Illyricum: Uncovering the Ancient Cultural Crossroads of Epitaurum

Introduction the life in Illyricum

Illyricum the site map of the ancient cities. Uncovering the ancient cultural across the Epitaurum. Discover the fascinating world of ancient Illyria. So, Illyricum had its own rules and culture differently from Rome and Greece.

So, the Roman province of Illyricum stretched from the Drilon River (the Drin, in modern Albania) in the south to Istria (modern Slovenia and Croatia) in the north and to the Savus (Sava) River in the east; its administrative centre was Salonae (near present-day Split) in Dalmatia.

Site of the Ancient City in Illyricum

The ancient city of Epidaurus, currently occupied by the small town now known as Ragusa Vecchia, and still referred to by its Slavonic-speaking inhabitants as Zavtat or Cavtat (from the earlier Romance form Cicifofe), is situated on a small peninsula opposite the bay where modern Ragusa stands. Although Dalmatian Epidaurus, or Epitaurum, does not appear in history until the Civil Wars, its name indicates that it was likely an Adriatic colonial station of one of its Peloponnesian namesakes. The peninsular site offered early Greek settlers significant advantages on a barbarian coast.

Theories on the Location of Illyricum

Mommsen, who visited this site to collate monuments for the Corpus Inscriptionum, revived an earlier theory by Mannert and others, suggesting that Epitaurum’s site should be sought at Prevlaka, at the entrance of the Bocche di Cattaro, rather than on the Ragusa Vecchia peninsula. Authorities supporting this view point to the Tabula Peutingeriana, which places Epitaurum 105 miles from Lissus and 103 miles from Narona, and Pliny, who makes it equidistant—100 miles—from both. They argue these measurements align only with Prevlaka’s location. However, the Itinerarium Maritimum’s statement that Epitaurum was 200 stadia from the Isle of Melita (Meleda) only fits the Ragusa Vecchia site.

Contradictions and New Findings

Mommsen acknowledges that anyone visiting Ragusa Vecchia, who has seen the amphitheater remains, Roman harbor traces, numerous and imposing inscriptions, and other Roman habitation evidence, cannot deny that a famous and important Roman city existed there, a description applicable only to the Colony of Epitaurum. To reconcile conflicting indications, Mommsen proposed that the original Epitaurum was at Prevlaka but was later transferred to the Ragusa Vecchia site during the Roman Empire’s flourishing period, resulting in an Old and New Epitaurum, similar to Old and New Ragusa.

Critique of Mommsen’s Hypothesis

This hypothesis appears untenable for several reasons. At Prevlaka, only one inscription has been found, referring to a decurion of the Sergian tribe, associated with Risinum and Cattaro’s Roman predecessor, but not with the Epidauritans, who belonged to the Tromentine tribe. This inscription suggests it belonged to one of the known Roman cities of the Rhizonic Gulf. A thorough examination of the Prevlaka isthmus and peninsula reveals no evidence of an ancient town, with no architectural traces or minor relics like pottery or tiles, which typically mark ancient sites.

Discoveries at Ragusa Vecchia

On the other hand, Ragusa Vecchia has yielded indubitable relics of Hellenic interaction from pre-Roman times. Among the coins found here are several silver pieces from Dyrrhachium and Apollonia, dated to the third century B.C., an autonomous coin of Scodra from around 108 B.C., and a small brass coin of Boeotia.

A pale carnelian intaglio representing Apollo Agyieus, guardian of roads and streets, leaning on a pillar and holding his bow, was also unearthed.

The Greek connection with this part of the Dalmatian coast persists in local names, with one Ragusan island preserving in a corrupted form the name of the Elaphites Nesoi.

Further evidence of land communication between Epitaurum and Narona, possibly reconciling Pliny’s and the Tabula Peutingeriana’s statements, is forthcoming. The discovery of the Roman junction road from Epitaurum, running inland rather than along the coast, and an inscription showing that in Claudius’s time, the maritime terminus of this road was at the Ragusa Vecchia site, are notable findings.

Architectural Remains

The architectural remains of Epitaurum are limited due to the rocky soil, which has hindered the accumulation of humus that often preserves ancient building foundations. The Roman city’s remnants have likely been used as a convenient quarry for Ragusa, situated only seven miles across the bay.

However, traces of the quay, parts of the city walls, and steps cut in the rock indicate that several steep and narrow streets of Ragusa Vecchia follow Roman street lines. On the height now crowned by a chapel of St. Rocco, evident remains of the Roman cemetery include oblong sarcophagus cavities cut out of solid rock.

Roman remains are abundant as far as Obod, where a fine tessellated pavement was discovered in the last century, and in the bay itself, walls believed to be Roman are sometimes visible in the shallows.

On the opposite side of Ragusa Vecchia’s current harbor, Roman remains are also traceable. Fragments of sculpture, columns, inscriptions, and monuments, including a representation of a Roman Signifer, are found in the walls and courtyards of the present town.

The Roman Aqueduct

The most significant relic of Roman Epitaurum is undoubtedly the aqueduct, whose remains extend approximately fifteen miles to a mountain source called Vodovalja, on the further side of the Canali plain.

I have traced it throughout most of its course, and from a comparison of its levels, I believe that the water was conducted up eminences by a siphon, using large reservoirs, similar to the aqueducts of Provence.

Unfortunately, the arches spanning the level tracts have perished, although some existed near Epitaurum within living memory.

The last pier of one such arch, just outside Ragusa Vecchia’s present gate, was removed in 1875 to widen the road for Emperor Francis Joseph’s visit.

This aqueduct’s length illustrates the known Roman fastidiousness regarding water supply. Although the aqueduct spanned a nearer, more copious mountain source called Gljuta, it ultimately conducted water from a further source.

Despite its cool and drinkable quality, locals of the Canali district, through which the aqueduct runs, and which it names (the old Serbian Zupa Konavalska), have a prejudice against drinking or bathing in Gljuta water, considering it slightly saline and prone to causing thirst and ague.

This prejudice may be traditional, as the Canalesi, though Slav-speaking today, retain many Illyro-Roman names and physical types.

Structure and Design of the Aqueduct in Illyricum

The existing pier remains are constructed of conglomerate rubble masonry, mortar, and bricks, rather than deftly hewn blocks as seen in Salona’s aqueduct. The most interesting feature of the aqueduct remains is the conduit hewn out of solid rock, which can be traced for miles in the hillier parts of the country. In the last century, according to a manuscript letter from the Republic of Ragusa’s secretary, Antonio Alleti, the aqueduct must have been more perfect. Alleti wrote in 1724 about visiting Canali and riding on horseback through the aqueduct channel.

The aqueduct channel is nearly three times wider in Canali than at Ragusa Vecchia, indicating more water was needed for irrigating fields. Canali remains the best artificially-watered tract in Dalmatia, and its inhabitants seem to have preserved the art of irrigation from ancient times. Upon reaching the peninsular hill of Epitaurum, the aqueduct ran along the northern city wall, descending slightly in part of its course by a subterranean channel tunneled out of the rock, to a semicircular chamber overlooking the ancient quay, possibly part of the public baths.

Excavations and Structural Analysis in Illyricum

In 1878, I excavated a very intact portion of the ancient channel, finding that the channel itself was hewn from limestone rock, while the vault above was constructed of masonry and concrete. The vaulting’s height was precisely five feet, likely to allow workmen to walk along it for repairs. The rock walls sloped inward from the arch’s spring, creating a coffin-like section to accommodate a man’s upper body.

The channel base was trilateral. The vaulting above the rock channel presented a curious cogged or serrated section due to the wooden framework’s planks’ impression on the soft material, with the wood grain itself reproduced in places.

This suggests that the Epitaurian architect employed a unique form of centering, different from modern practices, using overlapping planks supported below on a semicircular framework. The concrete used was very soft, as evidenced by the absence of interstices between the planks.

The water entered the chamber through a semicircular niche with two 8-inch-high steps, opening into a semicircular piscina about 46 feet in diameter, floored with cement, and surrounded by a ledge for bathers to stand on. The depth of the piscina was 3 feet 6 inches, slightly deeper than a similar bath at Pompeii.

The Illyricum, surrounding walls, and ledge, along with the concrete floor of the bath itself, were originally covered with plaques of marble, most of which had been removed by locals. The aqueduct channel continued along the western wall of the building, and then along another wall following the straight side of the piscina. Unfortunately, the rest of the bath buildings have deteriorated too much to allow for reconstruction.

Inscriptions and Civic Life

The site of Epitaurum has yielded a rich collection of inscriptions, many of which are preserved in the Corpus Inscriptionum. The most significant inscription, an honorary dedication by the cities of Upper Illyricum to P. Cornelius Dolabella, who, as Pro-praetor under Tiberius, directed the construction of at least five major roads from Salona into the Dalmatian interior, now exists only in a fragmentary condition.

Discovered at Obod in 1547 in a small quadrangular building along the Roman roadway leading to Epitaurum, the inscription and its fragments have been meticulously studied. The building itself, resembling a low tower, about 18 feet square, appears to have been constructed from the remains of an earlier structure, with fragments of moulding and portions of a triangular arch integrated into its walls.

In addition to the known inscriptions, I discovered a new fragment embedded in a recently constructed wall in the upper part of Ragusa Vecchia in 1875. After learning that the inscription had originally been found in a more complete state, I obtained a native copy of the inscription, allowing for a fuller reconstruction.

On the lower part of a sarcophagus carved out of the solid rock in the Roman cemetery on the Epitaurian peninsula’s summit, I deciphered another fragment of an inscription.

Hearing about a “written stone” found embedded in the Roman aqueduct near the ancient city’s northeast corner, but later removed for building purposes, I persuaded the wall’s owner to allow its re-excavation.

The resulting inscription, though incomplete, sheds light on the municipal duties of the Decuriones, or local Senators, who served a lustrum, or five-year term, revising the list of Decuriones and entering it in the album, or Libro d’Oro, of their civic Republic. This roll of Epitaurum, perpetuated by its offspring Ragusa, was closed by Napoleon within living memory.

The local Aedile, whose name the inscription records, was responsible for the aqueduct, and it is tempting to believe that this magistrate, who also served as municipal Consul and Censor, connected his name with the aqueduct in some significant way. Given the town’s peninsular location, soil character, and drought-prone climate, the city’s water supply, despite the aqueduct, must have been a special concern for civic officers.

Another Epitaurian monument records the Duumviri Jure Dicundo’s public restoration of a large cistern or reservoir. Even today, Ragusa, though equipped with a fifteenth-century aqueduct constructed by a Neapolitan architect, would benefit during dry seasons from such a reservoir as Epitaurum’s magistrates wisely provided.

Civic and Cultural Legacy in Illyricum

The inscriptions from Epitaurum, Illyricum illustrate a strong civic culture. Out of twenty-three known inscriptions, nearly half pertain to the city’s civic government or record public benefactions.

Compared to other Dalmatian towns like Risinium, where only two out of twenty inscriptions relate to the common good, or Narona, where municipal records are fewer despite the presence of private munificence, Epitaurum stands out for its civic records.

This emphasis on civic life is evident in the titles and functions of the local magistrates, the public honors they conferred, and the benefactions they undertook.

Epitaurum’s origins as a Greek colonial city, rather than a native market or Illyrian tribal aggregation later shaped by Roman merchants, likely contributed to its strong civic identity.

The local Senate, or Ordo Decurionatus, and the Plebs of the Roman Municipium were likely a recasting of the Boule and Demos of the original Dorian colony, maintaining a Greek civic tradition within the Roman Empire. Similar patterns are seen in other Greek-founded cities along the Adriatic coast, like Pharia and Issa, where Greek civic structures persisted even under Roman rule.

Hellenic Traditions and Cults in Illyricum

The discovery of Greek coins and gems at Epitaurum, along with inscriptions, suggests the continuation of Hellenic traditions, particularly in religious practices.

Among the gems found at the site, three depict representations of Aesculapius, the god of healing, often associated with Hygieia. This evidence points to the persistence of the Epidaurian cult of Aesculapius in Roman Illyria, even after the advent of Christianity.

One of the most significant ancient tales from Epitaurum involves the Christian triumph over the local serpent cult. St. Jerome, writing in the fifth century, recounts how St.

Hilarion freed the city from a monstrous serpent, a legend that likely reflects the replacement of the pagan Aesculapian cult with Christian worship. The serpent, once a symbol of healing in the Aesculapian cult, became a symbol of evil in Christian narratives.

This transition is emblematic of the broader Christianization of the Roman Empire and the decline of pagan traditions.

Mithraic Worship in Epitaurum

Epitaurum also hosted a Mithraic cult, a religion particularly suited to the region’s limestone caves and rocky landscapes. In my earlier work on Bosnia, I described a Mithraic relief found on Colle S. Giorgio, overlooking Illyricum.

This relief, though weathered, depicts Mithra in the act of sacrificing the sacred bull, flanked by two torchbearers. The presence of such a relief suggests that Mithraic worship persisted in Epitaurum into the late Roman period.

A more complete Mithraic relief was discovered near the village of Mocici, in a limestone grotto known as “Tomina Jama” or “Tom’s Hole.”

Future Prospects and Final Thoughts

As research continues, further discoveries at Epitaurum and its surrounding regions promise to enhance our understanding of the site’s historical and cultural significance.

The blending of Greek, Roman, and Illyrian elements at Epitaurum illustrates the region’s role as a cultural crossroads in the ancient world, where diverse traditions and practices coexisted and influenced one another.

The ongoing excavation and study of the aqueduct, inscriptions, and other remnants of the city’s infrastructure will likely yield additional insights into the daily life, governance, and religious practices of Epitaurum’s inhabitants.

These findings not only enrich our knowledge of Dalmatian antiquity but also contribute to the broader study of Roman provincial cities and their integration into the vast network of the Roman Empire.

In conclusion, Epitaurum stands as a testament to the resilience and adaptability of ancient communities, reflecting a unique blend of cultural influences that shaped its development over centuries. So, about the Illyricum preservation of its history through continued archaeological efforts will ensure that the legacy of this ancient city remains a vital part of our understanding of the past.

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