TILURIUM
Gardun by Trilj, Croatia, Yugoslavia.
The site of the fortress of Legio VII Claudia
pia fidelis. Situated on the top of the hill of St. Petar
over the steep gorge of the Cetina (Hippius) river, it
controlled a large central Delmatian area. There was a
crossing over the Cetina and the camp commanded it
just as Burnum commanded the crossing over the Krka
(Titius) river on the W border of the Delmatae. Both
Tilurium and Burnum were the final fortifications on a
limes of the Roman army established against Illyrian
tribes. The site of camp has not yet been explored archaeologically. The parts of the defenses built into farm buildings can be seen. The site yielded many inscriptions, mostly the tombstones of the legionnaires. A part of a
1st c. Roman triumphal monument is preserved in the
Archaeological Museum at Split, showing the Delmatian
prisoners bound at the foot of the Roman tropaeum.
Legio VII left Tilurium ca. 60 A.D. for Moesia, and the
auxiliary Cohort VIII voluntariorum civium Romanorum
remained there until the 3d c.
The finds are preserved in the Archaeological Collection of the Franciscan Monastery at neighboring Sinj.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
S. Gunjača, “Nov prinos ubikaciji Tiluriuma,”
Vjesnik za arheologiju i historiju dalmatinsku 52
(1935-49) 50-52; G. Alföldy, “Tilurium, ein römische
Legionslager in Dalmatien,”
Banner Jahrbücher 165
(1965) 105-7.
M. ZANINOVIĆ
