out  the  meaning  of  a  subject  without  any  principle 
to  go  upon :  it  is  like  a  voyage  upon  an  unknown  sea,  without  rudder  or  compass. 
In  fact,  the  subjects  I  am  about  to  explain,  are  exceedingly  obscure  until  the  clue 
is  obtained ;  and,  at  one  time,  I  feared  I  must  have  confessed  my  ignorance,  though 
not  admitting  the  accuracy  of  the  solution  given  by  my  friends.  They  are  unique 
to  my  experience,  and  especially  curious  in  the  manner  in  which  they  are  associated 
together. 

The  several  works  in  which  they  have  been  noticed  have  thrown  but  little 
additional  light  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Parker  in  his  account  of  the  church, 
Archaeological  Journal,  vol.  xxix.  p.  178,  adopts  Mr.  Carlos's  solution,  but  explains 
one  medallion  in  his  own  way,  to  which  I  shall  have  to  direct  your  attention 


200  On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford. 

presently.  In  Brayley's  History  of  Surrey,  vol.  i.  p.  352,  again  the  same  solution 
is  accepted  with  one  or  two  variations,  which  advance  more  nearly  to  the  truth  in 
the  special  subject  noted.  Here  are  illustrations  given,  not  absolutely  accurate 
and  insufficient  for  a  true  rendering,  but  fairly  shewing  the  general  arrangement, 
and  perhaps  indicating  some  details  now  gone  or  more  obscure ;  on  the]  other 
hand  omitting  others  which  remain  and  which  were  not  understood  by  the][artist. 

Mr.  Carlos  stated,  that  it  was  not  known  to  what  saint  the  chapel  was~;dedi- 
cated,  but  that  there  was  one  in  the  church  dedicated  to  St.  John.  He  does  not 
give  an  authority,  nor  does  he  say  whether  it  be  to  the  Evangelist  or  to  John  the 
Baptist.  In  Manning  and  Bray's  History  of  Surrey,  a  chapel  dedicated  to  St. 
John  is  mentioned  as  in  the  will  of  John  Jeff  son  in  1547,  he  directing  that  his 
body  should  be  therein  buried.  Brayley's  History  of  Surrey  assigns  it  to  John  the 
Baptist,  but  without  giving  any  reason.  Amongst  the  paintings,  there  is  but  one 
subject  that  can  refer  to  the  history  of  John  the  Baptist,  but  there  are  three  to 
that  of  the  Evangelist ;  so,  in  the  absence  of  evidence,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
the  dedication  must  be  to  the  latter,  or  the  reference  in  the  above-named  will  would 
have  been  more  explicit.  There  were  two  guilds  or  fraternities,  one  of  Jesus,  the 
other  of  Corpus  Christi,  attached  to  this  church,  and  it  is  just  possible  that  the 
paintings  about  to  be  described  might  have  been  executed  under  their  influence 
or  of  one  of  them. 

In  studying  the  whole  group  together,  with  those  of  the  spandrils  of  the  arch 
in  front  of  the  vault,  it  is  obvious  one  must  view  them  as  one  subject,  viz.,  "  The 
second  coming  of  Our  Lord  in  Grlory ;  "  for  the  centre  of  the  composition  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  vaulting  has  the  figure  known  as  "  The  Majesty."  But  the 
associated  medallions  and  compositions  within  them  I  have  never  before  seen  thus 
brought  together.  Nevertheless,  this  figure  at  least  suggests  the  spirit  of  the 
whole,  and  if  we  do  not  see  the  prescribed  order  of  angels,  prophets,  apostles, 
saints,  &c.,  as  is  usual,  and  which  is  authoritatively  given  by  Durandus  in  the 
Rationale,  lib.  i.  we  are  led  at  least  to  surmise  that  some  illustrations  of  divine 
power,  as  manifested  in  the  lives  of  the  saints  or  otherwise,  would  here  be  found, 
and  thus  form  an  harmonious  whole.  Acting  on  this  principle  my  researches  have 
been  successful,  and,  I  believe,  I  shall  now  place  before  you  a  complete  and 
accurate  solution,  though  in  one  instance  there  is  still  some  obscurity. 

"  The  Majesty,"  a  term  of  ancient  use,  is  given  to  the  figure  of  Our  Lord 
seated  within  an  aureole,  holding  up  the  right  hand  in  act  of  benediction,  in  the 
other  a  book  or  orb.  Mr.  Carlos's  description  speaks  of  it  as  a  book  or  table  upon 
which  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  later  describers  have  called  it  an  orb.  Both 


On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford.  201 

conventions  belong  to  the  subject,  but,  as  it  is  not  usual  for  the  latter  to  have  the 
monograms,  I  consider  that  Mr.  Carlos  is  the  most  accurate ;  at  present  it  is 
impossible  to  say  what  it  is. 

The  chief  authority  for  this  subject  is  Matthew,  ch.  xxv.  v.  31.  "When  the 
Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his  Majesty,  and  all  the  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he 
sit  upon  the  seat  of  his  Majesty,"  &c., "  but  other  texts  bear  upon  it  and  its  various 
modes  of  treatment.  The  head  of  Christ  has  the  nimbus,  the  aureole  is  coloured 
yellow,  representing  glory.  He  is  in  a  white  tunic  ornamented,  and  a  deep  red 
mantle  is  cast  over  the  right  shoulder,  and  falls  in  folds  over  the  knees,  repre- 
senting the  royal  purple,  or  as  referred  to  by  the  text,  "  Who  is  he  that  cometh 
in  dyed  garments  from  Bosrah?"  Two  small  figures  of  angels  on  each  side  of 
another  face  of  the  vault  represent  the  heavenly  host,  thus  cramped  into  a  small 
space  to  make  room  for  the  series  of  subjects  beneath.  These  I  will  now  describe  : 
They  form  a  curious  page  out  of  the  "  Book  of  the  Laity,"  as  developed  in  our 
country  churches,  illustrating  the  religious  culture  of  our  ancestors,  for  I  do  not 
doubt  that  these  paintings  acted  as  texts  and  were  explained  in  sermons  to  the 
people.  Commencing  our  reading  of  them  from  the  right  side  of  "  The  Majesty," 
the  first  that  presents  itself  shews  us  a  figure  in  a  tub  or  vat  tormented  by  an  ugly 
miscreant  using  a  pitchfork,  a  very  usual  instrument  for  such  purposes  in  our 
medigeval  paintings.  The  figure  is  youthful,  and  with  hands  conjoined  in  suppli- 
cation is  turned  towards  a  seated  figure  of  Christ,  who  gives  the  benediction  with 
his  right  and  holds  a  cross  in  his  left  hand  in  form  similar  to  that  of  an  arch- 
bishop. Keclining  in  front  of  the  latter,  resting  on  one  hand  as  if  in  reflection  or 
in  sleep,  is  again  a  youthful  figure  in  tunic  and  mantle.1'  By  the  side  of  this  figure 
is  a  staff  resembling  in  general  shape  that  used  by  the  arch-priest  in  some  of  the 
churches  of  Italy,  or  the  bourdon  of  the  pilgrim.  As  the  rest  of  the  subjects  on 
this  side  are  undoubtedly  from  the  legend  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  we  are  led 
at  once  to  conclude  that  this  is  a  brief  illustration  of  the  commencement.  Here 
is  St.  John  in  the  vat  of  boiling  oil  before  the  gate  Porta  Latina,  at  Rome,  wherein 
he  was  placed  by  the  command  of  Domitian,  and  whence  he  issued  unhurt  (unctus 
non  adustus).  Usually  the  saint  is  in  a  cauldron,  under  which  is  a  fire,  and  the 

8  Thus  the  Vulgate :  in  our  version  it  reads  :  "  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his  glory 
and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory."  It  is  a  closer 
translation  from  the  Greek.  In  the  new  version  "  holy  "  is  rejected,  thus  following  Griesbach's  text, 
and  agreeing  with  the  Vulgate. 

b  Mr.  Carlos  calls  this  "  Heavenly  judgment,"   but   his  account  cannot   be  for  one   moment 
accepted.     Brayley's  Surrey  rightly  suggests  the  true  subject. 
VOL.  XIJX.  2  D 


202  On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford. 

Emperor  is  present.  Thus  it  is  given  in  the  Chapter  House  at  Westminster.  But 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  "  doliimi,"  the  word  used  in  the  Legenda  Aurea,  more  properly 
signifies  tub  or  vat  than  a  cauldron.  It  may  be  that  the  latter  belongs  to  a  later 
treatment.  Christ  giving  the  benediction  is  to  exemplify  his  protection  over  the 
saint,  by  which  he  escapes  the  intended  evil.  It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  figure 
of  Christ  alone  has  the  nimbus  wherever  introduced,  and  the  cross  upon  it,  though 
extremely  faint,  yet  is  sufficiently  clear  to  set  all  doubt  at  rest.  The  reclining 
figure  must  symbolise  St.  John  at  Patmos,  whither  he  was  banished,  possibly 
agreeing  with  the  text  at  chap.  i.  ver.  10  of  the  Book  of  the  Revelation,  "  I  was  in 
the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  Day."  (Fig.  I.) 

The  subject  next  to  this,  though  belonging  to  the  legend  of  St.  John,  is  not 
here  placed  in  its  true  chronological  order ;  I  shall  therefore  pass  on  to  that  which 
continues  the  story.  "  After  the  death  of  Domitian  the  Evangelist  returned  from 
the  isle  of  Patmos  to  the  city  of  Ephesus,  where  he  was  received  with  much 
honour  and  rejoicing.  When  about  to  enter  the  city,  Drusiana,  a  lady  and 
disciple,  who  loved  him  and  earnestly  awaited  his  advent,  died.  Her  relations, 
widows  and  orphans,  said  to  him,  '  St.  John,  behold  Drusiana,  whom  we  bring,  who 
always  observed  your  monitions,  nourished  us  all,  and  greatly  desired  your 
coming,  saying  '  Oh,  if  I  could  but  see  the  Apostle  of  God  before  I  die.'  Behold, 
thou  hast  come  and  she  cannot  now  see  you.'  Then  he  commanded  them  to  set 
down  the  bier  and  loose  the  body,  saying  '  My  Lord  Jesus  Christ  raise  thee  iip, 
Drusiana.  Arise  and  go  to  thy  house  and  make  ready  a  repast  for  me.'  Imme- 
diately she  arose  and  began  to  go,  solicitous  of  the  Apostle's  command,  so  that  she 
might  see  him,  and  as  if  not  from  death  but  from  sleep  he  had  aroused  her." 

The  illustration  of  this  forms  part  of  the  medallion  at  the  extreme  end  of  the 
vault  on  the  north  side,  or  the  right  of  "  The  Majesty."  It  exhibits  an  altar,  on 
which  is  a  chalice,  a  shrouded  female  figure  lying  down  in  front,  apparently  dead, 
yet  raising  up  the  hands.  A  priest  in  eucharistic  apparel,  holding  up  his  right 
hand  in  act  of  benediction,  indicates  the  Apostle  performing  the  miracle ;  above, 
the  hand  of  Grod  in  benediction  is  seen  issuing  from  the  clouds.  The  other  part 
of  the  medallion  continues  the  history.  There  is  the  Apostle  again,  similarly 
attired,  and  again  in  the  act  of  benediction,  performed,  as  it  were,  over  some 
upright  rods  and  a  number  of  stones,  details  which  are  fortunately  distinctly 
preserved."  (Fig.  II.) 

a  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  artist  has  committed  two  singular  errors.  One  is  that  the  hand  from 
the  clouds  wants  a  finger,  and  the  Apostle  in  the  latter  subject  gives  the  benediction  with  the  left 
hand. 


Vol.  XLIX. 


WALL  PAINTINGS  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY,  GUILDFORD. 
Scale  about  ^  linear. 


On  the  WalLPamtings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  GuiMf&rd.  203 

The  explanation  is  in  the  following  continuation  of  the  legend.  "  One  day 
Crato,a  the  philosopher,  assembled  the  people  in  the  forum,  in  order  to  declare 
unto  them  in  what  manner  this  world  should  be  despised.  He  induced  two  young 
men,  brothers,  and  exceedingly  rich,  to  expend  their  whole  patrimony  in  the 
purchase  of  the  most  precious  gems,  and  then  commanded  them  to  break  them  to 
pieces  in  the  sight  of  all.  Now  it  so  happened  that  the  Apostle,  passing  by,  called 
to  him,  the  prophet  of  this  world,  and  condemned  his  contempt  in  a  triple  reason. 
First,  he  was  praised  in  the  mouths  of  men  but  condemned  in  the  divine  judg- 
ment. Secondly,  that  in  such  contempt  he  cured  no  vice,  and  therefore  it  was 
vain,  as  medicine  is  said  to  be  vain  which  in  no  way  cures  the  disease.  Thirdly, 
that  contempt  only  is  meritorious  which  relieves  the  poor,  as  the  Lord  said  to  the 
young  man,  '  If  thou  wouldest  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  all  that  thou  hast  and  give 
to  the  poor.'  To  whom  Crato  said,  '  If  God  is  truly  your  master,  and  would  that 
the  price  of  these  gems  be  given  to  the  poor,  do  so  that  they  may  be  made  whole 
again,  and  thus  advance  His  glory,  as  I  the  fame  of  men.'  Then  the  blessed 
John,  collecting  the  fragments  of  the  gems  in  his  hands,  prayed,  and  they  were 
made  whole  again  as  at  first.  Immediately  the  philosopher  and  the  two  young 
men  believed,  and,  selling  the  gems,  delivered  the  price  to  the  poor.  Others  did 
the  same,  but  repented  on  seeing  their  servants  finely  dressed ;  of  which  St.  John 
being  advised,  he  caused  rods  to  be  brought  to  him  and  stones  from  the  sea  shore, 
and  converted  them  into  gold  and  gems.  And  by  his  command  all  the  goldsmiths 
and  jewellers  were  sent  for,  who  stated  that  such  pure  gold  and  precious  stones 
they  had  never  seen.  "Whereupon  the  Apostle  said  to  them,  '  (Jo  and  redeem  the 
lands  you  have  sold  and  thus  lose  the  rewards  of  heaven.' '  The  legend  then 
continues  a  sermon  against  riches,  but  the  saint  having  resuscitated  a  young  man, 
the  latter,  by  the  Apostle's  command,  told  them  of  the  glories  of  Paradise  and  of 
the  pains  of  hell,  quoting  these  lines  on  the  latter  : — 

Vermes  et  tenebrae,  flagellum,  frigus  et  ignis, 

Demonis  aspectus,  scelerum  confusio  luctus. 

a  For  Crato  we  must  read  Crates,  a  philosopher  and  native  of  Thebes,  B.C.  324,  who  turning  his 
whole  estate  into  money,  delivered  it  to  a  banker  on  this  condition :  that  if  his  sons  proved  philo- 
sophers, he  should  give  it  among  the  poor  citizens,  a  philosopher  having  no  occasion  for  money 
otherwise  he  should  give  it  to  his  sons.  Some  write  that  he  threw  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  "  Away,  ye 
paltry  cares,  I  will  drown  you,  that  you  may  not  drown  me."  (Vide  Aim-worth's  Dictionary).  On  the 
floor  of  the  Cathedral  of  Siena,  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  incised  designs  is  that  of  Fortune, 
by  Pinturrichio,  in  which  Crates  is  shown  emptying  a  basket  of  jewels,  as  throwing  them  away.  He 
was  a  pupil  of  Diogenes  the  cynic.  It  is  needless  to  say,  that  our  author  Jacobus  a  Voragine,  who 
makes  him  contemporary  with  St.  John,  is  not  accurate  in  his  chronologj'. 

2D2 


204  On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford. 

The  young  men  repented,  and  by  the  Apostle's  injunction  they  were  to  do  penance 
for  thirty  days,  praying  that  the  rods  and  stones  should  return  to  their  own 
nature,  which  done  they  were  received  into  grace. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  somewhat  tedious  tale  is  here  illustrated,  and  I  never 
before  saw  either  of  the  subjects  amongst  our  wall  paintings.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  they  were  not  unravelled  by  my  two  friends,  as  without  some 
clue  one  might  go  on  indefinitely  guessing." 

The  medallion  now  to  be  described  is  between  the  two  last.  On  one  side  there 
is  a  youthful  figure  in  a  chair  writing  at  a  kind  of  desk  or  table.  He  has  a  large 
knife  in  one  hand,  often  the  accompaniment  of  a  scribe.  In  the  foreground  are 
two  ugly-visaged  figures  lying  side  by  side  as  dead.  In  the  centre  is  a  youthful 
figure  with  flowing  hair  drinking  from  a  chalice,  and  by  the  side  are  the  remains 
of  a  seated  figure,  crossing  the  leg,  and  holding  most  likely  a  sceptre.  (Fig.  III.) 

This  also  is  a  continuation  of  the  legendary  history,  which  tells  us  that  the  saint 
by  his  preaching  caused  such  a  commotion  that  the  temple  of  Ephesus  with  its 
celebrated  image  of  Diana  was  destroyed.  Whereupon  Aristodemus,  the  pontifex, 
became  indignant,  and  raised  up  a  sedition  amongst  the  people,  so  that  the  two 
parties  prepared  for  combat.  To  whom  the  Apostle  said,  "  What  would  you  I 
should  do  that  you  may  be  appeased."  He  answered,  "  If  thou  wilt  that  I  believe 
thy  God,  I  will  give  thee  poison  to  drink,  and  if  no  harm  ensue  it  will  appear  that 
thine  is  the  true  God.  He  also  insisted  that  it  should  be  tried  upon  others.  The 
Apostle  agreed ;  and  Aristodemus,  sending  to  the  Proconsul,  asked  for  two  men 
about  to  be  decapitated,  and  gave  them  poison  before  them  all,  and  they  instantly 
died.  The  Apostle  then  took  the  chalice,  fortifying  himself  by  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  drank  up  all  the  poison  and  incurred  no  evil.  Aristodemus  still  expressed 
some  doubt,  but  said  that  he  would  believe  if  the  Apostle  raised  them  up  to  life 
again.  Which  having  been  done  by  the  tunic  of  the  Apostle  being  cast  upon  them, 
the  pontifex  and  proconsul  believed  with  all  their  relatives,  and  were  baptized  in 
the  name  of  Christ ;  and  they  built  a  church  in  honour  of  the  blessed  John.b 

The  scribe  is  undoubtedly  intended  to  represent  the  Evangelist,  but  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  subject,  as  in  the  first-described.  The  dead  figures,  betwixt 

a  Mr.  Carlos  calls  the  subject  "  The  Death  of  the  Good." 

b  Mr.  Carlos  called  this  subject"  The  Death  of  the  Wicked,"  but  no  such  conventional  subject  is 
known  to  ecclesiastical  art.  In  Brayley's  Surrey  the  illustration  gives  this  figure  an  arrow  in  one 
hand  and  a  knife  in  the  other.  The  artist  has  been  misled  by  appearances,  there  could  be  no  con- 
sistency in  the  introduction  of  such  objects. 


On  the  Watt  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guild/ord.  205 

whom  is  shown  the  tunic,  and  the  Apostle  drinking  from  the  chalice,  leave  no  sort 
of  doubt  as  to  the  true  reading,  which  is  here  submitted  to  you. 

I  now  proceed  to  take  note  of  the  subject  on  the  other  half  of  the  vaulting, 
and  the  first  face  of  it,  opposite  to  that  which  exhibits  the  figure  of  St.  John  in 
the  vat  of  boiling  oil,  has  a  representation  of  a  figure  crowned,  sitting  with  one 
leg  across  the  other,  a  curious  convention  to  which  some  meaning  must  be  attached, 
as  it  is  so  often  seen  in  medieval  paintings,  when  a  king  or  other  official  personage 
is  seated  as  in  authority.  It  holds  a  sceptre  in  the  right  hand,  has  a  very  ugly 
countenance,  and  is  turning  to  the  right,  where  an  ugly  official  is  bringing  in  one 
bound  with  a  rope.  On  the  opposite  side  is  another  ugly  visaged  figure,  who 
has  just  decapitated  one  whose  body  is  prostrate.  This  executioner  by  his  stiff 
upstanding  hair  seems  to  be  horrified  at  his  own  act,  which  is  the  more  shown  by 
the  uplifted  left  arm.  It  seems  as  if  he  had  witnessed  something  mysterious 
ensuing.  (Fig.  IV.) 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  is  part  of  the  story  of  John  the  Baptist." 
The  seated  figure  is  Herod,  the  scorn  of  the  mediaeval  dramatist,  therefore  shown 
ugly,  as  a  matter  of  course.  Two  parts  of  the  subject  are  here  given ;  the  saint 
being  brought  before  Herod,  and  the  decapitation.  It  is  remarkable  that  this 
should  be  the  only  subject  relating  to  the  Baptist  amongst  the  series,  if  it  be 
true,  that  the  chapel  is  dedicated  to  him.  It  is  tolerably  perfect;  that  injured 
by  time  being  the  first  part  of  the  story. 

On  the  reverse  face  to  this  we  have  a  subject  which  is  most  obscure,  and  for 
that  reason  is  particularly  interesting,  whilst  the  details  are  most  curious.  It 
exhibits  a  figure  in  a  font,  with  hands  conjoined,  turning  towards  a  standing  figure 
of  Christ,  for  so  we  must  pronounce  it  to  be,  holding  a  cross,  as  in  the  previously 
given  instance,  and  extending  the  right  hand  in  benediction  towards  the  figure, 
which  is  bearded.  At  the  opposite  side  is  a  figure  with  a  coif  upon  its  head,  such 
as  is  given  to  a  doctor  of  law,  holding  in  his  hands  a  deed  with  two  pendant 
seals.1'  This  figure  has  its  back  to  the  rest  of  the  composition.  Beneath  this  is  a 
fall  of  water,  represented  in  the  usual  manner  by  waving  lines.  (Fig.  V.) 

The  difficulty  in  interpreting  this  subject  is  very  great.  It  is  clearly  not  from 
Scripture,  and  equally  clear,  that  the  figure  of  Christ  is  expressive  of  a  manifesta- 

a  Mr.  Carlos  calls  this  "Earthly  Judgment." 

b  The  seals  were  described  as  water  bougets,  but,  not  being  bigger  than  spoons,  it  is  a  singular 
oversight  on  the  part  of  my  friend.  It  requires  close  examination  to  see  this  part  clearly,  and  it  was 
only  by  going  up  a  ladder  that  the  real  character  of  these  objects  was  made  known.  My  friend  Mr. 
Ralph  Nevill,  who  was  with  me  at  the  examination,  first  suggested  what  proved  to  be  correct. 


206  On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford. 

tion  of  his  power,  as  in  that  of  St.  John  in  the  vat  of  boiling  oil.  "We  may  there- 
fore fairly  assume  that  it  has  a  similar  symbolic  reference.  The  man  of  law,  as 
before  stated,  has  his  back  turned  on  the  rest,  and  thence  has  no  immediate 
part  in  the  action,  and  so  belongs  to  another  part  of  the  story.  Every  detail 
seems  to  symbolize.  The  falling  water;  the  deed  and  its  seals;  and  also  the 
introduction  of  the  figure  of  Christ,  as  well  as  the  font.  Let  it  also  be  noted,  the 
flowing  water  is  divided  into  equal  white  and  red  broad  lines,  and  that  the  figure 
in  the  font  has  an  unmistakeably  Jewish  face.  It  may  show  a  conversion  by 
baptism  of  some  sinner ;  it  might  be  a  usurer.  Some  explanatory  legendary  story 
must  certainly  be  extant,  and  that  I  am  about  to  suggest  is  possibly  the  one 
required.  It  is  that  of  the  Jew  who  maltreated  the  representation  of  Christ, 
related  by  Athanasius;  and  probably  the  original  of  many  like  stories  of  the 
Middle  Ages. 

The  tale,  which  is  narrated  at  great  length,  tells  us,  that  in  the  city  of  Berytus 
were  a  number  of  Hebrews.  It  happened  that  near  to  their  great  synagogue 
dwelt  a  Christian,  who  had  placed  an  image  of  Our  Lord  over  against  his  bed  upon 
the  wall.  He  changed  his  dwelling,  leaving  the  image  behind  him.  A  Jew 
succeeded  him,  but  apparently  did  not  see,  or,  at  all  events,  did  not  remove  this. 
A  friend  having  called  upon  him  during  a  social  banquet,  perceived  the  image  in 
the  inner  apartment.  Thence  he  reviled  him,  and  denounced  him  to  the  chief 
priests  of  the  synagogue,  whence  he  was  driven  out  half  dead.  They  then  put  the 
image  on  the  ground,  and  went  through  a  series  of  outrages  in  imitation  of  those 
suffered  in  the  Passion,  ending  by  transfixing  the  body  with  a  lance.  To  the 
amazement  of  all,  blood  and  water  profusely  flowed  from  the  wound.  A  vessel 
was  brought  and  immediately  filled  by  it,  and  was  carried  to  the  synagogue,  where 
the  fluid  cured  all  sorts  of  diseases  and  maladies  of  the  body, — the  blind,  the  deaf, 
&c.  In  consequence  of  which  all  believed  in  Christ,  and  went  to  the  church, 
seeking  the  Metropolitan,  to  whom  all  things  were  narrated;  and  it  was  dis- 
covered that  this  image  was  the  work  of  Nicodemus.  After  having  declared  their 
conversion  and  faith,  they  asked  for  baptism  as  the  remedy  for  their  sins.  After 
which  they  desired  that  the  synagogue  should  be  consecrated  in  honour  of  the 
Holy  Saviour  of  the  world,  which  was  done.  And  the  quantity  of  blood  and 
water  was  afterwards  distributed  throughout  the  churches  in  glass  ampullae,  and 
the  writer  ends  by  the  assurance  that  the  narration  is  very  true." 

*  Given  by  Lipomani,  "  De  Titis  Sanctorum,"  as  "  Libellus  Athanasii  Episcopi  Alexandrini  do 
Passione  imaginis  nostri  Jesu  (Jhristi,  qualiter  crucifixa  est  in  Syria,  in  ill-be  Beryto,  citatur  in  septima 
Synodo  secunda  Nicasna,"  &c. 


Archaeologia 


Vol.  XLIX. 


VI. 


WALL  PAINTINGS  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY,  GUILDFORD. 
Scale  about  -^  linear. 


On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford.  207 

Now  the  way  in  which  I  apply  this  to  the  painting  is,  that  the  figure  in  the 
font  is  an  offending  Jew,  who,  seeking  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins,  with  his 
hands  conjoined  in  supplication,  turns  towards  the  figure  of  Christ,  giving  him 
benediction,  thus  absolving  him  for  the  offences  towards  him  in  his  image.  The 
fall  of  water,  which  is  certainly  but  a  symbol,  possibly  represents  the  blood  and 
water  which  flowed  from  the  wound,  the  white  band  representing  water,  the 
red  blood,  whilst  the  man  of  law  is  examining  a  deed  of  conveyance,  by  which 
the  synagogue  was  given  up  for  consecration  to  the  Christian  worship.  If  this  be 
not  the  real  explanation  of  this  singular  subject,  it  must  be  very  near  to  it,  for  the 
details  all  stand  separate  and  can  only  symbolize  and  hint  at  the  real  meaning.  It 
is  also  significant  that  the  subject  was  cited  in  the  second  Council  of  Nicea,  which 
decided  on  the  use  of  paintings  in  the  church. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Mr.  Parker,  accepting  without  change  all  Mr.  Carlos's 
other  solutions,  should  here  interpose  and  emphatically  declare  it  to  be  from  the 
legend  of  St.  Nicholas  ;  "  always,"  as  he  says,  "  represented  as  in  this  instance."" 
I  must  therefore  as  distinctly  state,  that  no  passage  in  the  legend  of  that  saint  in 
any  way  explains  this  painting,  nor  does  any  painting  illustrating  that  legend 
ever  give  such  details.  Mr.  Parker  could  not  have  studied  these  subjects,  and 
possibly  wrote  from  memory  with  some  confusion  in  his  mind  as  to  details. 

The  last  subject  cannot  be  a  matter  of  much  doubt.  It  shows  us  again  Christ 
standing  and  holding  the  cross,  now  in  the  right  hand,  and  extending  the  left  in 
an  action  of  command  towards  a  figure  who  is  being  dragged  with  ropes  by  two 
demons.  A  female  figure  is  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  Our  Lord  in  earnest  supplica- 
tion ;  above  are  two  other  demons,  one  white  the  other  red,  extending  their  amis 
menacingly  towards  Our  Lord.  The  two  menacing  demons  refer  doubtless  to  the 
words  of  the  text,  "  art  Thou  come  to  torment  us  before  the  time  ?  "  Behind  the 
figure  being  dragged  there  is  another,  apparently  in  authority,  whose  right  hand 
points  towards  Christ,  the  left  holding  a  naked  sword.  This  latter  part,  however, 
is  a  little  obscure. b  (Fig.  VI.) 

This  must  certainly  represent  that  manifestation  of  divine  power,  the  casting 
out  of  devils,  &c.  The  female  figure  is  probably  the  Syro-Phoenician  woman  who 
threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  beseeching  that  he  would  cast  the  devil  out  of 
her  daughter  (St.  Mark,  ch.  vii.  v.  25).  Again  (ch.  ix.  v.  17),  one  is  brought  to 
him  and  the  spirit  is  rebuked  and  comes  out  of  him.  The  figure  with  the  sword 

a  ArcltCEological  Journal,  xxix.  179. 

*  Mr.  Carlos  calls  this  "  Christ  passing  judgment,"  Ac. 


208  On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford. 

may  possibly  represent  the  centurion  whose  servant  was  sick  of  the  palsy  (St. 
Matthew,  ch.  viii.  v.  6).  This  medallion  and  that  which  contains  the  beheading 
of  John  the  Baptist  are  the  only  two  which  have  subjects  in  any  way  referable  to 
Scripture. 

No  other  instance  has  ever  occurred,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  of  such  an 
association  of  subjects  with  "  The  Majesty."  The  intent  is  that  which  we  are 
familiar  with,  yet  here  is  a  remarkable  divergence  from  usual  conventions.  The 
series  therefore  are  of  the  greatest  possible  value,  and  take  place  after  the  painting 
at  Chaldon  in  Surrey  in  point  of  interest. 

I  now  proceed  to  describe  the  subjects  of  the  spandrils  above  the  arch,  viz., 
"  Soul-weighing  "  and  "Punishment,"  for  these  complete  the  general  subject  and 
composition.  On  one  side,  the  right  as  regards  "  The  Majesty,"  stands  St.  Michael 
holding  the  balance  ;  he  is  in  an  ornamented  tunic,  over  which  is  a  mantle,  and  with 
wings  outstretched  almost  horizontally.  Opposite  to  him  is  a  demon  winged,  who 
is  placing  one  foot  in  a  scale  to  depress  it.a  A  small  figure  is  beneath,  and  between 
the  two  the  soul,  which,  turning  towards  St.  Michael,  is  imploring  his  aid.  A  similar 
incident  is  in  the  Chaldon  painting,  but  I  do  not  think  this  is  ever  seen  beyond 
the  thirteenth  century,  as  then  another  development  takes  its  place.  In  the 
Plierinage  de  VAme,  an  ancient  spiritual  romance,  there  is  a  contention  for  the 
possession  of  a  soul  which  calls  to  mind  this  incident,  as  St.  Michael  is  there 
appealed  to  against  the  power  of  Satan.  But  one  cannot  pass  from  this  part  of 
our  subject  without  referring  to  the  identity  of  feeling  exhibited  in  Egyptian 
papyri  of  the  Eitual  of  the  Dead,  where  the  deeds  of  one  deceased  are  being 
weighed  before  Osiris,  and  the  soul  or  shade  appears  in  the  act  of  supplication  for 
mercy.  On  the  opposite  spandril  stands  an  angel,  who  has  driven  out  the  con- 
demned souls,  which  are  tied  together  in  a  bundle,  as  we  also  see  them  in  the 
Chaldon  painting,  and  are  being  carried  off  by  a  demon  to  the  fires  of  Hell,  which 
are  seen  beneath. 

In  order  to  understand  the  prevailing  theology  on  this  subject  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  I  will  now  turn  to  the  sermon,  De  Angelis,  of  Herolt,  the  Dominican, 
an  extract  from  which,  in  his  own  words,  will  be  better  than  any  of  my  own. 
"  Michael  the  Archangel,  whose  feast  to-day  (September  29)  we  celebrate,  has  the 
office  of  weighing  the  merits  and  demerits  of  souls.  For,  according  to  the  pictures, 
which  are  the  books  of  the  laity,  Michael  weighs  souls  in  the  balance  in  order  that 

a  One  of  the  descriptions  places  a  candlestick  in  one  of  the  scales.  It  is  purely  imaginary,  and 
utterly  out  of  place. 


On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford.  209 

those  which  are  full  and  those  which  are  empty  should  be  known.  As  Daniel 
says,  "Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balance  and  art  found  wanting."  There  are 
therefore  some  souls  empty,  some  half  full,  some  full,  some  over-full.  Those  are 
empty  which  carry  with  them  no  good  works.  These  Michael  weighs  and,  finding 
them  empty,  says,  '  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balance  and  art  found  wanting.' 
Therefore  he  can  say  to  such  as  it  is  said  in  the  Apocalypse,  '  Thou  art  wretched 
and  miserable,  poor  and  blind  and  naked.'  For  such  are  naked,  being  stripped  of 
good  works ;  blind,  because  darkened  by  ignorance ;  poor,  because  destitute  of 
the  suffrages  of  all  the  saints ;  and  miserable,  because  deprived  of  the  divine 
vision ;  wretched,  because  sent  to  the  fires  of  Gehenna.  Of  such,  in  the  person 
of  Christ,  Michael  says  (Matthew,  xxii.),  '  Being  bound  hands  and  feet  send  them 
into  outer  darkness."  This  passage  shows  us  the  close  connection  of  the  theoretical 
principles  and  the  painter's  interpretation,  and  is  rendered  more  pertinent  by 
allusion  to  the  latter.  In  that  very  curious  collection  of  sermons,  entitled  Dormi 
Secure,  under  that  of  St.  Michael  is  the  following  story,  which  still  further  illus- 
trates the  theology  of  the  subject.  "A  certain  young  man  entering  into  religion 
(monastery),  and  having  for  some  years  lived  in  it  honestly  and  devoutly,  fell 
seriously  ill.  Lying  upon  his  bed  he  spoke  not  but  thought  that  he  would 
immediately  die.  When  his  brethren  assembled  together  and  recommended  his 
soul,  he  suddenly  began  to  speak  and  uttered  three  phrases.  The  first  was,  '  I 
wish  I  had  never  been  born.'  The  second,  'Weigh  equally.'  The  third,  'It  suffices 
me.'  Now  when  he  was  convalescent  the  brethren  asked  him  wherefore  he  spake 
those  words.  He  answering  said,  '  That  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  death,  many 
demons  stood  nigh  accusing  him  of  many  grave  sins,  so  that  for  any  of  them  he 
was  worthy  of  eternal  death.'  Then,  desperate  of  salvation,  I  uttered  these  words, 
'  I  wish  I  had  never  been  born.'  Then  stood  by  the  Angel  of  Grod,  having  the 
balance  in  his  hands  that  he  might  weigh  my  good  and  evil  deeds.  Seeing  this,  I 
uttered  the  second,  'Weigh  equally.'  But  when  indeed  my  bad  deeds  in  some- 
wise outweighed,  I  said  to  them  that  they  should  bring  something.  Then  they 
brought  a  drop  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  by  which  the  good  preponderated ;  which 
seeing,  the  demons  departed  confused.  Then  I,  much  consoled,  with  great  joy  and 
security  said  the  third,  '  It  suffices  me.' ' 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  the  spirit  of  the  painting  is  precisely  in  accord 
with  the  old  "  Exemplum,"  which  is  but  one  of  many  of  like  character.  Between 
the  written  theology  and  the  painted  theology  there  is  complete  harmony,  and  it 
is  by  bringing  the  two  together  we  see  how  one  explains  the  other,  and  shows  us 
the  popular  religious  teaching  of  our  ancestors.  The  angel  driving  out  the 
VOL.  XLIX.  2  E 


210  On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford. 

condemned  souls,  who,  "  bound  hand  and  foot,"  are  being  carried  off  by  a  demon 
to  the  flames  of  Gehenna,  is  also  in  accord  with  a  previous  quotation. 

But  it  is  impossible  to  leave  this  subject  without  some  allusion  to  the  very 
reverend  antiquity  of  the  teaching,  and  to  the  wide  extent  of  the  earth's  surface  on 
which  it  has  been  taught :  not  only  in  our  own  religious  system,  but  in  all  that  have 
left  their  marks  upon  the  world's  history.  I  have  already  quoted  the  well-known 
passage  in  the  Prophet  Daniel,  but  there  is  another  in  the  Bible  of  antecedent 
antiquity,  viz.,  in  the  Book  of  Job,  wherein  we  find  "  Let  me  be  weighed  in  an 
even  balance  that  God  may  know  my  integrity."  Nor  are  the  references  I  make 
to  the  papyri,  which  may  be  seen  on  the  staircase  of  the  Egyptian  room  in  the 
British  Museum,  the  earliest  examples  in  date,  for  the  beautiful  sarcophagus  in 
Sir  John  Soane's  museum  attributed  to  Sethos  I.  takes  us  back  to  1388  B.C., 
according  to  Lepsius,  very  near  to  the  supposed  era  of  the  Exodus,  and  here  is  a 
fine  example  of  "  soul- weighing,"  and,  perhaps,  the  most  ancient.  But  we 
cannot,  I  think,  assume  that  its  origin  is  found  in  Egyptian  mythology,  and 
thence  the  evangel  was  sent  over  the  eastern  world.  In  the  religion  of  the 
Zenda-vesta  there  is  Mithra  and  Rashne-rast,  who  weigh  the  actions  of  men  on 
the  bridge  Tchinevad,  i.  e.,  the  narrow  bridge  which  separates  earth  and  heaven. 
In  the  system  of  Brama,  Grama  is  the  King  of  Justice,  before  whom  souls  are 
weighed  and  good  and  evil  spirits  produce  their  good  and  evil  deeds.  In 
Buddhism  it  is  Shinje,  Lord  of  the  Dead,  in  Sanscrit  called  Dharma-rajah,  King 
of  the  Law.  In  Mahometanism  St.  Gabriel  is  "  soul- weigher."  Of  the  extent 
of  the  surface  of  the  ancient  world  over  which  this  teaching  is  found  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  it  is  shown  by  a  line  drawn  from  Thibet  to  this  Ultima  Thule 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  How  early  it  became  adopted  in  Christianity  one 
cannot  tell,  but  the  Dialogues  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great  (A.D.  604)  are  as  explicit 
in  the  doctrine  as  any  of  the  later  writers  to  whom  I  have  referred.  It  is,  indeed, 
quoted  in  the  same  sermon  on  St.  Michael  which  I  have  noted.  It  is  as  follows  : 

"  On  the  point  of  separation  of  the  soul  from  the  body,  the  good  and  bad  angels  come,  and 
the  merits  and  demerits  of  the  man  are  weighed.  The  good  angel  alleges  and  recites  the  man's 
good  works,  the  bad  angel  calling  to  memory  all  the  evil  ones.  And  if  indeed  the  bad  preponde- 
rate over  the  good,  so  that  he  departed  in  mortal  sin,  immediately  the  soul  is  delivered  to  the 
torturers,  who  thrust  the  man  or  his  soul  down  to  the  prison  of  Hell  to  eternal  punishment. 
But  if  he  deceased  in  charity,  without  mortal  sin,  yet  in  some  that  may  be  purgeable,  the  good 
angels  conduct  him  into  Purgatory,  from  which,  after  being  purged,  they  lead  him  into  Paradise. 
But  if  indeed,  he  departed  in  so  much  charity,  that  all  the  rust  of  sin  was  consumed,  so  that 
nothing  purgeable  remained,  immediately  the  holy  angels  received  him  and  carried  him  to  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven." 


On  the  Watt  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guildford.  211 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  we  have  in  this  myth  a  fragment  of  a  very 
primitive  faith  whose  history  is  too  remote  for  any  known  record.  The  accept- 
ance by  every  great  religious  system,  not  only  those  of  remote  antiquity,  but 
those  which  still  hold  sway  over  the  minds  of  a  large  portion  of  the  globe,  is  a 
remarkable  witness  to  the  power  of  popular  religion.  Between  the  teaching  of 
Buddhism  or  of  the  Zenda-vesta  or  of  that  of  Pope  Gregory  the  Great,  there  is 
really  no  difference,  nor  from  the  principles  taught  in  the  earliest  monuments  of 
the  Egyptian  mythology. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  these  paintings  may  have  been  executed  by  one 
"William  the  Florentine,  so  called  in  a  document  of  44  Henry  III.  1259,  cited  by 
Horace  Walpole  in  his  Anecdotes  of  Painting,  chap.  i.  He  is  known  to  have  been 
employed,  about  the  above  date,  in  amending  the  pictures  of  the  great  hall  at 
Guildford  (doubtless  in  the  castle),  and  was  directed  to  paint  "on  the  white  wall 
in  our  great  chamber  at  the  head  of  our  bed  a  certain  pall  (quoddam  pallium),  as 
also  pictures  (tabulas),  and  the  frontel  of  the  altar  of  our  chapel."  There  is 
nothing  to  be  said  against  this  theory,  for  it  agrees  with  the  style  and  execution 
of  the  work,  which  belongs  to  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century."  But 
at  this  period  there  could  have  been  no  distinctive  feature  in  Italian  ecclesiastical 
art,  which  must  have  followed  the  same  conventions  common  to  the  rest  of 
Europe.  As  monasteries  were  the  only  schools,  the  art  taught  therein  was  kept 
in  its  peculiar  province.  So,  indeed,  we  see  here  only  what  we  are  familiar  with, 
in  many  examples,  the  common  conventional  work.  Cimabue,  who  was  the  start- 
point  of  a  great  future,  was,  at  the  date  last  mentioned,  only  sixteen  years  of  age, 
and  though  he  had  probably  even  then  begun  his  study  under  Greek  artists,  newly 
brought  to  Florence,  it  was  only  a  beginning ;  and  there  is  no  record  of  any 
previous  influence  which  would  have  made  the  ecclesiastical  art  of  Italy  superior 
to  that  of  France  or  England,  or  the  more  advanced  of  German  states. 

It  is  well,  however,  to  note  that  there  are  features  in  the  general  arrangement, 
the  mode  of  decorating  the  apse  with  the  arch  in  front,  that  reminds  us  of  that  of 
the  apsides  of  several  of  the  early  churches  in  Eome  and  elsewhere,  where  are 
mosaics  of  the  eighth  to  the  thirteenth  centuries.  This  may  be  but  accidental  in 
its  analogy,  but  it  is  worth  a  mention.  It  is  also  to  be  noted,  that  the  treatment 
observed  in  the  medallions  is  remarkable  for  the  manner  in  which  the  several 
elements  are  condensed,  suggesting  rather  than  representing.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  St.  John  in  the  vat  of  boiling  oil  is  intended  in  the  medallion  described. 

a  Some  observers  have  placed  the  date  in  the  twelfth  century,  but  the  style  quite  forbids  this. 

2  E  2 


212  On  the  Wall  Paintings  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Guild/ore!.. 

It  can  be  no  other ;  yet  the  introduction  of  the  figure  of  Christ  in  the  act  of 
qenediction  is  an  idea  hitherto  unknown  to  that  subject.  It  is  a  symbol,  and  the 
reclining  figure  by  his  side,  having  no  part  in  the  subject  going  on,  symbolizes 
again  another  phase  of  St.  John's  history,  i.  e.,  the  vision  at  Patmos  subsequent  to 
the  action  at  the  Porta  Latina.  Similarly  also  St.  John  is  twice  introduced  where 
he  is  drinking  from  the  chalice.  The  scene  with  the  font  is  of  the  same  descrip- 
tion ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  no  nimbus  is  given  to  any  one  but  our  Lord.  All 
these  points  are  to  be  well  considered,  as  to  whether  some  special  influence  is  not 
here  manifested.  But  we  have  proof  that  "William  the  Florentine  was  only  of 
ordinary  merit,  judging  from  the  payments  made  to  him.  Horace  "Walpole  falls 
into  an  error  when  he  considered  that  another  "William,  a  monk  of  "Westminster, 
who  is  styled  the  "  King's  painter,"  was  identical  with  him.  But  Mr.  John  Gage 
Rokewode  very  clearly  set  this  question  at  rest  by  comparing  the  payments  of  the 
two.  It  thus  appears,  that  whilst  the  monk  of  "Westminster  received  as  much  as 
two  shillings  per  diem,  William  the  Florentine  was  paid  but  six  pence."  The 
latter  could,  therefore,  have  been  only  of  the  usual  stamp.  His  presence  at 
Guildford  gives  a  probability  to  the  suggestion  that  he  may  have  executed  these 
paintings  ;  and,  if  there  be  any  foreign  influence  at  all,  it  may  probably  be  found 
in  the  facts  I  have  alluded  to. 

Certain  it  is  that,  in  every  way,  we  have  here  a  series  of  the  greatest  possible 
interest ;  and,  it  is  a  matter  to  be  regretted,  that,  hitherto,  they  have  not  been 
accurately  or  completely  rendered.  They  ought  to  have  tracings  taken  of  them 
before  any  further  decay  makes  that  process  more  difficult  and  of  less  value. 
Something  ought  also  to  be  done  for  their  preservation,  as  the  series  is  unique, 
and  time  is  working  its  way  with  its  usual  ruthless  hand. 


a  Vctnsta  Monumenta,  vol.  vi. — Account  of  the  Painted  Chamber,  by  John  Gage  Rokewode,  F.B.S., 
Dir.  S.A.  p.  25. 


V. — The  Ancient  Charters  of  Winchester.     By  THOMAS  FEEDEEICK  KIEBY,  M.A. 


Read  February  12,  1885. 

IT  was  in  the  month  of  March  1884,  I  think,  that  the  Mayor  of  Winchester,  Mr. 
Thomas  Stopher,  asked  me  to  look  at  some  ancient  documents  which  had  been 
found  put  away  in  a  garret  over  a  solicitor's  office  in  Winchester.  The  documents, 
when  I  went  to  the  place,  proved  to  be  the  long-lost  Charters  of  the  City.  The 
discovery  was  one  of  some  interest  just  then,  when  we  citizens  were  all  thinking 
of  the  approaching  celebration  of  the  seven-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  mayoralty, 
in  the  following  month  of  July.  The  discovery,  too,  gave  us  a  nearly  complete 
series  of  charters  from  Henry  II.  to  Henry  VIII.  inclusive,  whereas  the  earliest 
charter  previously  known  to  be  in  existence  was  that  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  now 
exhibited  in  our  museum. 

How  those  charters  came  to  be  where  I  found  them  is  unknown.  My  assump- 
tion is,  that  they  were  taken  out  of  the  city  muniment  room  by  a  former  town 
clerk  who,  once  upon  a  time,  occupied  the  place  of  business  in  which  the  charters 
were  found :  that  he  took  them  home  with  the  object  of  arranging  them  in  a 
catalogue,  which  is  demonstrated  by  some  notes  in  his  handwriting,  indorsed  on 
some  of  the  documents  :  and  that,  finally,  he  died  or  retired  from  business  with- 
out completing  his  task,  leaving  the  charters  in  the  box,  where  they  were  found 
in  the  way  that  I  have  mentioned. 

No.  1  is  a  Charter  of  Henry  II.  It  is  in  excellent  preservation,  but  has  lost 
the  great  seal.  It  was  granted  at  Salisbury,  and  is  without  date,  but  cannot 
be  later  than  the  close  of  the  year  1162,  because  it  was  at  the  close  of  that  year 
that  Thomas  a'Becket — who  attested  this  charter  as  chancellor — is  known  to  have 
resigned  that  office  on  being  elected  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Our  local  anti- 
quary, Mr.  F.  J.  Baigent,  attributes  this  charter  to  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1158.  It  does  not  appear  from  Dr.  Stubbs'  Itinerary  of  Henry  II.  prefixed  to 
the  Eolls  edition  of  Benedict  of  Peterborough,  vol.  ii.  at  what  period  the  king 


214  The  Ancient  Charters  of  Winchester. 

was  at  Salisbury;  but  he  may  have  been  there  during  the  interval  between  25 
December,  1157 — when  he  was  crowned  at  Lincoln,  and  4  April,  1158 — when  he 
was  crowned  at  "Worcester.  Or  he  may  have  been  there  at  Midsummer  1158,  on 
his  way  from  "Woodstock  to  Portsmouth  to  take  ship  for  Normandy.  This  charter 
simply  grants,  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  freedom  of  toll,  passage,  and  custom  to 
the  citizens  of  "Winchester  of  the  Gild-merchant. 

No.  2  is  another  Charter  of  the  same  king,  also  in  good  preservation  and  still 
retaining  a  fragment  of  the  great  seal.  It  was  also  granted  at  Salisbury  without 
date  and  attested  by  Thomas  a'Becket  as  chancellor.  It  is  recited  as  second  in 
order  in  subsequent  confirmatory  charters,  and  therefore  may  be  regarded  as 
second  in  point  of  time,  but  there  is  no  internal  evidence  on  the  subject.  It 
confers,  in  most  concise  terms,  on  the  citizens  of  Winchester  the  same  liberties 
as  they  enjoyed  in  the  time  of  Henry  I.,  without  more  particularly  defining  them. 

The  accompanying  Plate  represents  Nos.  1  and  2. 

No.  3  is  a  Charter  of  Eichard  I.,  granting  divers  privileges  to  the  citizen- 
members  of  the  Gild-merchant.  It  is  in  capital  preservation,  but  the  seal  is 
lost.a 

No.  4  is  a  Charter  of  Henry  III.  granting  to  the  citizens  the  right  to  have 
a  mint  and  an  exchange  of  money  within  the  city ;  also  the  site  of  two  water 
corn-mills  at  a  place  called  Coitebury,  a  locality  which  may  be  readily  identified 
at  the  present  day,  as  it  is  the  part  of  the  city  .of  "Winchester  in  which  the  Black 
or  Preaching  Friars  were  settled  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  remained  until 
the  Dissolution,  when  their  house  was  annexed  to  "Winchester  College  under  an 
exchange  with  Henry  VIII.  The  profits  of  these  mills  were  to  go  to  the  repara- 
tion of  the  city,  which  had  not  recovered  from  its  misfortunes  in  Stephen's  time. 
By  the  gift  of  the  two  mills  I  do  not  understand  two  distinct  mills,  with  separate 
water-power,  but  one  mill  with  two  pairs  of  stones  for  grinding  wheat  and 
grinding  barley,  such  as  we  find  to  this  day  on  our  Hampshire  rivers.  There 
seem  to  have  been  some  five  mints  in  Winchester  in  the  time  of  Henry  I.  but  he 
suppressed  them.  A  "  mint "  was  any  sort  of  forge  where  the  blanks  could  be 
cast,  and  then  hammered  between  the  dies.  This  charter  is  tattered,  and  in  places 
almost  illegible.  But  Mr.  John  Benham,  a  member  of  our  town  council,  has  a 
duplicate  of  it  in  excellent  preservation,  which  was  handed  over  by  the  city 
authorities  when  his  father  enfranchised  the  City  Mill  as  the  title  deed  of  that 
property.  By  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Thomas  Stopher  I  am  able  to  exhibit  a 
photograph  of  it  to  you. 

a  It  is  printed  from  a  copy  in  Cart.  Antiq.  in  Rymer's  Fcedera,  ed.  1816,  vol.  i.  pt.  i.  p.  50. 


Arcluicologia 


Vol.  XUX. 


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CHARTERS    OF    HENRY    II    TO    HIS    CITIZENS    OF    WINCHESTER. 


The  Ancient  Charters  of  Winchester.  215 

Nos.  5  and  6  are  a  Charter  and  duplicate  of  Edward  I.  confirming  both  charters 
of  Henry  II.  without  alluding  to  the  charter  of  Henry  III.  Both  documents 
are  in  excellent  preservation,  but  the  latter  only  has  any  portion  of  the  seal,  and 
that  a  mere  fragment,  appended  to  it. 

No.  7  is  a  confirmatory  Charter  of  Edward  II. 

No.  8  is  a  Charter  of  Edward  III.  dated  at  Nottingham,  5  May,  1  Ed.  III.  1327. 
It  confirms  both  charters  of  Henry  II.  and  the  charter  of  Edward  I.  and  assigns 
to  Queen  Isabel,  widow  of  Edward  II.  for  her  life,  a  rent  of  100  marks,  which 
was  payable  by  the  city  to  the  crown. 

No.  9  is  another  Charter  of  Edward  III.  granting  exemptions  from  "  barbi- 
canage"  and  "bretage,"  which  seem  to  have  been  taxes  for  maintaining  the 
barbicans  and  wooden  castles  (Du  Cange)  used  in  front  of  the  walls  in  times  of 
siege. 

No.  10  is  a  Charter  of  confirmation  by  Richard  II.  in  fine  preservation,  and  the 
seal  perfect. 

No.  11  is  a  Charter  of  Henry  IV.  confirming  the  last-mentioned  charter  of 
Edward  III. 

No.  12  is  a  Charter  of  Henry  VI.  confirming  the  last-mentioned  charter. 

No.  13  is  a  Grant  by  Henry  VI.  of  the  privilege  of  holding  a  market  every 
Saturday,  in  lieu  of  markets  previously  held  on  Wednesdays  and  Sundays.  The 
seal  is  perfect,  and  the  document  generally  in  first-rate  order. 

No.  14  is  a  lengthy  Charter  of  Edward  IV.  in  excellent  preservation,  com- 
mencing, "  Inspeximus  literas  patentes  H.  sexti  nuper  de  facto  non  de  jure  Eegis 
Anglie,"  and  confirming  No.  12,  and  another  charter  of  Henry  VI.  which  we  do 
not  possess.  By  this  charter,  after  a  preamble  stating  that  Winchester  is  one  of  the 
ancient  cities  of  the  realm,  and  famous  for  coronations  and  investitures  of  so  many 
of  the  kings  his  predecessors,  and  has,  through  repeated  outbreaks  of  plague  and 
withdrawals  of  citizens  and  merchants  from  residence  within  the  walls,  suffered 
the  ruin  of  no  less  than  11  streets,  17  parish  churches,  and  987  houses  within  the 
previous  fifty  years,  so  as  to  be  unable  to  render  the  annual  payments  of  100  marks 
to  the  king,  and  60  shillings  to  Magdalen  Hospital,  or  to  pay  the  51Z.  10s.  4d., 
which  was  its  share  of  a  subsidy,  or  to  do  the  necessary  repairs  of  the  walls  ;  the 
king  grants  to  the  citizens  the  goods  of  felons  and  outlaws  and  waifs  and 
strays  within  the  city,  and  further  confers  on  them  the  privilege  of  electing  four  of 
their  number  to  be  aldermen,  who,  together  with  the  mayor  and  two  or  three  of 
the  discreeter  sort  of  citizens,  were  to  hear  and  determine,  in  the  king's  absence, 
all  differences  arising  within  the  city. 


216  The  Ancient  Charters  of  Winchester. 

There  had  been  aldermen  of  the  city  from  an  earlier  period ;  but  they  were 
local  officers,  charged  with  the  maintenance  of  order  and  cleanliness  within  their 
respective  districts.  It  is  to  this  charter  that  they  owed  their  magisterial 
functions  prior  to  the  Municipal  Corporations  Act. 

No.  15  is  a  Charter  of  Henry  VIII.  confirming  a  missing  charter  of  Henry  VII. 
and  another,  dated  in  1510,  which  granted  that  the  mayor  might  thenceforth  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  upon  his  appointment  before  the  mayor,  recorder,  and  two 
or  three  citizens,  instead  of  before  the  Court  of  Exchequer — a  privilege  which  is 
expressed  to  be  granted  as  a  concession  to  the  poverty  of  the  city,  and  was  no 
doubt  a  boon  to  successive  mayors,  saving  them  the  time  and  expense  of  a  journey 
to  London,  and  the  fees  when  they  got  there.  A  writ  of  the  Court  of 
Exchequer,  dated  30th  September,  1421,  declaring  that  William  Reson  had  been 
sworn  mayor  of  Winchester  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  enjoining  the  citizens  to 
obey  him,  is  preserved  in  the  muniment  room  within  Winchester  College. 

No.  17  is  a  Licence  under  the  great  seal,  dated  12  Feb.  8  Hen.  VIII.  1516/7, 
for  the  city  to  purchase  lands  in  mortmain  to  the  annual  value  of  40Z.  The  reason 
given  for  the  concession,  the  great  poverty  of  the  city,  has  a  savour  of  irony 
about  it. 

No.  18  is  another  Charter  of  Henry  VIII.  granting  the  right  to  hold  two  fairs 
annually,  one  on  the  Feast  of  the  Translation  of  King  Edward  the  Confessor  and 
the  day  after  (October  13-14),  and  the  other  on  the  first  Monday  in  Lent  and  the 
day  after.  This  marks  the  practical  extinction  of  the  monopoly  enjoyed  before 
the  Eeformation  by  the  monastery  of  St.  Swithun  and  Hyde  Abbey  for  the  famous 
Fair  on  St.  Giles'  Hill. 

No.  19  is  a  Deed  of  Gift  by  Philip  and  Mary  to  the  city  of  sundry  chief  rents 
and  some  house  property  within  the  city,  which  formerly  belonged  to  the  dissolved 
abbeys  of  St.  Mary,  Winchester,  and  Wherwell,  and  to  Southwick  Priory,  and  the 
Collegiate  Church  of  St.  Mary  Kalender  in  Winchester.  This  was  no  doubt  an 
acknowledgment  by  Philip  and  Mary  of  the  loyalty  shown  by  the  city  on  the 
occasion  of  their  marriage,  which  was  solemnised  in  Winchester  Cathedral.  The 
deed  is  dated  at  Hampton  Court,  7  September,  1  and  2  Ph.  and  M.  1554,  and 
is  in  excellent  preservation,  but  the  seal  is  missing.  The  title  of  the  deed  is 
a  capital  specimen  of  the  penmanship  of  the  period.  Within  the  loop  of  the 
P  of  "  Philippus  "  are  depicted  the  king  and  queen  seated  side  by  side  on  thrones, 
the  king  a  typical  Spanish  cavalier,  and  the  queen  a  tolerable  portrait,  regarding 
each  other  out  of  the  corners  of  their  eyes  with  an  expression  that  was  not  meant 
to  be  comic. 


The  Ancient  Charters  of  Winchester.  217 

No.  20  is  a  Deed  of  Assignment  by  Queen  Joan,  the  widow  of  Henry  IV. 
of  her  life  interest  in  sundry  dues  within  the  city,  enjoyed  by  her  as  part  of 
her  dower,  to  the  mayor  and  corporation,  in  consideration  of  an  annual  payment 
of  four  marks  by  the  grantees.  This  deed  is  in  excellent  preservation,  but  of  its 
seal,  a  beautiful  impression  in  red  wax,  circular,  about  2f  inches  in  diameter,  less 
than  half  is  remaining. 

No.  21  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  documents  in  the  series.  It  is  an 
Indenture  under  seal  of  the  Prior  and  Convent  of  St.  Swithun  with  the  Mayor 
and  Corporation,  by  which,  after  reciting  that  questions  have  arisen  touching  the 
guardianship  and  maintenance  of  the  South  Gate  and  King's  Gate,  and  also 
touching  the  ownership  of  the  same,  and  that  losses  have  been  sustained  through 
the  omission  to  defend  those  gates,  either  through  the  malice,  or  connivance  (as 
was  alleged)  of  the  Prior  and  Convent  in  the  time  of  the  recent  war  (proxime 
guerre),  it  was  agreed  that  the  Prior  and  Convent  should  for  the  future  at  their 
own  expense  maintain  both  these  gates  and  the  drawbridge  (pons  versatilis)  with- 
out the  South  Gate,  and  provide  proper  crenellations  (kernelli)  on  either  flank  of 
the  drawbridge.  This  deed  is  dated  on  St.  Edmund  of  Canterbury's  Day,  16  Nov. 
1266,  the  year  after  the  conclusion  of  the  Barons'  "War,  in  which  we  know 
that  the  city  suffered  heavily.  The  mayor,  Simon,  who  is  named  in  the  deed,  is 
Simon  Draper,  one  of  the  earliest  mayors  whose  names  are  recorded.  His  name 
occurs  as  attesting  witness  in  several  deeds  of  this  period  belonging  to  the  college, 
and  they  possess  a  grant  by  him  to  Hyde  Abbey  for  the  soul  of  his  wife  Ella, 
which  will  be  found  transcribed  in  the  Proceedings  of  this  Society  (28  June, 
1883),  2nd  S.  vol.  ix.  p.  365.  The  seal  is  nearly  perfect,  in  dark  sienna  wax ; 
form,  oval;  measuring  about  3  in.  by  2J  in.;  subject,  apparently,  St.  Swithun. 

The  next,  No.  22,  is  of  local  interest  only,  a  Licence  in  Mortmain  to  John 
Devenish,  who  was  mayor  in  1317,  to  endow  the  Masters  and  Brethren  of  St. 
John's  Hospital,  in  Winchester,  with  100L  of  chief  rents  in  Winchester  and 
Little  Sombourne.  It  bears  date  20  Jan.  5  Ed.  II.  1311/2,  and  is  well  pre- 
served, though  the  seal  is  imperfect. 

We  now  come  to  a  series  of  instruments  relating  to  the  "ulnage,"  or  duty  on 
•  cloth  exposed  for  sale  within  the  city.     The  manufacture  of  cloth  appears  to  have 
been  the  chief  industry  of  our  city  in  the  Middle  Ages.     The  consuetudinary  or 
exemplification  under  the  city  seal  of  the  constitution  and  customs  of  the  city  in 
the   thirteenth  century,  which   is  preserved  in  Winchester  College,  contains  a 
series  of  minute  regulations  having  for  their  object  the  protection   of   weaving, 
fulling,  and  dyeing  (Archaeul.  Journ.  Mar.  1852,  vol.  ix.  p.  69). 
VOL.  XLIX.  2  F 


218  The  Ancient  Charters  of  Winchester. 

No.  23  is  a  Grant  by  Henry  VI.  to  his  confessor,  Brother  John  Tylle,  a  Friar 
Preacher,  of  a  pension  for  life  of  40  marks  per  annum  out  of  the  ulnage.  It  is 
dated  4  Jan.  14  Hen.  VI.  1435/6.  Tylle  must  have  enjoyed  this  pension  but  a 
short  time,  as  No.  24  is  a  grant  by  the  same  king  of  the  ulnage,  together  with  a 
moiety  of  the  penalties  imposed  on  frauds  in  connection  with  cloth,  for  a  term  of 
eight  years,  to  one  John  Gymer,  rendering  a  rent  of  50  marks  per  annum,  without 
mention  made  of  Tylle's  pension. 

Nos.  25,  26,  and  27  are  Charters  of  Edward  IV.  and  Henry  VIII.  granting 
and  renewing  40  marks  a  year  out  of  the  ulnage  to  the  citizens  in  consideration  of 
their  poverty. 

No.  28  is  a  similar  Charter  by  James  I. 

No.  29  is  a  Regrant  by  Louis,  Duke  of  Lenox,  to  the  citizens  of  their  interest 
in  the  ulnage,  which  had  been  apparently  assigned  to  him  by  way  of  mortgage. 

The  last  of  the  recovered  charters  is  No.  30,  a  Charter  of  Charles  II.,  dated 
21  Mar.  26  Car.  II.  1673/4.  It  is  in  excellent  preservation,  and  is  headed  by  a 
striking  copper-plate  portrait  of  that  monarch.  The  seal  is  as  usual  imperfect. 
This  charter,  like  almost  all  that  precede  it,  contains  allusions  to  the  decay  and 
poverty  of  the  city,  and  reduces  on  that  ground  the  fee-farm  rent  payable  by  the 
city  from  100  marks  to  50  marks  for  a  term  of  60  years. 


VI. — On  the  u'ords  "0  SAPIENTIA"  in  the  Kalendar.    By  EVEEAED  G-EEEN,  F.S.A. 


Read  December  llth,  1884. 


Ix  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  in  the  Kalendar,  on  December  the  sixteenth,  the 
words 

0  SAPIENTIA 

occur,  which  words  some  have  fondly  imagined  to  be  the  names  of  a  Virgin  and 
Martyr,a  whom  they  tried,  "with  much  ingenuity  and  more  ignorance,"  to  prove 
one  of  the  companions  of  S.  Ursula ;  (1)  and  others  have  confounded  the 

0  SAPIENTIA 

with  the  medieval  devotion  of  the  XV.  O's,  (2)  which  in  no  shape  or  form  was,  at 
any  time,  part  of  a  liturgical  service,  but  merely  fifteen  private  prayers  each 
beginning  with  the  letter  0,  as  may  be  seen  in  Mr.  Maskell's  Monumenta  Ritualia.  (3) 
These  XV.  O's,  however,  are  of  some  interest,  as  they  were  printed  by  Caxton  in 
English,  and  are  to  be  found  in  most  of  our  Prymers.  (3) 

The  words  0  SAPIENTIA,  in  the  Kalendar  of  the  Bool-  of  Common  Prayer,  refer 
to  nothing  in  the  book,  and  one  has  to  go  back  to  the  Kalendars  of  the  Mediaeval 
Church,  and  then  to  look  in  the  various  Breviaries,  past  and  present,  of  Christen- 
dom, to  fully  comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  words  0  SAPIENTIA. 

In  the  Kalendar  of  that  magnificent  illuminated  MS.  Psalter  of  Robert  de 
Lindsey,  who  died  Abbot  of  Peterborough  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  October, 
1224  (which  book  is  in  the  happy  possession  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 

a  In  the  Kalendar  of  the  Book  of  Hours  of  Louis,  Duke  of  Anjou,  1390  (now  in  the  Bibliotheque 
Rationale,  Paris),  0  Sapientia  does  occur  in  the  form  "  Saint  Sapience." 
VOL.  XLIX.  2  G 


220  On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 

London),  the  words  0  SAPIENTIA  occur  opposite  the  XVII.  of  the  Kalends  of 
January,  which  answers  to  our  sixteenth  day  of  December.  And  the  same  words 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Kalendars  of  the  Book  of  Hours  of  Anne  of  Brittany,  and 
of  the  Sarum,  Exeter,  Hereford,  and  York  Service-books.  And  whenever  the 
words  0  SAPIENTIA  are  to  be  found  in  Kalendars  they  are  to  be  taken  only  as  a 
note,  to  remind  the  user  of  the  book  that  certain  greater  antiphons — each  beginning 
with  the  letter  0,  and  which  precede  the  august  Feast  of  the  Nativity  of  Our 
Lord — begin  to  be  used. 

In  the  Kalendar  of  a  Roman  Breviary,  printed  at  Venice  in  1705,  for  the  use 
of  the  Franciscans,  we  find,  instead  of  the  words  0  Sapientia,  the  words  "Indpiunt 
Ferice  135,"  which  refer  one  to  the  page  in  the  Breviary  in  which  the  seven  great 
O's  of  Advent  are  given.  In  the  Kalendar  of  the  Diurnale  Andegavense  (Angers), 
printed  in  1734,  opposite  the  sixteenth  day  of  December  are  the  words  "Initium 
Antiphonarum  0";  and  in  the  Kalendar  of  a  Cistercian  Breviary,  printed  at 
Brussels  in  1794,  opposite  December  the  17th,  are  the  words  "  Indpiunt 
Antiphonce  0." 

These  antiphons,  which  are  known  by  the  two  initial  words  of  the  first  in 
order,  viz. : 

"  0  SAPIENTIA  quce  ex  ore  Altissimi  prodiisti," 

have,  in  different  parts  of  Christendom,  various  names  (4).  In  the  Roman  Breviary 
in  use  to-day  (which  book  many  liturgical  students  call  the  Breviarium  Pianum, 
as  it  is  substantially  the  revision  issued  by  command  of  S.  Pius  V.,  by  a  Bull  dated 
the  twenty- fifth  day  of  June,  1568),  they  are  called  Antiphonce  Major es.  At  Langres 
in  France  they  were  called  "Antiphonce  Solemnes,"  and  Du  Cange,  in  his  glossary, 
gives  the  word  "  Oleries  "  as  probably  designating  the  "  great  O's,"  and  quotes 
a  letter  of  1478 ; — "  Le  Dimenche  dernier  des  Oleries  de  devant  Noel."  (Sub 
lit.  O).  In  England,  however,  they  would  seem  to  have  been  called  by  the  layfolk 
"  the  O's  of  Advent,"  or,  "the  great  O's."  (3) 

The  Great  O's  varied  in  number  in  the  different  Churches  of  Christendom. 
Some  had  only  seven,  which  is  the  number  in  the  Breviarium  Pianum,  and  seven 
is  also  the  number  in  the  Breviaries  of  Lyons,  Toul,  Prague  (and  Constance  after 
1599),  not  to  speak  of  the  Benedictine,  Carthusian,  Cistercian,  Norbertin,  Fran- 
ciscan, Dominican,  and  Carmelite  Breviaries. 

Eight    was    the   number   at   Angers,    Langres,    Soissons,    Troyes,   Besanyon, 


On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.  221 

Bayeux,  Elieims,  Orleans,  Rouen,  and  Paris,  and  in  the  Breviary  of  the  Congre- 
gation of  Benedictines  of  S.  Justina  of  Padua ;  and  eight,  in  an  English  form, 
have,  since  1852,  found  their  way  into  many  of  the  hymn-books  of  private  adventure 
with  which  this  country  is  flooded. 

There  were  nine  Great  O's  at  Siena,  Coutances,  Autun,  Vienne,  Tours,  Frejus, 
Lisieux,  Le  Mans,  Amiens,  Arras,  Avranches,  Sens,  and  Auxerre;  and  twelve  Great 
O's  at  Cividale  del  Friuli  and  Aquileia  in  Italy,  as  well  as  at  Bamberg,  Freising, 
Augsburg,  Liege,  Constance,  Ratisbon,  and  Salzburg ;  but  whatever  might  be  the 
number  sung  in  any  Church  the  seven  greater  antiphons  of  the  Roman  Church  ever 
took  precedence  of  the  rest,  until  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  when 
new  Breviaries  were  constructed  in  France,  which  (5)  must  not  be  confused  with  the 
ancient  Gallican  Service-books  current  before  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  In  these 
modern  French  Breviaries  (the  oldest  of  which  is  that  of  Paris,  dating  from  1G80) 
not  only  is  the  order  of  the  ancient  Great  O's  of  the  Roman  Church  altered, 
and  new  ones  added,  but  the  text  of  the  old  ones  is  constantly  found  altered,  and 
not  always  for  the  better,  as  I  think  is  notable  in  the  case  in  the  Breviarium 
Lingonense  (Langres)  of  1731. 

The  Roman  Church  begins  her  Great  O's  of  Advent  at  Evensong  or  Vespers 
on  the  seventeenth  day  of  December,  and  on  the  seventeenth  they  also  begin  in  the 
Breviaries  of  Lyons,  Toul,  and  Prague ;  as  is  the  case  in  the  Benedictine,  Carthusian, 
Cistercian,  Norbertin,  Franciscan,  Dominican,  and  Carmelite  Breviaries. 

However,  on  the  sixteenth  of  December,  they  began  at  Salisbury,  Exeter,  Here- 
ford, York,  Angers,  Langres,  Soissons,  Noyon,  Besancon,  Bayeux,  Rheims,  Orleans, 
and  Rouen ;  and,  on  the  fifteenth  of  December,  at  Paris,  Coutances,  Autun, 
Yienne,  Tours,  Frejus,  Lisieux,  Le  Mans,  Amiens,  Arras,  Avranches,  Sens,  and 
Auxerre ;  whilst  at  Cividale  del  Friuli,  Aquileia,  Siena,  Liege,  Salzburg,  Ratisbon, 
Bamberg,  Augsburg,  Constance,  and  Freising,  the  Great  O's  began  on  December  the 
thirteenth,  which,  in  every  kalendar  I  have  seen  of  both  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Church,  is  the  feast  of  S.  Lucy,  Virgin  and  Martyr. 

Of  the  seven  Great  O's  of  the  Roman  Church,  Odericus,  a  Canon  of  Siena  in 
1213,  says,  "has  tantum  sept  em  posuit  Gregorius  in  antiphonario."  (6)  Should  this 
be  the  case,  as  S.  Gregory  the  Great  is  the  reputed  compiler  of  the  Antiphonary 
(which  is  still  in  use  in  the  Roman  Church),  they  would  date  from  about  590,  and 
may  have  been  brought  into  England  by  S.  Augustine  and  his  fellow  monks  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  of  597.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  very  certain  that  they  date 
from  before  the  year  804  A.D.,  as  one  of  them,  0  Glacis  David,  is  mentioned  in  the 
life  of  Alcuin. 


222  On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 

The  seven  Roman,  or  Gregorian,  Great  "  O's  "  are  as  follows  : — 

I.  0    SAPIENTIA,  quae   ex  ore  Altissimi  prodiisti,  attingens   a   fine   usque  ad 
finem  ;    fortiter  suaviterque  disponens  omnia  :  Veni,  ad  docendum  nos  viam  pru- 
dentias. 

II.  0  ADONA!,  et  Dux  domus  Israel,  qui  Moysi  in  igne  flammae  rubi  apparuisti, 
et  ei  in  Sina  legem  dedisti :  Veni,  ad  redimendum  nos  in  brachio  extento. 

III.  O  RADIX  JESSE,  qui  stas  in  signum  populorum,  super  quern  continebunt  reges 
os  suum,  quern  Gentes  deprecabuntur :  Veni,  ad  liberandum  nos,  jam  noli  tardare. 

IV.  0  C  LA  vis  DAVID,  et  sceptrum  domus  Israel ;  qui  aperis,  et  nemo  claudit ; 
claudis,  et  nemo  aperit :  Veni,  et  educ  vinctum  de  domo  carceris,  sedentem  in 
tenebris,  et  umbra  mortis. 

V.  0  OKIENS,  splendor  lucis  seternEe,  et  Sol  justitise  :  Veni,  et  illumina  sedentes 
in  tenebris,  et  umbra  mortis. 

VI.  O    REX    GENTIUM,    et   desideratus    earum,    lapisque   angularis,   qui   facis 
utraque  unum  :  Veni,  et  salva  hominem,  quern  de  limo  formasti. 

VII.  0    EMANUEL,  Rex   et  Legifer   noster,  expectatio  Gentium,  et  Salvator 
earum :  Veni,  ad  salvandum  nos,  Domine  Deus  noster. 

Bach  great  "  0"  I  have  attempted  to  translate  into  the  most  forcible  English 
at  my  command,  and  shall  be  only  too  glad  "  to  correct  in  any  part  or  all  "  (7). 

I. — 0  Sapientia.0' 

0  WISDOM,  that  proceedest  from  the  mouth  of  the  Most  High,  reaching  from 
end  to  end ;  mightily  and  sweetly  disposing  all  things :  Come,  and  teach  us  the 
way  of  prudence. 

II. — 0  Adonai. 

0  ADONAI,  and  Leader  of  the  House  of  Israel,  Who  didst  appear  to  Moses  in 
the  fire  of  the  burning  bush,  and  gavest  to  him  the  Law  on  Sinai  :  Come,  and 
redeem  us  with  outstretched  arm. 

III.— 0  Radix. 

0  ROOT  or  JESSE,  "Who  standest  for  an  ensign  of  the  people,  before  whom 
kings  shall  be  silent,  to  whom  the  nations  shall  pray :  Come,  and  deliver  iis, 
tarry  not. 

IV. — 0  Clavis  David. 

0  KEY  OF  DAVID,  and  Sceptre  of  the  House  of  Israel,  Who  openest  and  no  man 

a  An  old  English  metrical  translation  of  the  eight  Great  O's  of  the  Sarum  Breviary  is  given  in 
the  Appended  Note  (E)  to  this  Paper. 


On  the  tvords  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.  223 

shutteth,  "Who  shuttest  and  no  man  openeth  :  Come,  and  bring  Mm  who  is  bound 
out  of  the  prison-house,  who  sitteth  in  darkness,  and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

V.— 0  Oriens. 

0  ORIENT,  Splendour  of  Eternal  Light,  and  Sun  of  Justice :  Come,  and 
illuminate  those  who  sit  in  darkness,  and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

VI. — 0  Bex  Gentium. 

0  KING  OF  THE  NATIONS,  and  their  desire,  0  Corner-stone,  Who  makest  both 
one  :  Come,  and  save  man,  whom  Thou  didst  form  from  the  dust  of  the  earth. 

VII. — 0  Emmanuel.0' 

0  EMMANUEL,  our  King  and  our  Law-giver,  the  Expectation  of  the  Nations 
and  their  Saviour  :  Come,  and  save  us,  0  Lord  our  God. 

As  it  will  be  seen,  the  words  of  these  seven  great  O's  are  for  the  most  part 
taken  from  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  fourth,  0  Glavis  David,  is  thus  mentioned 
in  the  14th  chapter  of  the  life  of  our  countryman,  the  great  Alcuin,  who  was 
born  at  York,  and  who  died  at  Tours  on  Whitsunday  of  the  year  804  :— 
"  Jam  ergo  Albinus  corpore  dissolvi  cupiens,  et  cum  Christo  esse  desiderans, 
exorabat  votis  omnibus  eum,  ut  die,  quo  in  linguis  igneis  Spiritus  Sanctus  super 
Apostolos  venisse  visus  est,  et  eorum  corda  replevit,  si  fieri  posset,  migraret  e 
mundo.  Vespertinum  siquidem  pro  se  agens  officium  in  loco,  quo  elegerat  post 
obitum  quiescere,  juxta  videlicet  Ecclesiam  Sancti  Martini,  Hymnum  Sanctae  Maria? 
evangelicum  cum  hac  antiphona  decantabat : — 0  Glavis  David  et  sceptrum  donius 
Israel,  qui  aperis  et  nemo  claudit,  claudis  et  nemo  aperit,  veni  et  educ  vinctum  de  domo 
carceris,  sedentem  in  tenebris,  et  umbra  mortis." 

a  If  the  first  letter  after  each  0,  of  the  Gregorian  O's,  is  read  in  the  inverse  order,  that  is 
upwards,  the  words  Ero  eras  are  formed,  which  gives  not  a  little  colouring  to  the  words  "  eras  "  and 
"  crastina,"  which  occur  eighteen  times  in  the  Breviary  Services  for  the  Vigil  of  Christmas  in  the 

Roman  Breviary. 

S  .     .     .     .  apientia. 

A  ....  donai. 
B  .  adix. 

C  .  lavis. 

0  ....  riens. 
R  .     .     .     .ex 
E  .  mmanuel. 

Ero  Cras 


224 


On  the  ^cords  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 


The  first  addition  to  the  seven  great  O's  of  the  Gregorian  Antiphonary  seems 
to  have  been  made  before  the  year  820,  as  Amalarius  of  Metz  when  he  published 
his  invaluable  work,  De  divinis  offidis,  (8)  gives  us,  besides  the  seven  Roman 
"  O's,"  the  following  one,  as  it  would  appear,  from  the  Metz  Antiphonary : — 

VIII.  0  VIEGO  VIEGINUM,  quomodo  fiet  istud  ?  Quia  nee  primam  similem  visa 
es,  nee  habere  sequentem."  Filise  Jerusalem,  quid  me  admiramini  ?  Divinum  est 
mysterium  hoc  quod  cernitis. 

VIII. —  0  Virgo  Virginum. 

0  VIRGIN  OF  VIRGINS,  how  shall  this  come  to  pass  ?  For  neither  before  thee 
appeared  any  like  unto  thee  ;  nor  shall  there  be  one  to  follow  thee.  Daughters 
of  Jerusalem,  why  look  ye  wondering  at  me  ?  This  is  a  divine  mystery  that  ye 
behold. 

Amalarius  tells  us,  what  should  be  specially  noted,  that  these  great  "  O's " 
were  sung  at  Magnificat  as  well  as  at  Benedictus,  during  the  week  before  the 
Lord's  Nativity,  and  he  arranges  these  greater-antiphons  as  they  were  sung  at 
Metz,  viz. : — 


I.  0  Sapientia. 
III.  0  Emmanuel. 

V.  0  Oriens. 
VII.  0  Rex  Gentium. 


II.  0  Clavis  David. 
IV.  O  Radix  Jesse. 
VI.  0  Adona'i. 
VIII.  0  Virgo  Virginum. 


Benedict  (9),  a  Canon  of  S.  Peter's,  in  his  Liber  Pollicitus,  written  in  the  first 
half  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  describing  the  usages  of  the  Roman  Church, 
says  : — "A  festivitate  S.  Nicolai  usque  ad  feriam  ante  Natalem  Domini  cantantur 
ha?  antiphonse  ad  Matutinum,  0  Sapientia,  ad  Benedictus,  et  ceterae  omnes  in 
quatuor  temporibus."  (Mabillon,  Ordo  Romanus  XI.,  Museum  Italicum,  1689, 
torn.  ii.  p.  124.)  But,  probably,  soon  after  his  time,  they  came  to  be  only  sung  at 
evensong  at  Magnificat,  as  is  the  custom  of  the  Church  to-day. 

However,  at  Rome,  the  0  Virgo  Virginum  does  not  seem  to  have  found  a  place 
in  her  antiphonary  until  after  1286,  as  Durandus  makes  no  mention  of  it ;  but, 
sometime  between  1286  and  1568,  the  0  Virgo  Virginum  was  at  times  inserted ;  S. 
Pius  V.,  when  he  restored  and  reformed  the  Roman  Breviary,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  struck  it  out.  The  Spanish  Church,  however,  retained  it,  and  through 
her  it  again  made  its  appearance  in  the  Roman  Breviary  in  1725,  (10)  and,  this 
time,  as  the  a.ntiphon  of  Magnificat  at  second  vespers  in  festo  Expectations 


At  times  the  reading  is  quia  nee  prima  tui  similis  visa  est,  nee  habebis  sequentem. 


On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.  225 

Partus  B.V.M.;  so  that,  to-day,  the  0  Virgo  Virginum  is  sung  at  Magnificat  on  the 
eighteenth  of  December,  and  the  proper  great  O  of  the  eighteenth,  the  0  Adona'i, 
is  sung  afterwards,  as  the  Commemoration  of  Advent.* 

The  history  of  this  feast  of  the  Expectation  is  somewhat  mixed  up  with  the . 
history  of  the  great  O's,  and  is  as  follows. 

The  Spanish  Church  used  to  keep  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation  on  December 
the  eighteenth,"  by  a  decree  of  the  tenth  Council  of  Toledo  in  656.  (11)  Her  object 
was  to  prevent  the  fea^t  falling  in  Holy- Week  or  Easter- Week.  When,  however, 
she  once  more  adopted  the  Roman  usage  with  regard  to  the  Annunciation,  the/ 
feast  of  the  Expectation  was  instituted  to  replace  the  old  observance  on  December 
the  eighteenth,  "  quod  alibi  dicitur  Festum  0  Natalis  "  (19). 

Spaniards  still  speak  of  the  feast  as  Nostra  Signora  dell'  0,  (12)  and  in  certain 
French  books  we  find  La  Feste  des  0 ;  and  it  is  called  so  not  only  on  account  of 
the  0  Virgo  Virginum,  which  is  sung  at  second  Vespers  of  the  feast,  but  also 
because  the  first  of  the  greater  Antiphons,  0  Sapientia,  is  sung  in  first  Vespers 
of  the  feast  as  the  Commemoration  of  Advent  (i.  e.  on  December  17th). 

In  Spain,  to-day,  (11)  a  High-Mass  is  sung  at  a  very  early  hour  each  morning, 
from  the  feast  of  the  Expectation  till  Christmas  Eve,  at  which  all  who  are  great 
with  child,  whether  rich  or  poor,  consider  it  a  duty  to  assist. 

In  the  Church  of  Milan  the  week  before  Christmas  is  called  Hebdomada  de 
Exceptato ;  for  thus  the  popular  expression  has  corrupted  the  word  expectato;  and, 
perhaps,  it  is  worth  while  to  mention,  that  this  Spanish  feast  was  extended  to  the 
Venetian  territory  in  1695,  and  to  the  States  of  the  Church  by  Pope  Benedict 
XIII.  in  1725.  It  is  kept  in  England,  but  it  is  not  a  feast  of  the  ivliole  Church.  (10) 

The  next  additions  to  the  great  O's  are  the  following  from  the  Codices 
Forojulienses,  (13)  which  are  also  to  be  found  in  eleventh-century  MSS.  at  S.  Gall : 

a  In  the  Dominican  Breviary,  the  0  Virgo  Virginum  is  said  daily  during  Advent  at  Magnificat  in 
the  Officiuin  quotidianum  Beatce  Marice,  and  in  the  same  Breviary  it  is  ordered  to  be  said  at 
Magnificat  "  in  Sabbatis  Adventus  usque  ad  Nat.  Domini "  in  the  Votive  Saturday  Office  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  In  the  York  Breviary  (Ed.  Lawley,  vol.  ii.  p.  243)  it  occurs  as  the  antiphon  to 
Magnificat  at  second  vespers  on  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Grancolas,  in 
his  Commentarius  Historicus  in  Breviarium  Romanum  (lib.  ii.  cap.  xii.),  adds  that  "In  pluribus 
Ecclesiis  Natalis  supervigilio,  scilicet  23  Decembris,  Vesperee  solemnes  erant  propter  Antiphonam, 
0  Virgo  Virginum.  Campante  prseterea  omnes  pulsabantur,  albffi  vestes,  et  incensum  adhibebantur." 

b  In  the  Mozarabic  Breviary,  which  is  used  in  certain  churches  in  Spain,  the  Feast  of  the 
Annunciation  is  still  kept  on  December  18th  of  each  year. 


226  On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 

IX.  0  GABRIEL,  Nuncius  Coelorum,  qui  januis  clausis  ad  me  intrasti,  et  Verbum 
nunciasti :  Concipies  et  paries  :  EMANUEL  vocabitur.a 

X.  0  REX  PACIFICE,  ante  secula  nate,  per  auream  egredere  portam,  redemptos 
tuos  visita,  et  eos  illuc  revoca,  unde  ruerunt  per  culpam. 

XI.  0  JERUSALEM,  Civitas  Dei  summi,  leva  in  circuitu   oculos   tuos,  et  vide 
Dominum  Deum  tuum,  quia  jam  veniet  solvere  te  a  vinculis. 

XII.  0  MUNDI  DOMINA,  Regio  ex  Semine  orta,  ex  tuo  jam  Christus  processit 
alvo,  tanquam  sponsus  de  thalamo :  hie  jacet  in  praesepio,  qui  sidera  regit. 

IX.— 0  Gabriel. 

0  GABEIEL,  Ambassador  of  Heaven,  who  earnest  to  me  when  the  doors  were 
shut,  and  didst  announce  unto  me  the  Word:  "Thou  shalt  conceive  and  bear  a 
Son  :  He  shall  be  called  Emmanuel." 

X. — 0  Rex  Pacifice. 

0  KING  OF  PEACE,  born  before  all  ages,  come  by  the  Golden  Gate,  visit  Thy 
redeemed,  and  call  them  back  to  the  place  from  whence  by  sin  they  fell. 

XI. — O  Jerusalem. 

0  JERUSALEM,  City  of  the  Great  God,  lift  up  thine  eyes  round  about,  and  see 
the  Lord  thy  God,  who  now  cometh  to  loose  thee  from  thy  chains. 

XII. — O  Mundi  Domina. 

0  LADY  OF  THE  "WORLD,  sprung  of  Royal  Race,  now  hath  Christ  come  forth 
from  thy  womb  as  a  bridegroom  from  His  chamber :  Here  lieth  He  in  the  crib 
who  ruleth  the  stars. 

As  regards  the  0  mundi  Domina,  which  was  sung  on  Christmas  Eve  (called  in 
most  Celtic  languages  the  Night  of  Mary],  (14),  the  old  rubric  at  Cividale  del 
Friuli  in  Italy  is  as  follows  : — (13). 

"  Exeat  Sacerdos  paratus  de  Sacristia,  cantantibus  pueris,  et  ascendat  ad 
imperium,  et  cantet  Evangelium,  scilicet  Liber  Generationis.  Complete  Evangelic 
dicitur  antiph.  0  mundi  Domina.  Finita  ant.  dicitur  statim  Te  Deum  laudamus." 

This  was  also  the  custom  at  the  Benedictine  Abbeys  of  S.  Germain  des  Pres, 
S.  Vandrille  or  Fontenelle,  and  S.  Pierre-sur-Dive.  (15) 

a  "  0  Gabriel "  according  to  Cardinal  Thomasius  (Ed.  Vezzosi,  iv.  218)  was  also  once  the 
Antiphon  to  Magnificat  at  second  Vespers,  on  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation  of  the  B.  V.  M. 


On  the  words  "0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.  227 

In  place,  however,  of  0  mundi  Domina,  the  antiphon,  at  Bee,  Lyre,  Cluny,  and 
Corbie,  and  from  the  days  of  Lanfranc  at  Canterbury,  and  by  all  those  "  qui 
statuta  Lanfranci  tenebant,"  was,  (16) 

0  BEATA  INFANTIA,  per  quam  nostri  generis  reparata  est  vita,  0  gratissimi 
delectabilesque  vagitus,  per  quos  eternos  ploratus  evasimus.  0  felices  panni, 
quibus  peccatorum  sordes  extersimus.  0  presepe  splendidum,  in  quo  non  solum 
jacuit  foenum  animalium,  sed  cibus  inventus  est  Angelorum.  (Thomasius*  Psalterium 
cum  Canticis,  ed.  Blanchinius,  torn.  i.  p.  ii.  p.  493.)" 

0  BLESSED  CHILDHOOD,  by  which  is  made  anew  the  life  of  our  race.  0  wailing 
sweet  and  loveable,  whereby  we  have  escaped  everlasting  wailings.  0  happy 
swaddling  bands,  wherewith  we  have  wiped  off  the  soil  of  sin.  0  royal  manger, 
wherein,  not  only  lay  the  hay  of  beasts,  but  where,  too,  was  found  the  food  of 
Angels. 

And  here  I  should  like  to  draw  attention  to  what  Odericus,  in  1213 — after 
stating  that  S.  Gregory  placed  the  seven  great  O's  in  the  Roman  Antiphonary— 
goes  on  to  say,  (6)    "  Sed  quasdam  alige  Ecclesia?  non  ex  ratione,  sed  ex  consuetudine 
plures  quam  septem  cantant ;  sicut  Senensis  Chorus,  qui  duas  addit.     Scilicet  0 
Virgo  Virginum,  and  0  Rex  Pacifice." 

The  great  O  to  Saint  Thomas  the  Apostle,  whose  feast  falls  on  December 
the  twenty-first,  is  more  modern  than  the  0  Gabriel,  but  it  dates  certainly  from  the 
thirteenth  century,  (17)  and  it  was  almost  universally  used  instead  of  0  Gabriel, 
but  the  former  never  seems  to  have  found  a  place  in  the  Roman  Breviary.  The 
antiphon  is  as  follows  :— 

XIII.  0  THOMA  DIDYME,  per  Christum  quern  meruisti  tangere ;  te  precibus 
rogamus  altisonis  succurre  nobis  miseris,  ne  damnemur  cum  impiis  in  Adventu 
Judicis.  (34) 

a  "  The  Venerable"  Cardinal  Thomasins  on  the  same  page  gives  us  the  following  amongst  the 
"  Antiphonffi  in  Adventu  Domini,"  from  a  MS.  in  the  Vatican  : — "Venite  omnes,  et  exultemus  in 
"  conspectu  Domini ;  quia  prope  est  dies,  in  quo  Natalem  ejus  celebremus  ;  ut  in  illo  die,  mundo 
"  corde  ad  altare  Domini  perveniamus  :  quia  promittitur  Filius  Virgini  per  visitationem  Spiritus 
"  Sancti.  O  beata  infantia,  per  quam  generis  nostri  vita  est  reparata ;  quia  tamquam  sponsus  de 
"  thalamo  Mai-ire,  Christus  processit  ex  utero.  0  Virgo  super  Virgines  benedicta ;  sic  paries  filium, 
"  ut  et  virginitatis  non  patiaris  detrimentum."  In  the  same  volume,  at  pages  518  to  521,  the  seven 
Gregorian  O's  will  be  found  incorporated  into  the  "  Preces  ad  adorandam  Crucem,"  from  a  Vatican 
MS.  with  the  heading — "  Incipiunt  Orationes  ad  Adorandam  Crucem ;  sive  ad  desposcenda  suffragia 
omnium  Sanctorum."  From  internal  evidence,  Mr.  Edmund  Bishop  believes  that  the  MS.  from  which 
they  are  printed  was  written  in  the  great  Benedictine  Abbey  of  Reichenau,  on  the  Lake  of  Constance. 
— Vide  Pertz,  Nonumenta  Germaniae  Historica.  Scriptorum,  torn.  i.  p.  67 ;  torn.  iv.  p,  450. 
VOL.  XLIX.  2  H 


228  On  the  words  "0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 

XIII. — 0  Thoma  Didyme. 

0  THOMAS  DIDYMUS,  by  that  Christ  whom  it  was  vouchsafed  to  thee  to  touch ; 
fervently  we  cry  unto  thee  and  say,  Help  us,  miserable  sinners,  lest  we  be  con- 
demned with  the  ungodly  at  the  coming  of  the  Judge. 

At  Salisbury  this  was  sung  at  both  first  and  second  Vespers  of  S.  Thomas,  viz. 
on  the  20th  and  21st  of  each  December.  At  York,  however,  it  was  only  sung  on 
the  20th  at  first  Vespers,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  practice  at  Constance, 
Freising,  Ratisbon,  Salzburg,  and  Liege. 

The  next  great  O  is  found  in  the  Liege  Breviary. 

XIV.  0  SUMME  ARTIFEX,  polique  Rector  siderum  altissime;  ad  homines  descende, 
sedentes  in  tenebris  et  umbra  mortis. 

XIV. — 0  8umim  Artifex. 

0  GREAT  ARCHITECT,  and  most  high  Ruler  of  the  Heavens ;  come  down  to 
men,  sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

Romsee  of  Liege,  writing  in  1791,  speaks  of  it  as  the  twelfth  great  O  at 
Liege ;  where  it  was  sung  each  23rd  day  of  December. 

In  the  modern  French  breviaries  five  other  great  0?s  are  to  be  found ;  and 
Gran  colas  and  Romsee  tell  us  that  two  of  these,  viz.  0  Sancte  Sanctorum  and  0 
Pastor  Israel,  which  are  in  the  Breviaries  of  Paris,  Autun,  Vienne,  Tours,  Frejus, 
Lisieux,  Le  Mans,  Amiens,  Arras,  Soissons,  and  Avranches,  date  from  1680  (18). 
The  other  three,  0  Bone  Pastor,  qui ;  and  0  Bone  Pastor,  visita ;  and  0  Dominc, 
fac  mirabilia,  are  even  later  in  date.  The  five  are  as  follows  : — • 

XV.  0   SANCTE   SANCTORUM,  Speculum  sine  macula  Dei  majestatis,  et   imago 
bonitatis  illius  :  Veni,  ut  deleatur  iniquitas,  et  adducatur  justitia  sempiterna. 

XVI.  0  PASTOR  ISRAEL,  et  Dominator  in  domo  David :   cujus  egressus  ab  initio, 
a  diebus  aeternitatis :  Veni,  ut  pascas  populum  tuum  in  fortitudine,  et  regnes  in 
justitia  et  judicio. 

XVII. A  0  BONE  PASTOR,  qui  requiris  et  visitas  oves  :  Veni,  et  libera  eas  de 
omnibus  locis  in  quibus  disperses  fuerant  in  die  nubis  et  caliginis." 

XVII. B  0  BONE  PASTOR,  visita  gregem  timm,  require  quod  periit,  reduc  quod 
abjectum,  consolida  quod  infirmum ;  ut  impositas  in  humeros  oves,  in  judicio 
pascas,  et  ad  vitaa  fontes  aquarum  deducas.b 

a  Vide  Breviaries  of  Auxerre,  Avranches,  and  Rouen  (revised). 
b  Vide  Breviaries  of  Sens  and  Langres. 


On  the  words  "0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.  229 

XVIII.  0  DOMINE,  fac  mirabilia,  cogitationes  antiquas  fideles :  Virgo  pariat 
filium  :  mulier  conterat  caput  serpentis  :  hoc  erit  memoriale  nominis  tui,  cum 
manus  feminas  dejecerit  eum.a 

XV. — 0  Sancte  Sanctorum. 

0  HOLY  OF  HOLIES,  Mirror  without  spot  of  the  majesty  of  God  and  image  of 
His  goodness  :  Come,  blot  out  iniquity,  and  bring  back  everlasting  justice. 

XVI.— 0  Pastor  Israel 

0  SHEPHERD  OF  ISKAEL,  and  Ruler  in  the  House  of  David,  whose  going  forth  is 
from  the  beginning,  from  the  days  of  eternity  :  Come,  and  feed  Thy  people  in 
strength,  and  reign  in  justice  and  judgment. 

XVIP.— 0  Bone  Pastor. 

0  GOOD  SHEPHERD,  who  seekest  and  visitest  the  sheep :  Come,  and  free  them 
in  all  places  whither  they  were  scattered  in  the  days  of  clouds  and  darkness. 

XVIP. — 0  Bone  Pastor  visita. 

0  GOOD  SHEPHERD,  Visit  Thy  flock,  seek  the  strayed,  raise  up  the  fallen, 
strengthen  the  weak,  and  so  feed  in  justice  the  sheep  which  Thou  bearest  upon 
Thy  shoulders,  and  bring  them  to  the  fountains  of  living  water. 

XVIII. — O  Domine  fac  mirabilis. 

0  LORD,  work  great  marvels,  Thy  faithful  counsels  of  old  :  let  the  Virgin 
bring  forth  a  Son :  let  the  Woman  bruise  the  serpent's  head:  for  this  shall  be  a 
memorial  of  Thy  Name  when  the  hand  of  the  "Woman  hath  cast  him  down. 

In  the  Breviarium  Pianurn  it  is  ordered  that  the  great  O  of  each  day  be 
said  "  ante  et  post  Magnificat  integras  sicut  in  duplicibus,"  but  Grancolas  (19) 
tells  us  that  at  Paris  and  in  other  churches  "  Vetus  mos  non  solum  duplicandi, 
sed  etiam  triplicandi  Antiphonas  servatur  in  Adventu  ad  0,  quod  ante  Magnificat 
canitur,  atque  ante  Gloria  Patri,  et  post  Sicut  erat." 

In  the  general  rubrics  of  the  Paris  Breviary,  under  the  heading  "  De  Anti- 
phonis,"  we  read — 

a  Vide  Breviaries  of  Noyon,  Sens,  and  Auxerre.  At  Noyon  it  began  0  Sancte  Sanctorum  De-mine 
fac  mirabilia.  It  is  constructed  from  Isa.  xxv.  1 ;  Isa.  vii.  14 ;  Gen.  iii.  15 ;  and  Judith  ix.  5. 

2n2 


230  On  the  ivords  "0  Sapientia"  in  the  Kalendar. 

"  Antiphonse  0,  quas  ter  dicuntur  integre,  primo  scilicet  ante  Magnificat, 
secundo  ante  Gloria,  tertio  post  Sicut  erat  ;  vel  si  pro  sola  commemoratione 
dicantur,  ter  etiam  hoc  modo ;  primo  ante  Gloria  Patri,  secundo  inter  Gloria  et 
Sicut  erat,  tertio  post  Sicut  erat." 

Lebrun  Desmarettes,  in  his  "  Voyages  Liturgiques  "  (1718),  in  his  account  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Maurice  at  Vienne,  says — (4) 

"  On  triomphoit  les  grandes  Antiennes  0,  c'est-a-dire,  qu'on  les  repetoit  apres 
chaque  Verset  de  Magnificat,  comme  a  Lyon,  et  comme  on  fait  encore  a  Eouen 
trois  fois  au  Magnificat  et  au  Benedictus,  des  Fetes  triples  ou  solennelles." 

He  also  gives  us  the  use  at  the  Church  of  St.  John  at  Lyons,  viz.— 

"  Les  huit  jours  derniers  avant  Noel,  .  .  .  .  on  y  triomphe  1'Antienne  de 
Magnificat,  ....  c'est-a-dire  qu'elle  y  est  entremelee  a  chaque  verset." 

And,  in  his  account  of  the  Collegiate  Church  of  St.  Paul  at  Lyons,  he  says : — 

"  Que  les  grandes  Antiennes  0,  huit  jours  avant  Noel  sont  triomphees,  c'est-a- 
dire  chantees  solennellement,  et  repetees  ou  entremelees  apres  chaque  verset  du 
Magnificat." 

This  repetition  of  the  Antiphon  after  each  verse  was  called,  "Antiphonarc," 
and  in  the  old  antiphonaries  we  frequently  find  such  directions  as  "  Hoc  die  Anti- 
phonamus  ad.  Benedictus,"  or,  simply,  "Hoc  die  antiphonamus ;  "  (20)  and  the 
"Venerable"  Cardinal  Thomasius  (9)  gives  the  old  rubric  of  the  eleventh  century: 
"  Has  antiphonas,  scilicet  0  Sapientia,  cum  aliis  sequentibus  cotidie  cantamus  ad 
Benedictus,  usque  ad  Festum  Sanctas  Lucias,  excepta  Dominica.  Quas  antiphona- 
mus ab,  In  sanctitate." 

This  means  that  the  repetition  of  the  antiphon  begins  from  the  verse  of 
Benedictus  of  which  those  are  the  first  words,  so  the  first  seven  verses  of  this 
Canticle  were  not  followed  by  the  great  "  0  "  of  the  day,  but  only  the  last  five ; 
but,  as  the  Gloria  Patri  and  Sicut  erat  were  counted  as  verses,  it  made  seven 
repetitions  of  each  great  "  0." 

And  here  it  will  be  well  to  observe,  that  Hampson,  in  his  Medii  Evi  Kalen- 
darium,  is  not  quite  happy  when  he  says  that  the  "  O's  "  of  Advent  were  sung 
instead  (21)  of  the  Magnificat ;  nor  can  Canon  Rich  Jones  be  congratulated  on  a 
note  he  has  appended  to  the  "  Register  of  St.  Osmund  "  (22)  (Rolls  Series)  when 
he  says,  "  that  0  Sapientia  was  the  first  of  the  antiphons  of  the  Magnificat  which 
was  sung  on  December  the  16th,  in  Advent,  after  the  service  of  CompUn. 

"We  cow  come  to  what  is,  to  me,  very  fascinating,  and  that  which  gives  great 
"warmth  and  colour"  (23)  to  the  great  O's,  viz.  the  regulations  we  find,  here 


On  the  words  "0  Sapientia"  in  the  Kalendar. 


231 


and  there,  as  to  who  shall  give  out  the  first  words  of  each  of  these  greater  anti- 
phons. 

At  Salisbury  there  are  two  rubrics,  (24)  which  tell  the  custom  of  that  Church. 
They  are : — 

"  Septimo  decimo  Kalendas  Januarii  semper  incipietur  Antiphona  0  Sapientia. 
Bxcellentior  persona  qua?  in  choro  prgesens  fuerit  incipiat  Antiphonam."  Then 
comes  the  text  of  0  Sapientia,  followed  by  "  Ista?  antiphona?  sequentes  pro 
voluntate  Cantoris  singular  in  diversis  Vesperis  incipiantur  ab  excellentioribus 
personis  post  ilium  qui  Antiphonam  ad  primum  0  incepit,  gradatim  per  singulas 
personas  descendendo,  usque  ad  Yigiliam  Natalis  Domini." 

Dom  Martene,  O.S.B.  gives  the  following  as  the  custom  at  the  great  Abbey  of 
Fleury  (25)  : 

The  Abbot 

The  Prior 

The  "  Hortolanus  "  (the  Gardener)       . 

The  Cellarer 

The  Treasurer     ..... 

The  "  Praspositus  "  (the  Provost) 

The  "Armarius"  (the  Librarian) 

The  "  Magister  operis  erata  et  Capicerius' 


sang  O  Sapientia. 

„  0  AdonaV. 

„  O  Radix  Jesse. 

„  0  Clavis  David. 

„  0  Oriens. 

,,  0  Rex  Gentium. 

„  0  Emmanuel. 

,    „  0  Virgo  Virginum. 


Dom  Francois   Pommeraye,   O.S.B. ,  in  his  Histoire  de  VEglise   Cathedrale  de 
Rouen,  1686  (pp.  619,  620),  tells  us  that- 


The  Chancellor  of  Rouen     . 

The  Dean    ...... 

The  Cantor 

The  Treasurer     ..... 
The  Archdeacon  of  the  Vexin  (eastward 

of  Rouen)  ..... 
The  Grand  Archdeacon  i.e.  of  the  City 
The  Senior  Canon  as  representing  the 

whole  Chapter  .... 
The  Archbishop ..... 


gave  out     0  Sapientia. 

„  0  Adona'i. 

,,  0  Radix  Jesse. 

,,  0  Clavis  David. 

,,  0  Oriens. 

„  0  Rex  gentium. 

„  0  Emmanuel. 

„  0  Virgo  Virginum. 


n  Should  this  be  qui  et ! 


232  On  the  words  "0  Sapientia"  in  the  Kalendar. 

At  Angers,  in  France,  in  the  last  century" — 

The  Maitre-ecole  (Chancellor)      .         .  intoned     0  Sapientia. 

The  Archdeacon  of  Outre-Maine  .         .  „           0  Adonai. 

The  Archdeacon  of  Outre-Loire  .         .  ,,0  Radix  Jesse. 

The  Treasurer ,,0  Clavis  David. 

The  Cantor ,,0  Oriens. 

The  Grand  Archdeacon  i.e.  of  Angers  .  „           0  Rex  gentium. 

The  Dean ,,0  Emmanuel. 

The  Bishop ,,0  Bone  Pastor. 

There  is  a  certain  fitness  in  the  Abbot,  or  the  Chancellor,  singing  0  Sapientia, 
for  he,  in  his  abbey,  or  his  schools, 

Fortiter,  suaviterque,  disponens  omnia, 
teaches  his  monks,  or  his  scholars,  the 

Viam  prudentice. 

So  again,  the  Prior  who  sings  0  Adonai  is  in  many  ways  the  Dux  domus,  and 
gives  the  "  law." 

That  the  "  Hortolanus,"  who  looks  after  the  gardens  and  orchards,  should  sing 
"  0  Radix  Jesse,"  is  what  all  would  expect :  but  in  places  0  Radix  Jesse  came  to 
the  turn  of  the  Precentor,  before  whom  all  are  silent ;  yet  methinks  the  monks  at 
Abingdon,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  were  not  far  wrong  when  they  assigned  this 
great  0  to  their  Prior. 

Nearly  everywhere  the  Treasurer  claimed  the  right  to  sing  0  Clavis  David,  but 
at  Fleury  he  sang  0  Oriens,  as  the  Cellarer  had  appropriated  0  Clavis. 

When  the  Archdeacon  (of  the  East)  at  Rouen  sang  0  Oriens,  who  can  doubt 
but  that  it  was  fully  understood,  as  also  the  fitness  of  the  Archdeacon  of  the  City 
of  Rouen  singing  0  Rex  gentium  ?  When  the  Dean  sang  0  Emmanuel,  no  doubt 
those  who  loved  him  thought  of  the  meaning  of  that  name.  Again,  think  you 
not,  that  the  layfolk  in  the  nave,  as  well  as  the  Canons  in  the  choir,  did  not 
understand  how  fitting  it  was  that  the  Shepherd  of  their  souls  should  sing  0  bone 
Pastor  visita  gregem? 

"  Vide  Ceremonial  de  I'Eglise  d' Angers,  dr.  1731,  pp.  179,  183-4. 


On  the  words  "0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.  233 

I  have  now  to  speak  of  Pitances,  as  the  great  "0"  Pitances  must  not  be  passed 
over  in  silence.  And  first  let  me  say  what  a  pitance  (pitancia)  is,  viz.  an  addi- 
tional allowance  of  food  made  to  the  common  fare.  The  officer  charged  with  the 
distribution  of  the  pitances  was  called  the  Pitanciarius,  and  the  office  of  the 
pitancer  the  Pitanceria. 

In  the  Statutes  of  Saint  Paul's  Cathedral  was  one  headed  (26) 

"  DE  FACIENDO  0," 

and  it  ran  as  follows  : — 

'•'  Debet  novus  Kesidenciarius  contra  Natale  0.  suum  in  Ecclesia  intonare,  et 
in  domo  sua  tenere,  post  completorium  totum  chorum  invitare,  et  Majores 
Canonicos  in  domibus  suis  invitare,  et  cenare  volentibus  cenam  parare,  et  non 
cenantibus  species  tripartitas  ter  ministrare,  cum  cervisia  in  principio ;  et,  post 
species,  cum  vino  albo  et  rubeo,  et  clareto,  et  cretensi  vel  vernagio,  cum  igne  bono 
per  medium  domus." 

In  the  Historia  ct  Ada  Gapitulorum  Ecclesice  Sarum  is  this  statute  (27)  : 
"Anno  gratige  MCCXXIV.  die  translationis  beati  Benedict!,  statutum  fuit  in 
capitulo  Sarum,  ut  deinceps  fiant  potationes,  qua3  soiebant  fieri  in  hospitiis  singu- 
lorum  canonicorum,  in  inceptione  antiphonarum  vocalium,  quge  incipiunt  per  O. 
ante  natale  Domini  in  loco  aliquo  communi  competenti,  et  de  communi,  et  bibant, 
qui  ibi  fuerint,  ter  de  communi  cum  luminaribus  competentibus,  et  igne  sine  fumo, 
si  fieri  potest." 

In  the  "Rites  of  Durham,"  (Surtees  Society,  1842,  pp.  75  and  85,)  we  read 
that  within  the  Common  House  the  Master  thereof  did  keep  with  the  Prior  and 
Convent  his  0  Sapientia,  "  a  sollemne  banquett  of  figs  and  reysinges,  aile  and 
caikes,  and  therof  no  superfluitie  or  excesse,  but  a  scholasticall  and  moderat  con- 
gratulacion  amonges  themselves." 

At  the  Benedictine  Abbey  of  Abingdon  the  following  was  the  rule  (28)  : 
"  Abbas  '  0  Sapientia '  ad  Vesperas  incipiet,  et  ad  potum  collationis  in  refec- 
torio  vinum  reperiet,  debentque  ceroferarii  cum  cereis  ardentibus  abbatem  prse- 
cedere,  conventu  procedente,  eo  modo,  eo  ordine,  quo  disponitur  processio  ad 
collationem  post  mandatum  Sabbatorum.  Abbate  absente,  cantori  incumbit 
incipere,  vel  aliquis  incipiet  cantoris  innuitione ;  sed  quocumque  incipiente,  vinum 
ad  potum  collationis  dabitur  abbatis  cura  et  dispositione." 

In  the  Benedictine  Abbey  at  Bury  Saint  Edmunds,  (2)  the  day  before  "  0 
Sapientia"  and  the  day  after  the  last  great  "0"  had  been  sung  were  pitance  days, 


234  On  the  words  "0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 

as  well  as  the  seven  days  of  the  "  O's,"  which  made  the  pitance  days  number  nine, 
and  here  the  officer,  whose  duty  it  was  to  provide  the  pitance,  was  said—"  facere 
suum  0  "  ;  and,  as  one  is  speaking  here  of  Bury  Saint  Edmunds,  one  may  add 
that  the  Vigil  of  the  Vigil  of  Christmas  was  kept  in  a  special  manner  in  this  abbey, 
which  day  of  course  always  fell  on  December  the  23rd.  (29) 

In  the  famous  Benedictine  Abbey  at  Fleury,  or  of  S.  Benoit-sur-Loire,  as  it  is 
often  called,  (30)  I  find  the  regulation  (25) : 

"  Ea  die,  qua  canitur  0,  pittantia  de  bono  vino  in  refectorio  ad  prandium  cum 
phialis  propinanda  es"t,  et  in  vigilia  Nativitatis  Domini." 

There  was  also  a  pitance  on  all  the  days  when  an  "  0  "  was  sung  in  the  Abbey 
of  S.  Germain  des  Pres;  and  in  a  Prague  Breviary  of  1517,  before  the  greater 
antiphon,  0  Clavis  David,  is  the  following  rubric,  against  which  the  owner  of  the 
book  has  written  a  large  N.B.,  and  which  inclines  me  to  the  belief  that  this  book 
(which  is  now  in  the  British  Museum)  belonged  to  the  Sacrist  or  "  Tumbarius  "  of 
the  Church. 

"  Item  sacrista  sive  dominus  Tumbarias  debet  fratribus  suis  ministrare  :  in 
potione  et  comestione  sufficienti  quando  incipit  hanc  Antiphonam." 

Grancolas  in  1727  tells  us  that: — Parisiis,  Cabillone  (Chalon-sur-Saone)  atque 
in  aliis  Ecclesiis  0  dicebantur  post  Vesperas  in  Capitulo,  vel  in  Refectorio,  quo 
Processionis  ritu  se  conferebant,  cantabantque  tria  Responsoria  Missus  est,  et  duo 
alia,  atque  inde  0,  duoque  cerei  accendebantur,  qui  Clero  pradferebantur,  eique  in 
reditu  lumen  praebebant,  atque  interea  major  Campana  pulsabatur.  Eodem 
tempore  collatio  Clero  dabatur,  unde  intelligimus,  Canonicos  tune  jejunasse,  atque 
in  commune  vixisse,  et  comedisse.  Procedente  vero  tempore  cum  nonnulli  abusus 
irrepsissent,  collatio  ista  abrogata  fuit,  statutumque,  ut  0  in  Choro  caneretur. 
Parisiis  anno  1545  decretum  fuit,  ut  collatio  ilia  in  pecuniam  converteretur ; 
verum  id  nonnisi  ab  anno  1639  prasstitum.  Ex  hac  caeremonia  illud  Parisiis 
superest,  quod  in  Urbis  Parochiis  Campana  pulsetur,  dum  canitur  Magnificat 
Antiphonge  0 ;  quod  signum  erat  ad  eos,  qui  adesse  volebant,  admonendos ;  in 
Cathedrali  vero  abolitum  fuit,  postquam  0  in  choro  cantari  coepit ;  signum  vero, 
quod  post  Magnificat  editur,  pro  completorio  est,  quomodo  singulis  anni  diebus  edi 
solet.  Parisiis,  non  secus  ac  in  pluribus  aliis  Ecclesiis  collatio  ista  solo  Yini  calice 
constabat,  quod  in  vas  aliquod  versabatur  pro  illo,  qui  ca'ntabat  0,  qui  primus 
bibebat,  atque  post  eum  ordine  ceteri  omnes  de  choro.  (Commentarius  Historicus 
in  Breviarium  Romanum,  Venice,  1734,  lib.  ii.  cap.  xi.) 

In  conclusion,  I  have  only  to  say  that  probably  all  who  love  English  literature 


On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar.  235 

have  read  a  tale,  written  in  1853,  called  Loss  and  Gain,(31)  by  H.  B.  Cardinal 
Newman.     If  so,  who  has  forgotten  the  magnificent  apology  for  the  words  of 

"  the  blessed  mutter  of  the  Mass  "  (32) 

being  said  quickly,  which  ends  up  with  quotations  from  four  of  the  "  Great  O's  "  ? 
Yiz.  :— 

0  SAPIENTIA  fortiter  suaviterque  disponens  omnia,  0  ADONAI,  0  CLAVIS  DAVID,  ET 
Expectatio  gentium,  Veni  ad  Salvandum  nos,  Domine  Deus  nosier.     And  again,  in 
1866,  Cardinal  Newman  (in  his  celebrated  letter  to  Dr.  Pusey  on  the  Doctor's 
then  recent  Eirenicon,  p.  123)   speaks  of   "the  great  Antiplions,  the   heralds   of 
Christmas." 

And  Fellows  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  I  trust,  will  permit  me  to  recall  to 
their  memory  Dr.  Charles  West's  Lumleian  Lectures  (read  before  the  Royal  College 
of  Physicians  in  1871),  which  ended  with  words  taken  from  two  of  the  greater 
Antiplions  of  the  Roman  Church,  viz  : — 

0  Dux  domus  Israel,  0  Rex  gentium,  et  Desiderates  earum,  Veni  et  salva  hominem 
quern  de  limoformasti! 

Lastly,  I  have  to  thank  Mr.  Edmund  Bishop,  of  the  Educational  Department, 
Whitehall,  for  allowing  me  to  "browse"  in  his  magnificent  Liturgical  Library,  and 
in  which  I  culled  the  whole  of  my  collection  of  Great  O's.  He  has  indeed  made 
me  his  debtor,  and  his  debtor  I  must  be  to  the  end. 

1  have  also  to  tender  my  grateful  thanks  to  Dr.  Wickham  Legg  for  lending 
me  (for  at  least  four  weeks)  many  rare  liturgical  books,  and  whose  motto  seems 
to  be — 

"  Repeal  a  good  action  never, 
Remember  a  Jcindness  ever." 

To  the  late  Dom  Anselm  Baker,  O.Cist.,  of  Charnwood  Abbey,  Leicestershire, 
Mrs.  Fitzgerald,  of  Shalstone  Manor,  near  Buckingham,  the  Kev.  Hendrik  Van 
Doorne,  and  Mr.  W.  H.  J.  Weale,  I  am  also  under  obligation ;  as  well  as  to ' 
Miss  Clara  Metcalfe,  the  Rev.  William  John  Blew,  the  Rev.  William  Cooke,  Mr. 
Knight  Watson,  and  Mr.  E.  C.  Ireland ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  to  Mr.  Henry 
Salusbury  Milman,  for  much  kindly  interest  and  advice  from  the  day  I  began  my 
paper  until  the  day  it  was  ended. 


VOL.  XLIX.  2  I 


236  On  the  ivords  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 


APPENDED  NOTES. 

(A) 

The  Spanish  Franciscan,  Francis  Quignon  (33),  Cardinal  Presbyter  of  the  Title  of 
Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme  (whose  tomb  in  Rome,  in  that,  the  Sessorian  Basilica,  is  probably 
familiar  to  most  of  us)  "  revised  with  a  vengeance  "  and  radically  altered  the  Roman  Breviary. 

Root  and  branch  he  abolished  and  lopped  off  much  that  was  beautiful  ;  and  in  the  first 
edition  of  1535  no  antiphons  are  to  be  found;  and  in  the  later  editions  that  came  out  with  the 
full  sanction  of  Popes  Paul  III.  and  Julius  III.,  they  are  few  in  number,  and  the  great  O's  of 
Advent  reduced  to  the  three  last,  as  they  stand  in  the  Roman  Breviary  of  to-day,  and  were 
to  be  said  as  follows:  0  Oriens  at  Matins,  from  the  third  Sunday  in  Advent  to  Christmas  Eve: 
0  Bex  Gentium  at  Lauds,  and  0  Emmanuel  at  Vespers. 

Happily  this  intolerably  monotonous  service  book  was  rigidly  suppressed  by  S.  Pius  V.  by 
his  Bull  Quod  a  nobis  postulat,  dated  the  25th  of  June,  1568  ;  but  it  is  worth  while  to  bear  in 
mind  that  the  use  of  this  Quignon  Breviary  was  permitted  from  the  time  of  Pope  Paul  III.  to 
that  of  S.  Pius  V.,  viz.  for  33  years,  i.  e.  from  1535-1568. 

Also,  it  may  interest  some  to  know,  that  in  the  Mozarabic  Breviary  and  in  the  Ambrosian 
Breviary,  which  last  is  still  the  proud  possession  of  the  See  of  Milan,  no  great  G's  are  to  be 
found. 

(B) 

In  the  magnificent  folio  edition  of  the  Breviarium  Romanum,  published  at  Antwerp  in  1606 
(page  147),  nfter  each  of  the  seven  "  Antiphonce  majores,"  is  the  rubric  "  Deinde  Kyrie  Eleison" 
which  looks  as  if  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Church  of  Antwerp  in  1606,  to  say  the  "  Preces  "  on 
each  of  these  nights.  If  so,  it  is  the  only  instance  I  know  of  the  "Preces  "  being  said  at  Vespers 
on  these  seven  days  preceding  the  Vigil  of  Christmas. 


In  many  Churches  on  the  Continent,  where  to-day  it  is  no  more  practicable  to  recite  the 
"  Divine  Office"  (i.  e.  the  Breviary  Services)  in  public,  the  seven  great  G's  of  the  Roman 
Breviary  are  sung  before  and  after  Magnificat  at  the  Service  of  Benediction  in  the  evenings  of 
December  17th  to  December  23rd.  In  some  Churches  the  Benediction  is  given  with  the  Pix  or 
Ciborium,  and  not  with  the  Monstrance.  In  parts  of  Germany,  the  great  0  of  each  day  is 
splendidly  illuminated  on  vellum,  and  is  exposed  all  day  on  the  lectern  in  the  midst  of  the  choir 
about  which  are  two  or  more  burning  tapers  of  great  size.  The  music  of  the  seven  Gregorian  O's 
in  the  Ratisbon  Vesperale  is  probably  the  most  pure.  It  differs  but  little  from  the  notation  in  the 
Mechlin  Vesperale,  which  last  most  English  antiquaries  know  through  Mr.  Helmore's  Musical 
Accompaniment  to  the  Hymnal  Noted. 


On  the  words  "0  Sapientia, "  in  the  Kalendar.  237 

(D) 

In  Harleian  MS.  1706  (fols.  3-8b),  is  a  Metrical  Kalendar  attributed  to  Lydgate.  In  the 
Catalogue  the  MS.  has  this  title :  "  A  Kalandre  in  Englysh  made  in  balade  by  dann  John 
Lydgate  Monke  off  Bury."  In  the  thirty  lines  for  December  (fol.  8b)  the  three  which  relate  to 
the  "great  O's  "  are  : — 

XIX.  Kl.  Graunte  us  in  herte  to  ioye  and  syng. 
XVIII.  Kl.  W*  all  other  seyntes  in  thy  presence. 
XVII.  Kl.  Thy  worthy  swete  songe  0  sapience." 

This  kalendar  and  book  belonged  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  and  co -heiress  of  Sir  Richard  Scrope 
of  Bolton,  co.  York.  She  was  wife  first  to  William,  Viscount  Beaumont,  who  died  s.p.  19  Dec. 
24  H.  VII.  1507  ;  and  lastly  to  John  Vere,  Earl  of  Oxford,  K.G.  At  folio  11  is :  "  Thys  is  my 
boke  Elysabeth  beamount."  At  folio  216  :  "  To  my  lyves  end  Elyzabeth  Beaumount."  And  at 
folio  214b  :  "  Thys  yes  my  boke  y°  Elysabet  Oxyeforde." b 

(E.) 

At  the  end  of  Harleian  MS.  45  is  what  the  Catalogue  calls  "  a  Godly  Ballade  in  Latin  and 
English";  but  it  really  is  the  Latin  text  of  the  eight  great  O's  of  the  Sarum  Breviary,  with  a 
metrical  translation  of  each  in  English.  (Vide  folios  168,  169.)  At  the  last  page  of  this  book, 
which  is  called  "  A  Myrror  to  see  God  and  himself:  Vertue  and  Synne :  for  Lewde  Men  and 
Wymmen"  are  the  words : — 

"  Iste  liber  costat  cine  Margarete  Brente  cum  magno  Honore.0     Amen." 

Then  in  red  is  added  :  "  If  any  psone  stele  ys  boke, 

He  shal  be  hongyd  by  a  hoke." 

And  in  Had'  is  added :  "  Or  by  the  necke  w'  a  rope." 

0  SAPIENTIA. 

0  Sapiencia  of  ye  ff'acler  surmountyng  all  thyng, 
Procedyng  from  his  mowth  his  hestis  to  fulfill. 
Alpha  and  Oo  both  end  &  begynnyng, 
{from  end  so  to  end  dost  atteyn  and  tyll, 
Disposyng  ich  werk  swetly  at  his  wyll. 
We  the  besiche  lord  w'  humble  reuence, 
Come  yn  and  teche  us  ye  ways  of  prudence."1 

*  Maskell,  Monumenta  Eitualia  (1882),  vol.  iii.  pp.  186,  187,  223,  225.  Catalogue  of  Harleian 
MSS.  vol.  ii.  p.  178. 

b  Her  will  is  dated  30  May,  1537,  p.  6  Nov.  1537.  She  died  s.  p.  26  June,  1537.  Buried  at 
Wyvenhoe,  co.  Essex.  (Scrope  and  Grosvenor  Roll,  vol.  ii.  p.  60). 

c  ?  If  wife  of  Robert  Brent  of  Cossington,  co.  Somerset,  and  daughter  of  Hugh  Malet  of 
Currypool.  (Vide  Collinson's  Somerset,  vol.  iii.  p.  436). 

d  These  seven  first  lines  are  given  by  Maskell  in  Monumenta  Eitualia,  1882,  vol.  iii.  p.  7. 

2l2 


238  On  the  words  "0  Sapientia"  in  the  Kalendar. 

0  ADONAI. 

O  Adonay  chieff  duke  of  Israeli, 
Which  them  conduced  from  thrall  captivite, 
Apperyng  to  Moyses  madist  hym  of  counsell, 
In  ye  mount  of  Syna  ther  shewyng  thy  maieste, 
Tokyst  hym  thy  law  &  a  bushe  fire  flame. 
We  lowly  besich  the  lord  omnypotent, 
Come  and  redeme  in  thy  powre  most  extente. 

0  RADIX  JKSSE. 

0  Radix  Jesse  most  Souayne  and  excellent, 
Stondyng  in  godly  signe  of  euy  nacion. 
Tofore  whome  all  kyngys  yr  mowthys  shall  stent, 
Beyng  ryght  mywet  and  styll  as  any  stone, 
Shall  knele  in  y*  psence  and  mak  depcacione. 
Them  to  dilyu  &  us  all  in  a  throwe, 
Sprakly  blyssyd  lorde  be  nott  ther  in  slowe. 

0  CLAVIS  DAVID. 

0  Clams  David  of  whom  Isaias  told. 
Hote  septe  me  key  to  eche  look  well  mett, 
Of  Israeli  I  meane  of  Jacob  I  howsholde, 
Thowe  opynyst  lokes  whych  no  wyght  can  shett, 
And  closist  ageyn  y'  cannott  be  unshett. 
Lowse  us  y1  psoners  bounden  in  wrechidnesse, 
Off  synne  shadowed  w*  mortall  derknesse. 

0  OKI  ENS. 

0  Oriens,  splendor  of  eulastyng  lyght, 
Whos  bemys  transcende  the  comyn  clerenesse, 
Of  sonne  or  mono  for  we  of  very  ryght, 
The  clepe  ye  bryght  sonne  of  trowth  ryght  wysness, 
Which  iustise  and  mercy  eche  wrong  do  redresse. 
To  ye  we  clepe  w*  all  oure  hert  &  brethe, 
To  lyght  us  y1  sytt  in  ye  derknesse  of  del  he. 

0  REX  GENTIUM. 

0  Rex  Gentium  whom  all  people  disire 
To  hono  and  love  w*  herty  affeccione, 
The  corner  stone  y'  craftly  browjth  nyre, 


On  the  ivords  "  O  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 


239 


The  both  testamentis  makyng  yem  one, 
0  old  &  newe  madest  lawfully  vnyon, 
Save  lord  mankynd  thy  most  noble  creture, 
Made  of  vile  erthe  to  resemble  y'  fayre  figure. 

0  EMMANUEL. 

0  Emanuel  owre  souayne  lord  &  kyng, 
In  whom  we  crystene  mene  trust  I  especiall. 
Geve  to  Thy  suggetis  grace  by  good  lykyng, 
Wele  to  pforeme  y'  pceptis  legalle, 
And  save  us  thy  servauntis  from  myschefF  all, 
Thus  we  pray  owre  graciouse  Savyowre, 
Owr  loi'd  owre  godd  owre  lovyng  redemptore. 

0  VIRGO  VIRGINUM. 
0  Virgo  Virginum  all  pereless  I  vertu, 
Wymmen  of  ienlm  muse  on  y8  mater, 
How  yn  a  maydyn  art  the  moder  of  Jhu, 
Katheles  if  ony  of  them  ys  secretly  entire, 
Swet  lady  then  shortly  make  to  ycm  ys  answere, 
The  hye  mygth  of  God  y8  mystery  first  begane, 
Ze  dameseles  of  jerm  why  wonder  30  so  thane. 

(P.) 

Daniel,  in  his  Thesaurus  Hymnologicus  (1855,  torn.  ii.  p.  336)  gives  the  following  sequence 
or  hymn,  which  is  little  more  than  a  versification  of  five  of  the  Great  O's  of  the  Roman  Church. 
If  two  verses  are  wanting,  viz.,  the  0  SAPIENTIA,  and  the  0  REX  GENTIUM,  is  a  question.  At 
present,  the  history  of  this  sequence  or  hymn  seems  to  be  unknown,  but  it  has  been  ascribed  to 
the  thirteenth  centurv. 


I. 

Veni,  Veni  EMMANUEL, 
(Japtivum  solve  Israel, 
Qui  gemit  in  exilio, 
Privatus  Dei  Filio. 
Gaude,  gaude,  Emmanuel 
Nascetur  pro  te,  Israel. 

II. 

Veni  0  JESSE  VIRGULA, 
Ex  hostis  tuos  ungula, 
De  specu  tuos  tartari 
Educ,  et  antro  barathri. 
Gaude,  etc. 


III. 

Veni,  Veni  0  OMENS, 
Solare  nos  adveniens, 
Noctis  depelle  nebulas, 
Dirasque  noctis  tenebras. 
Gaude,  etc. 

IV. 

Veni  CLAVJS  DAVID, 
Regna  reclude  co3lica, 
Fac  iter  tutum  superum, 
Et  claude  vias  inferum. 
Gaude,  etc. 


240 


On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia  "  in  the  Kalendar. 


V. 

Veni,  Veni  ADONAI 
Qui  populo  in  Sinai 
Lcgcm  dedisti  vertice, 
In  majestate  glorias, 
Gaude,  etc. 

(G) 

In  the  Consuetudinarittm  sive  Liber  Niger,  Ecclesics  Lincolniensis,  cap.  clxv.  (Edited  by  H.  E. 
Reynolds),  we  find  that,  in  the  ferias,  when  "  0  "  is  sung,  the  Lady-bells  at  Lincoln  rang  five 
times  for  Vespers,  as  if  each  day  was  a  feast  with  "  Ruled  choir,"  on  account  of  the  solemnity  "  0." 

(H.) 

John  Aubrey,  in  his  Remaines  of  Gentilisme  and  Judaisme,  written  in  1686-7,  under  the 
heading  West  of  England  Customs,  says,  "  0  Sapientia  (Decemb.  16)  is  a  great  day  observed  by 
the  Schoole-boies ;  and  (I  thinke)  was  before  the  Civil- Warres  bv  the  Undergraduates  at  Oxford: 
if  not  likewise  by  the  Bachelors  of  Art."  (Folk-Lo?-e  Society,  1881,  vol.  iv.  p.  41.) 


The  seven  "  Great  0'«"  of  the  Roman  Church  are  founded  on  the  following  passages  of 

the  Vulgate. 

I. —  0  Sapientia. 

Eccl.  xxiv.  1,5.  Apoc.  xxii.  20. 

Sap.  viii.  1. 


Judith  xvi.  16. 
Exod.  vi.  3. 
i.  Para,  xvii  7. 


Isa.  xi.  10. 
Isa.  lii.  15. 

Isa.  xxii.  22. 
Apoc.  iii.  7 

Zach.  vi.  12. 
Luc.  i.  78. 


II. — 0  AdonaL 

iv.  Reg.  xvii.  36. 
III. — 0  Radix  Jesse. 

IV.— 0  Clams  David. 

V. —  0  Orient. 
Luc.  i.  79. 


Isa.  xl.  14. 

Exod.  iii.  2. 
Act.  vii.  30. 
Exod.  vi.  6. 


Isa.  xi.  10. 
Psal.  xxxix.  18. 

Isa.  xlii.  7. 
Luc.  i.  79. 

Sap.  vii.  26. 
Malac.  iv.  2. 


On  the  words  "  0  Sapientia"  in  the  Kalendar. 
VI.— 0  Rex  Gentium. 


241 


Jer.  x.  7. 

Agg.  ii.  8. 


Isa-  vii-  14- 
Isa-  viii-  8- 


Gen.  ii.  7. 
VII. — 0  Emmanuel. 

Gen.  xlix.  10. 


Isa.  xxviii.  16. 
Eph.  ii.  14,  20. 


Matt.  i.  23. 
Isa.  xxxiii.  22. 


PROOFS  AND  AUTHORITIES. 

(1)  Hone,  Every-day-Book,  vol.  i.  p.  1571. 
Brady,  Clavis  Calendarta,  vol.  ii.  p.  323. 

Blunt,  Annotated  Book  of  Common  Prayer  (1884),  p.  176. 

(2)  Sparrow  Simpson,  Registrum  Stat.  et  Cons.  S.  Pauli,  p.  93. 

(3)  Maskell,  Monwnenta  Ritualia  (1882),  vol.  iii.  pp.  275-282. 

(4)  Lebrun  Desmarettes  (De  Moleon),  Voyages  Liturgiques  (1718),  pp.  13,  65,  72. 

(5)  Encyclopedia  Britannica  (1876),  p.  263. 

Addis  and  Arnold,  Catholic  Dictionary  (1884),  sub  v.  "  Breviary,"  p.  94. 

(6)  Odericus,  Ordo  officiorum  Eccl.  Senensis,  A.D.  1213  (Ed.  Trombelli,  17G6),  pp.  19,  20,  De 

antiphonis  qua?  incipiunt  0. 

(7)  La  Belle  Dame  sans  Mercie,  v.  Third  Stanza  of  The  Envoy. 

(8)  Amalarins,  (ed.  Hittorpius,  Paris,  1610).     De  Ordine  Antiphonarii,  pp.  519-523. 

(9)  Thomasius,  Opera  omnia  (Ed.  Vezzosi,  1749),  vol.  iv.  p.  27. 

(10)  Addis  and  Arnold,  Catholic  Dictionary,  sub  v.  ''Mary,  Feasts  of,"  p.  561. 

(11)  Gueranger,  L'Annee  Liturgique  (Mans,  1841).     UAvent  Liturgique,  pp.  466-74. 

(12)  Hampson,  Medii  ^Evi  Kalendarium,  vol.  ii.  pp.  127,  177-9. 

(13)  De  Rubeis,  Dissertationes  Duce  (Venice,  1754),  pp.  453,  478. 

(14)  Neale,  Essays  on  Liturgiology  (1867),  p.  511. 

(15)  Martene,  De  Antiquis  Monachorum  Rit.,  lib.  ii.  cap.  iv.  para.  v. 

(16)  Wilkins,  Concilia,  vol.  i.  p.  331. 

(17)  Durandus  (1286),  Rationale  Divinorum  Officiurn,  lib.  vi.  cap.  xi. 

(18)  Romsee,  Opera  Liturgica  (1791  and  1838),  torn.  iii.  pp.  9,  10. 

( 1 9)  Grancolas,  Commenlarius  Historicus  in  Romanum  Breviarium  (Venice,  1734),  pp.  90-1, 205-9. 

(20)  Hotham,  in  Smith  and  Cheetham,  Diet.  Christ.  Antiq.  vol.  i.  sub  v.  "Antiphon,"  p.  98. 


242  On  the  words  "O  Sapientia"  in  the  Kalendar. 

(21)  Hampson,  Medii  ^Evi  Kalend.  vol.  ii.  p.  127. 

(22)  Register  of  S.  Osmund  (Rolls  Series),  vol.  ii.  p.  9,  n.  2. 

(23)  Tennyson,  Guinevere,  line  640. 

(24)  Bremarium  ad  usum  Sarum  (Cambridge,  1882),  pp.  cliv.-v. 

(25)  Martene,  De  Antiq.  Monachorwn  Rit.  lib.  iii.  cap.  ii.  par.  xxxiii. 

(26)  Sparrow  Simpson,  Regist.  Stat.  et  Cons.  S.  PauK,  p.  128. 

(27)  Wilkins?,  Concilia,  vol.  i.  p.  555. 

(28)  C/ironicon  Monast.  de  Abingdon  (Rolls  Series,  1858),  vol.  ii.  p.  355. 

(29)  MS.  Liturgical  Collections,  by  Edmund  Bishop. 

(30)  Migne,  Dictionnaire  des  Ablayes  et  Monasteres  (1856),  p.  294. 

(31)  Cardinal  Newman,  Loss  and  Gain,  Part  II.  c.  xx. 

(32)  Browning,  Lyrics,  Romances,  Men  and  Women  (1863,  p.  372),  "The  Bishop  orders  his  tomb 
at  Saint  Praxed's  Church." 

(33)  Migne,  Dictionnaire  des  Cardinaux  (1857),  p.  1430. 
Ciaconius,  vol.  iii.  p.  496. 

Neale,  Comm.  on  the  Psalms,  vol.  i.  pp.  22-3. 
Neale,  Essays  on  Liturgiology  (1867),  pp.  2-4. 

(34)  Clichtoveus  (1515),  Elucidatorium  Ecclesiasticum  ad  Officiurn,  pp.  88-90. 
Schultingius  (1599),  Bibliotheca  Ecclesiastics,  torn.  iii.  pars.  i.  p.  14. 
Gavantus,  1651,  Thesaurus  Sacrorum  Rituitm,  torn.  ii.  sec.  vi.  cap.  ii. 
Saussay,  1654,  Panoplia  Sacerdotalis,  p.  326. 


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