Chapter 243

964Now the Ebro.

965Hardouin places this on the site of the modern Fuente de Ivero. The Ebro takes its rise in the Val de Vieso.

966According to D’Anville, the present Logrono. At present the Ebro only becomes navigable at Tudela, 216 miles from the sea. Other writers, however, take Varia to be the present Valtierra, near Tudela.

967Or the Subur, now the Francoli. It flows into the sea at the port of Tarraco, now Tarragona.

968The more ancient commentators think that Carthago Vetus, or the colony of Old Carthage (now Carta la Vieja), is here alluded to, but more probably it is Carthago Nova that is meant.

969On the Subi, previously mentioned; now called Villa Nova.

970Now the Llobregat.

971Their territory was situate around the present Gulf of Ampurias.

972Their chief cities were Gerunda, the present Gerona, and Ausa or Vicus Ausæ, now Vic d’Osona.

973In the country beyond Gerona.

974Living in the upper valley of the river Sicoris or Segre, which still retains, from them, the name of Cerdague.

975The people of the modern Navarre and Guipuzcoa.

976In the later writers Barcelo, now Barcelona. It was said to have been originally founded by Hercules, and afterwards rebuilt by Hamilcar Barcas, who gave it the name of his family. Its name as a Roman colony was Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino. The modern city stands somewhat to the east of the ancient one.

977The modern Badalona, two leagues from Barcelona.

978On the sea-shore,—the present Pineda.

979Now the Tordera.

980The modern city of Blanos stands on its site.

981Probably the present Ter or Tet.

982The modern Ampurias. We learn from Strabo that a wall divided the town of the Greeks from that of the old inhabitants. It was the usual landing-place for travellers from Gaul. It was originally colonized by the Phocæans from Massilia or Marseilles.

983Hardouin says that the Ticher or Tichis is the same with the modern Ter, but in such case Pliny would have mentioned it before coming to Emporiæ. Its present name however does not appear to be accurately known.

984A promontory extending from the Pyrenæan chain, on which a temple of Venus was situate. It is now called Cabo de Cruz. The distance mentioned by Pliny is probably too great.

985The people of the present Tortosa.

986Probably not the same people as the Edetani, in whose district Saguntum and Valencia were situate.

987The people of Gerunda or Gerona.

988They are nowhere else mentioned. Ukert supposes that their city stood in the district between the Sicoris and Nucaria.

989Their city was Tiara Julia.

990The people of Aquæ Calidæ or the ‘Hot Springs,’ called at the present day Caldes, four leagues from the city of Barcelona.

991Ptolemy places Bæcula between Ausa and Gerunda.

992The people of the present Belchite.

993The people of the present Xelsa, on the Ebro.

994The inhabitants of Calagurris, now Calahorra, a city of the Vascones, on the banks of the Ebro. They remained faithful to Sertorius to the last, and after slaughtering their wives and children and eating their flesh, their city was taken and destroyed; which event put an end to the Sertorian war. It was called “Nassica,” in contradistinction to Calagurris Fibularia, which is afterwards mentioned by Pliny. The latter is mentioned by Cæsar as forming one community with Osca (now Huesca), and was probably the present Loarre, though some writers take the first-named Calagurris to be that place, and the latter one to be the present Calahorra.

995The people of Ilerda, the present Lerida, on the Sicoris or Segre. It is memorable for its siege by Cæsar, when the Pompeian forces under Afranius and Petreius had retired thither. It was a most flourishing city, though in the times of the later Roman emperors it had fallen into decay.

996The people of the present Huesca.

997The inhabitants of Turiazo, the present Tarazona, five leagues south of Tudela.

998The people of Cascantum, the present town of Cascante in Navarre.

999The people of Ergavica. Its ruins, at the confluence of the Guadiela and Tagus, are still to be seen, and are called Santaver. By some writers this place is considered to be the same as the modern Fraga, on the river Cinca, five leagues from Lerida.

1000The people of Graccuris. Its former name of Ilurcis was changed in honour of Sempronius Gracchus, who placed new settlers there after the conquest of Celtiberia. It is supposed to be the same as the modern Agreda, four leagues from Tarazona.

1001The people of Leonica, probably the modern Alcaniz, on the river Guadalope, in Arragon.

1002The people of Tarraga, the present Tarrega, nine leagues east of Lerida, in Catalonia.

1003The people of Arcobriga, now Los Arcos, in Navarre, five leagues south of Estella.

1004Perhaps the same as the Andosini, a people mentioned by Polybius, B. iii. c. 35, as situate between the Iberus and the Pyrenees. There is a small town of Navarre called Androilla.

1005The people probably of the site now occupied by Huarte Araquil, six leagues to the west of Pampeluna.

1006Probably the same as the Bursaones of Livy, the Bursavolenses of Hirtius, and the Bursadenses of Ptolemy. Their exact locality is unknown.

1007Mention has been made of Calagurris Fibularensis or Fibulicensis under Calagurris Nassica: see p.168.

1008The people of Complutum, the modern Alcala de Henares, on the river Henares, six leagues to the east of Madrid. It is not quite certain whether it stood on the exact site of Alcala, or on the hill of Zulema, on the other side of the Henares.

1009The town of Cares, adjoining the more modern one of Puente la Reyna, probably marks their site.

1010Probably so called from the river Cinga, the modern Cinca: or they may have given their name thereto.

1011The people probably of the present Mediana on the Ebro, six leagues below Zaragoza.

1012Their town was Larnum, situate on a river of the same name. It was probably the present Torderas, situate on the river of that name.

1013Of this people nothing appears to be known. In the old editions the next people mentioned are the “Ispalenses,” but since the time of Hardouin, they have been generally omitted, as wrongly introduced, and as utterly unknown. Spanish coins have however been more recently discovered with the name ‘Sblaie’ or ‘Splaie,’ inscribed in Celtiberian characters, and numismatists are of opinion that they indicate the name of the town of this people, which in Latin would be Ispala. This at all events is the opinion of M. de Sauley.

1014The people of the present town of Lumbier in Navarre, called by its inhabitants Irumberri.

1015The people of the present city of Pampeluna.

1016Carthago Nova, or New Carthage.

1017The colony of Acci was called Colonia Julia Gemella Accitana. The town of Acci or Accis was on the site of the present Guadix el Viejo, between Granada and Baza. It was colonized by the third and sixth legions under Julius or Augustus, from which it obtained the name of ‘Gemella,’ the origin of which name is previously mentioned, p. 161.

1018The ruins of this place are supposed to be those seen at Lebazuza or Lezuza, not far from the city of Cuença.

1019The “jus Italicum” or “Italiæ,” “Italian rights” or “privileges,” differed from the “jus Latinum.” It was granted to provincial towns which were especially favoured by the magistracy of Rome, and consisted of exemption from taxes, a municipal constitution, after the manner of the Italian towns, and many other rights and exemptions.

1020According to Hardouin, the people of the town formerly called Saliotis, now Cazorla. They are called “Cæsari venales,” from the circumstance of their territory having been purchased by Cæsar.—Castulo or Cazlona has been previously mentioned.

1021The people of Sætabis, now Xativa in Valencia. This town was famous for its manufacture of fine table-napkins, to which reference is made by Pliny at the beginning of his Introduction addressed to Titus, in his quotation from the lament of Catullus on the loss of his table-napkins which his friends had filched from him. See p. 1 of the present volume.

1022According to some writers, the present Cuença was the ancient Valeria; but perhaps it was situate at the present village of Valera la Vieja, or Old Valeria, eight leagues south of Cuença.

1023The people of Alaba, not far from the present town of Ergavica.

1024They were so called from their town of Basti, now Baza, on the river Guadalentin in Granada.

1025Their town was probably the present Consuegra, twelve leagues from the city of Toledo.

1026So called from the promontory Dianium or Artemisium, named from a temple of Diana there situate, and having in its vicinity a town of the same name. The present town of Denia still retains nearly the original name. Its lake, now called Albufera de Valencia, has been previously mentioned, p. 166.

1027The modern Yniesta marks the site of their town.

1028The people probably of Eliocroca, now Lorca, on the high road, from Carthago Nova to Castulo.

1029There were two places of the name of Mentesa, one in the district of the Oritani, and the other in that of the Bastitani or Bastuli.

1030Ptolemy, B. ii., mentions a city of this nation, called ‘Oretum Germanorum.’ It has been supposed that it was the present Calatrava, five leagues from Ciudad Real.

1031Supposed to be in the vicinity of the present Calatajud.

1032The present Toledo.

1033Their town is supposed to have stood on the site of the present Murcia.

1034Now Coruña del Conde.

1035The people of the present Alava on the Ebro.—A small town there still bears the name of Alvana.

1036This nation is not mentioned elsewhere. Possibly they are the Murbogi, mentioned by Ptolemy.

1037Their town Segisamon was either the present Veyzama in Guipuzcoa, or, more probably, Sasamon, eight leagues north-west of Burgos.

1038The people of Carissa, on the site of the present Carixa near Seville.

1039Strabo assigns the Numantini to the Arevacæ, and not the Pelendones. The ruins of the city of Numantia were still to be seen at Puente Garray near the city of Soria, in Hardouin’s time, the 17th century.

1040D’Anville places their city, Intercatia, at the place called Villa nueva de Azuague, forty miles from the present Astorga; others again make it to have been sixty miles from that place.

1041Their town was on the site of the modern city of Palencia, on the river Carion.

1042The people of Cauca, the present Coca, situate between Segovia and Valladolid, on the river Eresma.

1043This was the chief city of the Cantabri. It has been already mentioned, but we may add that it stood near the sources of the Ebro, on the eminence of Retortillo, south of Reynosa. Five stones still mark the boundaries which divided the territory from that of the Fourth Legio.

1044Supposed to be the present Briviesca; the site of Tritium does not appear to be known, but it has been suggested that it was near Najara, in the vicinity of Logrono.

1045It does not appear to be certain whether the Areva was the present Ucero, or the Arlanzon, which flows near Valladolid.

1046The modern Siguenza.

1047Now El Burgo d’Osma, in the province of Soria.

1048This must not be mistaken for the modern Segovia, between Madrid and Valladolid: it was a small town in the vicinity of Numantia.

1049Probably the present Lerma, on the river Arlanza.

1050The people of Asturica Augusta, now Astorga, in the province of Leon. The ruins of this fine city are said still to give a perfect idea of a fortified Roman town.

1051Their chief city stood on the site of the present Cigarrosa, or San Estevan de Val de Orres. Its ruins are still to be seen, and a Roman bridge, the people preserving a tradition that an old town once stood there called Guigurra.

1052The people of Lance or Lancia, probably the present Lollanco or Mansilla; though Oviedo has been suggested. This however may be the Ovetum mentioned by Pliny in B. xxxiv. c. 17.

1053Mentioned by Pliny in B. xix. c. 2, as famous for their flax. Their locality near the coast does not appear to be exactly known. The Pæsici previously mentioned were situate on the peninsula of Cabo de Penas.

1054Now the city of Lugo in Gallicia.

1055The people of Bracara Augusta, now Braga. Among the ruins of the ancient city are the remains of an aqueduct and an amphitheatre. This people probably derived their name from their fashion of wearing braccæ, “breeches” or “trowsers,” like their neighbours of Gallia Braccata. The exact localities of the various other tribes here mentioned do not appear to be exactly known.

1056Our author is mistaken here, even making allowance for the shortness of the Roman mile (1618 yards), as the length is only 470 miles. Coastwise it is 620.

1057Now Oyarzun. It is also mentioned in B. iv. c.34.

1058He is also in error here; for, taken in a straight line, this distance is but 210 miles.

1059The distance is about 560 miles.

1060It may be worth while here to take some notice of the mineral productions of Spain in modern times, from which we shall be able to form a more accurate judgement as to the correctness of the statement here made by Pliny. Grains of gold are still to be found in the rivers Tagus and Douro; but there is not found sufficient of the precious metal to pay for the search. Silver is found in the mines of the Guadal canal. Copper and lead are to be found in abundance. There is a mine of plumbago four leagues from Ronda; and tin is found in Gallicia. In every province there are iron mines, those in Biscay being the most remarkable. Lodestone is found in Seville, cobalt on the Pyrenees, quicksilver and cinnabar at Almaden, arsenic in Asturias, and coal in Asturias and Arragon. There are salt-mines at Mingrilla and Cardona; alum is found in Arragon, antimony at Alcaraz. On the Sierra Morena, and in Gallicia, there is saltpetre in numerous localities; amber in Asturias and Valencia, and sulphur in Murcia, Arragon, and Seville. Pipe-clay of a peculiar quality is found in the vicinity of Andujar. Gypsum and marble are found in great abundance, and stone for budding purposes, of the best quality. Amethysts, white cornelians, rubies, agates, garnets, and rock crystals, with other precious stones, are also found in abundance and of the finest quality.

1061Transparent stone. Further mention is made of it by Pliny in B. xxxv. c. 45.

1062Or Mediterranean.

1063From the chief city Narbo Martius, and later Narbona, now Narbonne, situate on the river Atax, now Aude. It was made a Roman colony by the Consul Q. MartiusB.C.118, and from him received its surname. It was the residence of the Roman governor of the province and a place of great commercial importance. There are scarcely any remains of the ancient city, but some vestiges of the canal, by which it was connected with the sea at twelve miles’ distance.

1064From the linen breeches which the inhabitants wore, a fashion which was not adopted by the Romans till the time of the Emperors. Severus wore them, but the use of them was restricted by Honorius.

1065Still called the ‘Var.’ It divides France from Nice, a province of Sardinia.

1066Now the Cevennes. They lie as much to the west as the north of Gallia Narbonensis.

1067The range of the Jura, north of the Lake of Geneva.

1068Inhabiting the former Comté de Roussillon, or Département des Pyrénées Orientales. They were said to have been originally a Bebrycian or Thracian colony.

1069Probably the inhabitants of the present Conserans, on the west of the Département de l’Arriége.

1070Probably the Tech, and the Verdouble, which falls into the Gly.

1071Probably the present Elne, on the Tech.

1072The present Castel Roussillon.

1073The Aude of the present day.

1074The bodies of water now called Etangs de Bages et de Sigean.

1075Now the Herault.

1076Now called the Lez, near the city of Montpellier.

1077Now called Etangs de Leucate, de Sigean, de Gruissan, de Vendres, de Thau, de Maguelonne, de Perols, de Mauguio, du Repausset; Marais d’Escamandre, de Lermitane et de la Souteyrane, and numerous others.

1078Now the town of Agde. Strabo also informs us that this place was founded by the Massilians.

1079This people seems to have inhabited the eastern parts of the departments of l’Arriége and the Haute Garonne, that of Aude, the south of that of Tarn, and of that of Herault, except the arrondissement of Montpellier.

1080Dalechamp takes this to be Foz les Martigues; but the locality is doubtful. Most probably this is the same place that is mentioned by Strabo as Rhoë, in conjunction with the town of Agathe or Agde, and the Rodanusia of Stephen of Byzantium, who places it in the district of Massilia or Marseilles.

1081Now the Rhone.

1082Now the Lake of Geneva.

1083The modern Saone.

1084Now the rivers Isère and Durance.

1085Most probably from Libici, a town in the south of Gaul, of which there are coins in existence, but nothing else seems to be known. At the present day there are four mouths of the Rhone, the most westerly of which is called the “Dead” Rhone; the next the “Lesser” Rhone; the third the “Old” Rhone; and the fourth simply the Rhone. D’Anville considers the “Lesser” Rhone to have been the “Spanish” mouth of the ancients. In consequence of the overflowings of this river there is great confusion upon this subject.

1086This mouth of the Rhone was much used by the Massilians for the purposes of commerce with the interior of Gaul, and the carriage of the supplies of tin which they obtained thence.

1087The manner in which Pliny here expresses himself shows that he doubts the fact of such a place having even existed; it is mentioned by none of the preceding geographers, and of those who followed him Stephen of Byzantium is the only one who notices it. An inscription was found however in the reign of Charles V. of France, in which it was stated that Ataulphus, king of the Visigoths, selected Heraclea as his place of residence. On the faith of this inscription, Spon and Ducange have placed Heraclea at the modern Saint-Gilles, and other writers at Saint-Remy, where the inscription was found. Unfortunately, however, Messrs. Devic and Vaissette, in their “History of Languedoc,” have proved that this inscription is of spurious origin.

1088The “Fossæ Marianæ” are also mentioned by Ptolemy and Solinus; though they differ in the situation which they have respectively assigned them. They were formed by Marius when advancing to dispute the passage of the Rhone with the Cimbri, who had quitted Spain for the purpose of passing the Pyrenees and invading Italy, in the yearB.C.102. There is considerable difficulty in determining their position, but they are supposed to have commenced at the place now called the Camp of Marius, and to have terminated at the eastern mouth of the Rhone near the present Arles.

1089Pliny is the first who mentions the name of this lake, though previous writers had indicated its existence. Strabo informs us that above the mouth of the Rhone there is a large lake that communicates with the sea, and abounds in fish and oysters. Brotier and D’Anville identify it with the present lake of Martigues or of Berre.

1090D’Anville takes this place to be the present town of Martigues; Brotier thinks that it was situate on the spot now called Le Cap d’Œil, near the town of Saint-Chamas; and Bouche, the historian of the Province, places it at Marignane, on the east side of the lake already mentioned.

1091“Campi Lapidei,” called by the natives at the present day “La Crau;” probably from the same Celtic root as our word “Crags;” though Bochart derives it from the Hebrew. Æschylus and Hyginus speak of this combat of Hercules, and Mela relates that being engaged in a mortal struggle with Albion and Geryon, the sons of Neptune, he invoked the aid of Jupiter, on which a shower of stones fell from the heavens and destroyed his antagonists. Those on this plain are said to be the remains of the stony shower. It is supposed by the scientific that many of these stones are aërolites, and that tradition has ingeniously adapted this story to their real origin. The vicinity of Tunbridge Wells presents a somewhat similar appearance.

1092The people probably of the site of the present isle of Camargue.

1093They probably inhabited the district south of the Durance, between it and the Rhone.

1094They inhabited the country in which the present Avignon, Orange, Cavaillon, and perhaps Carpentras are situate.

1095They are thought by Hardouin to have dwelt in the vicinity of the present town of Talard in the department of the Hautes Alpes.

1096They inhabited the eastern part of the departments of the Drôme and the Vaucluse.

1097Their territory comprehended the southern part of the department of the Ain, the department of the Isère, the canton of Geneva, and part of Savoy.

1098It was said to have been colonized from Phocæa, a town of Ionia in Asia Minor. Lucan in his Third Book more than once falls into the error of supposing that it was colonized from Phocis in Greece.

1099We learn from Justin, B. xliii., that this privilege, as well as others, and a seat at the public shows, were granted to the Massilians by the Roman Senate, in return for their sympathy and assistance after the city had been taken and plundered by the Gauls.

1100According to D’Anville the present Cap de l’Aigre, though Mannert takes it to be the Cap de la Croisette.

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