AZETIUM
(Rutigliano) Apulia, Italy.
From
the listing of its position in the
Peutinger Table, ca. 12
km SE of Caelia (modern Ceglie del Campo) on the
Via Traiana leading to Egnatia, the site of the city has
been recognized in the environs of modern Rutigliano.
Its name is found on bronze coins from the 3d c. B.C.,
minted in imitation of Tarentine coins. In the itineraries
the corrupt form of the name is Ezetium, while reference
to the center's ethnic makeup, Aegetini, is found only in
Pliny (
HN 3.105) in the Roman form of the name. In a
section of the modern town called Castiello the remains
of megalithic walls are visible. The ruins of a Roman
aqueduct may be seen near the Chapel of S. Loreazo.
Numerous remains from the ancient city are in the Archaeological Museum at Bari.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
W. Smith,
Dictionary of Greek and
Roman Geography, I (1856) 354 (E. H. Bunbury);
RE
II.2 (1896) 2642 (Hülsen); B. V. Head,
Historia Numorum (1911) 45; M. Mayer,
Apulien (1914) 72, 357; K.
Miller,
Itineraria Romana (1916) 375.
F. G. LO PORTO
