Veteres and the Cugerni Tribe: a Final Identification of the German God in Northern England

Map Courtesy https://www.livius.org/pictures/a/maps/map-of-xanten/

Over the years I have wrestled with several possible etymologies and origins for the god Veteres, found worshipped in the frontier zone along Hadrian's Wall.  Being an avowed Celtophile, it has always been my tendency to resort to Celtic solutions to such riddles.  But as is often the case in the very cosmopolitan Roman world, better explanations can reveal themselves - once we can get past our personal biases.

Years ago I wrote the following on Veteres:

The H- spellings of Veteris are listed in Guy de la Bedoyere’s “Gods and Goddesses of Roman Britain”:

Hveterus/Hviteres, and variants.

Carrawburgh: altar to the Hviteres. RIB 1549

Hadrian's Wall (exact location unknown): altar to the Hvitires. RIB 2069

Housesteads: altar to Hveteris by Superstes and Regulus. RIB 1602

Housesteads: altar to Hvitris by Aspuanis. RIB 1603

Netherby: altars to Hveterus and Hvetirus. RIB 969 and 973

The other forms/spellings, and distribution of the dedications (from the same source), are as follows:

Veter/Veteres/Vheteris/Viter/Vitiris/Votris, variously male or female, singular or plural, and numerous other variants.

Benwell: altar to Vetris. RIB 1335

Benwell: altar to the Vitires. RIB 1336

Carrawburgh: altar to Veteris by Uccus. RIB 1548

Carvoran: altar to Veteris by Necalames. RIB 1793

Carvoran: altar to Veteris by Necalames. RIB 1794

Carvoran: altar to Vetiris by Julius Pastor, imaginifer of cohors II Delmatarum. RIB 1795

Carvoran: altar to Vetiris by Andiatis. RIB 1796

Carvoran: altar to Veteris. RIB 1797

Carvoran: altar to Viteris. RIB 1798

Carvoran: altar to Vitiris by Menius Dada. RIB 1799

Carvoran: altar to Vitiris by Milus and Aurides. RIB 1800

Carvoran: altar to Vitiris by Ne[ca]limes (sic, but see 1793-4 above). RIB 1801

Carvoran: altars to the Veteres. RIB 1802-4

Carvoran: altar to the Vitires by Deccius. RIB 1805

Catterick: altar to Vheteris by Aurelius Mucianus. RIB 727

Chester-le-Street: altar to Vitiris by Duihno. RIB 1046

Chester-le-Street: altar to the goddesses the Vitires by Vitalis. RIB 1047

Chester-le-Street: altar to the goddesses the Vit(ires). RIB 1048

Chesters: altar to Vitiris by Tertulus. RIB 1455

Chesters: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1456

Chesters: altar to Vitiris. RIB 1457

Chesters: altar to Votris. RIB 1458

Corbridge: altar to Vetiris. RIB 1139

Corbridge: altar to Vitiris. RIB 1140

Corbridge: altar to Vit(iris) by Mitius. RIB 1141

Ebchester: altar to Vitiris by Maximus. RIB 1103

Ebchester: altar to Vitiris. RIB 1104

Greatchesters: altar to Vetiris. RIB 1728

Greatchesters: altar to the Veteres by Romana. RIB 1729

Greatchesters: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1730

Hadrian's Wall (exact location unknown): altar to Veteris. RIB 2068

Housesteads: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1604

Housesteads: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1605

Housesteads: altar to the Veteres by Aurelius Victor. RIB 1606

Lanchester: altar to Vit(iris). RIB 1087

Lanchester: altar to Vitiris by [....], princeps. RIB 1088

Piercebridge: altar to Veteris. Brit. v (1974), 461, no. 3

South Shields: altar to Vitiris by Cr[...]. Brit. xviii (1987), 368, no. 7

Thistleton: silver plaque to Vete[ris] by Mocux[s]oma. RIB 2431.3

Vindolanda: altar to [V]ete[r]is. RIB 1697

Vindolanda: altar to Veteris. RIB 1698

Vindolanda: altar to the Veteres by Senaculus. RIB 1699

Vindolanda: altar to the Veteres by Longinus. Brit. iv (1973), 329, no. 11

Vindolanda: altar to the Veteres by Senilis. Brit. iv (1973), 329, no. 12

Vindolanda: altar to Vetir. Brit. vi (1975), 285, no. 6

Vindolanda: altar to Ve[ter]. Brit. vi (1975), 285, no. 7

Vindolanda: altar to the Vitirum. Brit. x (1979), 346, no. 8

York: altar to Veter by Primulus. RIB 660

This is the inscription with the conflation with Mogons at Netherby:

971 (altar)

DEO

MOGONT

VITIRE SAN

AEL SECUND

V S L M

And the dedications at Netherby to Hveterus and Hvetirus, alluded to already above:

969 (altar; secondary inscription)

D[EO] HV[E}TER[I]

973 (altar)

DEO HVETIRI

When I looked at the initial H-, I first thought of an aspirate, such as the H- we now use conventionally for the Greek name Hekate, originally ‘ekata.  I also thought about the Irish H-prothesis.  Neither of these ideas seemed very helpful, but I did have one last possibility come to mind: what about something akin to Old English hwyttre, hwitere, forms of the word hwit, meaning “white”? 

I thought of this because the Chesterholm Roman fort was called Vindolanda, the ‘White/Bright/Fair Moor/Heath’ (Rivet and Smith).  This fort has the second highest concentration of dedications to Veteris; only Carvoran has more.  And this means Vindolanda could, conceivably, be the cult center of Veteres.  Netherby, where we find Mogons Veteres, is hard by the ‘White Dales’ (Gwenddolau) of Myrddin.  His sister was named Gwenddydd, 'White day.' W. Gwen-, of course, is the feminine form of Gwyn, 'White.'

Old English hwīt (comparative hwītra, superlative hwītost),  “white”

Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kweit-. Cognate with Old High German wīz (German weiß), Old Norse hvítr (Swedish vit).

Spellings in declension such as hwitre, etc.

When I wrote to Professor Matasovic about this, he responded thusly:

“OE hwitere is a good formal match to Viteris. But the word for 'white' is inherited in Germanic, of course (cf. its correspondent in Lith. kviečiai 'wheat'); it is not a borrowing from Celtic. Irish h-prothesis is much older, and in Greek h- is from *s- or *sw-, so the spelling hv- in Vitires probably indicates that the name is not Celtic. The connection with Vindolanda seems attractive, if this god was really worshipped there, but the etymology will work only if the name is Germanic. Were there Germanic mercenaries or auxiliary troops in Vindolanda and other places where Vitires is attested? If so, the connection of Vitiris with 'white' is quite convincing, as far as etymologies of proper names go.”

I did not really pursue the matter until just recently, when I approached Professor Roger Tomlin on this possibility.  He responded thusly:

"Your idea that ‘Veteres’ is derived from a Germanic word for ‘white’ seems plausible to me. With the many variants of the name, including the extraordinary ‘h’–variants, it seems very likely that it was transmitted orally, and confusion with Latin uetus likely."

Bolstered by this measured endorsement of my idea, I returned to the question asked by Prof. Matasovic, viz. could I connect a German group to a place where Veteres is attested?  I soon found that answer to be YES!

The spelling Hviter- is found at Carrawburgh.  And only a very little research showed me that the Cugerni had been there, as well as at Newcastle Upon Tyne.  Here is what we know about the Cugerni in Britain as drawn from Michael G. Garrett's NON-LEGIONARY TROOPS IN BRITAIN:

Why are the Cugerni significant in the context of possible Veteres worship?  Because they came from Castra Vetera in Germany.  See

https://www.livius.org/articles/people/cugerni/

https://www.livius.org/articles/place/xanten/xanten-cut/

https://www.livius.org/articles/place/xanten/

https://www.livius.org/articles/place/xanten/xanten-vetera-ii/

Note that we do not have a satisfactory etymology for Vetera.  It is unlikely to be related to Latin vetus, veteranus, etc.  

I would propose, therefore, that Veteres (a word from a root meaning 'white') was a god or perhaps genius of the place on the Rhine who was brought into Britain by the Cugerni.  Support for this argument may be found in the identification of Veteres at Netherby with a god named Mogonti.  'Mogons' is the god of Mogontiacum at the confluence of the Rhine and the Main. 

At this point I do not feel the need to explore the Veteres name further.  In fact, I note that Rudolf Simek in his DICTIONARY OF NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY says of the matronibus Veteranehis of Germany that for this group of mother goddesses "a derivation from the name of a camp Castra Vetera is to be preferred." 

NOTE:

Where might the main shrine of Veteres have been located, assuming there was such a thing? 

Well, simplistic though it sounds, if I'm right and Veteres owes it etymology to a Germanic root meaning "white", then it may not be a coincidence that the Vindolanda Roman fort, whose name means the 'White (or bright or fair) Moor' (see Rivet and Smith's THE PLACE-NAMES OF ROMAN BRITAIN) and which is not too far to the east of Carrawburgh, just happens to have yielded the second highest number of Veteres dedications.  

The site with the most Veteres dedications is Carvoran, just a little west of Carrawburgh.  

CARVORAN AND YORK OF ROMAN DALMATIAN MILITARY UNITS: WERE ONE OF THESE PLACES THE ORIGIN OF THE ARTHUR NAME?

York and Carvoran in Relation to Four Arthurian Battle Sites, Including Camboglanna/Castlesteads

The Multangular Tower is a remnant of the Roman Legionary fortress (http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/yorkshire/york_walls_eboracum.html)

Originally built to protect the junction between the Stanegate Road and Maiden Way, Carvoran Roman Fort (known as Magna) later became part of the defences associated with Hadrian’s Wall and the northern frontier of the Roman Empire (http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/north_east/roman_army_museum_carvoran.html)

In previous articles, I've shown pretty conclusively that the 2nd century Roman officer Lucius Artorius Castus, who served in Britain as prefect of the Sixth Legion at York, was of Dalmatian origin.  Furthermore, commanders with whom he was directly or indirectly associated also seemed to have been born in Dalmatia. For these pieces, see the following links:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/07/lucius-artorius-castus-no-sarmatian.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/10/lucius-artorius-castus-birth-and-death.html

A related question concerns the presence in Britain during the late Roman period of Dalmatian military units.  Such units are attested in several places, and in garrison at three.  Two forts in particular are of potential interest to us when it comes to exploring how the Roman/Latin name Artorius happened to appear in Northern Britain in 5th-6th century under its native spelling of Arthur.  

These forts are Carvoran and York. The first definitely housed a Dalmatian cohort.  I have mentioned that a memorial stone there was erected in honor of a woman from Salona in Dalmatia - the birthplace of Lucius Artorius Castus.  York is a bit more problematic, as while the actual legionary fortress was the headquarters of the Sixth, there is a good possibility the colonia across the river (the Praesidium of the NOTITIA DIGNITATUM?) was garrisoned by Dalmatian cavalry.  A corrupt Welsh TRIAD states that an Arthur Penuchel or 'the Overlord' (translation Professor Patrick Ford) was a son of Eliffer of York.  

I've pointed out that Carvoran is the next Hadrian's Wall fort to the east of Banna/Birdoswald, which I selected as Arthur's most likely birthplace in my book THE ARTHUR OF HISTORY.  Camboglanna/Castlesteads, Arthur's Camlan, is immediately to the west of Banna and is, like the latter fort, in the Irthing Valley.  The Irthing may be derived from the Cumbric word for bear, and the Artenses or 'People of the Bear' (a tribal designation preserved in the Arthwys of Welsh tradition) almost certainly resided in this valley.  The name Arthur is linked to arth, 'bear', in early Welsh poetry.  The prominence given to the draco in the admittedly questionable Galfridian tradition prompted me to look towards the Dacian garrison at Banna as the home of Arthur's father Uther Pendragon. 

Now, on the one hand, all of these seeming correspondences could merely be coincidence.  If they are and we cannot support the argument for actual ethnic continuation as a means of explaining the presence of the Artorius name in sub-Roman northern Britain[1], how could we best account for Arthur there at that time?

Well, we need only accept the proposition that, say, the sub-Roman population inhabiting the area about Carvoran had inherited the Artorius name from the earlier period.  In other words, the name alone was passed down through the generations.  The presence of the neighboring Artenses or 'People of the Bear', and a Cumbric tendency to relate the name Artorius/Arthur to their own word for bear, 'arth', may have prompted the chieftain ruling from Banna in the Irthing Valley (viz. the 'terrible/horrible chief-dragon') to adopt Arthur as his son's name. He may have been related to the people at/near Carvoran. We might go further with an unprovable, but intriguing supposition, i.e. that Uther's wife and Arthur's mother came from Carvoran. In which case, she would have brought the Arthur name with her.  We should remember that Carvoran is only 3 miles east of Birdoswald.

Obviously, we cannot discount the colonia of York as either the birthplace of Arthur or the home of his mother. We lack evidence for the occupation of Carvoran in the sub-Roman period, yet can easily supply proof of such for York. Still, given the significant geographical gap, establishing a connection between Banna and York seems a great deal more tentative.  The Welsh genealogies, however, had no problem with the additional distance, for they made Arthwys (the man of the 'People of the Bear') the father of Eliffer of York.  

We should also bear in mind the Constantine said by Geoffrey of Monmouth to be the father of Uther Pendragon, a personage derived primarily from the usurping emperor Constantine III.  This Constantine - hailing as he did from Britain - had consciously modelled himself after Constantine the Great (so much so that he named or, rather, renamed his sons after those of his more famous predecessor).  Constantine the Great is intimately associated with York. His father died there and he was proclaimed emperor there.  In Welsh tradition, Constantine father of Uther is given the epithet Waredwr, 'Deliverer, Liberator'.  This matches the Liberator title taken by Constantine the Great, which is found in Greek sources as eleutherios.  Eliffer of York is a Welsh form of Eleutherius.  I mentioned above that a corrupt Welsh TRIAD gives an Arthur as son of this Eliffer.  We know that Eliffer belongs to York not only because of his Welsh epithet ('of the Great Retinue', a poetic reference to the legion at York), but because in later Welsh literature his son Peredur is called son of Ebrauc/Efrawg, the latter being an obvious eponym for Eboracum, the Roman name of York.  

And I keep coming back to the rather remarkable Dalmatian presence in Roman Britain before and during the time of LAC:  Julius Severus, a Dalmatian, served as governor.  Statius Priscus, the governor at the time of LAC, was quite probably Dalmatian and served under Severus.  He may have been hand-picked for the governorship by Severus.  Severus's son Julius Verus also served as British governor.  Thus at least for this period some of the top positions in Britain were held by Dalmatians. 

Finally, we must not forget that LAC most likely derived considerable fame not only from his actions in Armenia, but by heroic deeds performed while he was in Britain.  This is LAC’s career as arranged by Miletic (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330926088_Lucius_Artorius_Castus_i_Liburnia):

dies natalis c. 104 miles 121-135 centurio legionis III Gallicae 135-138 centurio legionis VI Ferratae 139-142 centurio legionis II Adiutricis 143-146 centurio legionis V Macedonicae 147-150 primus pilus legionis V Macedonicae 151 praepositus classis Misenatium 152-154 praefectus castrorum legionis VI Victricis 155-162 dux legionariorum  et auxiliorum  Britannicorum adversus Armenios 162-166 procurator centenarius provinciae Liburniae 167-174

While these dates are broad, general estimates, let us assume the years for LAC in Britain in close to being correct.  I have these things as happening -

c. 157 (or even earlier; see Anthony Birley's THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT OF BRITAIN)

Gnaeus Julius Verus, Governor

Brigantes subdued

c. 158 Antonine Wall permanently abandoned

Reconstruction of Hadrian's Wall commences

160

. . . ]anus Lep. [ . . . ] =?[M(arcus) Pisib]an(i)us

Lep. [idus], Governor

161/2

Marcus Statius Priscus, Governor

In other words, LAC almost certainly played a role in major operations along both Walls.  This would have been more than enough to earn him significant glory and to cause his name to be heralded among fellow Dalmatians.  

I took my question on the survival of the Artorius name either at or near Carvoran or York  - versus actual ethnic continuity within a population at least in part descended from a Dalmatian garrison - to Professor Doctor Drazen Marsic of The University of Zadar (http://www.unizd.hr/arheologija/djelatnici/drazen-marsic).  His reply was very supportive:

"As far as I know about the subject of LAC and from the data you presented to me I think your theory has a good basis. If the LAC gained fame in Britain and if there were Dalmatians in the garrisons there, and there were, then the story of him had to / could remain in the oral tradition of local population - Dalmatian, mixed, it doesn't matter. I think the gradual loss of the Dalmatian character of the dalmatian units is not crucial on the issue. But I have a feeling that if this really happened the name Artorius / Arthur could have had some meaning close to the some word / name in local language. And maybe that also helped in the preserving of LAC's memory. Everything said here works if the LAC was Dalmatian. Artorii in Dalmatia have been followed only since the 2nd century AD and according to the opinion of my colleague prof. Glavičić [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269990062_Artorii_u_rimskoj_provinciji_Dalmaciji_The_Artorii_in_the_Roman_Province_of_Dalmatia] LAC could be the founder of a branch of Artorius family in Dalmatia... But I suppose he did not know about Marcianus' inscription from Adana province. And yes, it's really interesting one and it might be worth examining whether there were other Dalmatians in the legion of XII Keraunophoros." 

Roger Tomlin merely said, "I can't deny the possibility, of course." 

If we may allow for the name Artorius having been transmitted through the centuries in Northern Britain, then the most likely place for that to have happened would have been Carvoran (see the italicized section of Dr. Tomasz Dziurdzik's statement in Note 1 below). While such transmission cannot be proven to have occurred, I do think for the reasons expressed above that it is a reasonable assumption.  

[1]

Professor Roger Tomlin on the possibility of ethnic/cultural continuation among Dalmatian units in Roman Britain:

"I agree that Artorius Castus likely came from Salona, but his name is Italian and he would have been descended from a legionary veteran settled there. His name would not have been regarded as distinctively 'Dalmatian'.

The Carvoran tombstone (Magnis being garrisoned by Dalmatians) does indeed show a connection with Salona, but if the woman was married to a serving soldier, she would be third-century. Trouble is, the Second Cohort of Dalmatians came to Britain at the Conquest, and it is most unlikely that it recruited from Dalmatia for centuries afterwards. The only member whose origin I know is the recipient of the diploma of AD 135, and he came from Trier. The bulk of the evidence shows that frontier units recruited locally – true, many recruits would have been descended from earlier members of the unit, so you may have some Dalmatian DNA, not that they would have known it – and I can't imagine that a 'Dalmatian' tradition lasted for centuries at Carvoran or elsewhere.

Likewise the equites Dalmatae at Praesidium. These units are thought to be originally detachments from Gallienus' field army when it was broken up. Centuries of continued recruitment from Dalmatia is most unlikely.

A Latin nomen such as Artorius would be transmitted by descent, by manumission of slaves, as a compliment to the patron who gained one citizenship. None of these mechanisms seems likely with a mid-second century officer in Britain whose military distinction was only achieved after he had left Britain. 

I am all for continuity, but I don't think we can accept this one."

And the following from Dr. Tomasz Dziurdzik of the University of Warsaw, who has studied the Dalmatian Roman units in detail:

"Please take into consideration that I am by no means an expert on Britannia, however, if I can offer you some of my thoughts, I would suggest the following:

1. the name Artorius indeed appears several times in Dalmatia, but it seems to be limited to the part of the population of non-native descent - the settlers from Italia. Not only the name itself is of foreign origin, but the assumption that it was only used by this part of Dalmatia's population is strengthened by several factors. Firstly, there is no example I can find of the name attested in an inscription from the hinterland (where there were fewer Italic settlers than on the coast). Moreover, it is never present in an inscription together with any names that are considered "local" (mostly Illyrian). Additionally, when it is used, the persons mentioned in the inscriptions bear names which follow the Roman naming practices, and the use of tria nomina suggests that they were Roman citizens - which is of importance for further consideration. I believe that "LAC" himself was of settler origin and from an onomastic point of view should be viewed as an "outside" element in his native province.

2. Turning to the "Dalmatian" elements in Britannia, the problem with Late Roman "Dalmatian" units is that they had little or virtually no connection to Dalmatia at all. The units at Branodunum and Praesidio belonged to the class of "equites Dalmatae". They were either created from a part of the original formation (which was named after the place it was probably organized from remnants of other units, not after the ethnic origin of soldiers) and sent to Britannia; or created in Britannia as an emulation of a particular class of light cavalry. So far I haven't been able to find a single soldier of the entire class in the whole Empire who I could say with any degree of confidence was of Dalmatian origin. On the contrary, there are multiple cases of non-Dalmatians serving in such units, and in most of those cases they were recruited somewhere in the near vicinity of where the unit was garrisoned. 

As such I believe only the unit at Magnis could possibly be considered for your idea, as it is a cohort from the early Principate (cohors II Delmatarum), when ethnic/regional recruitment was a thing. Indeed it appears that there were still ethnic Dalmatians in the unit when it arrived there in the early 2nd century (or earlier, the exact date is not really clear from what I see). It may be possible that some kind of "cultural memory" existed in the area they were garrisoned, especially if some of them arrived with their spouses, but it would be difficult to prove without a very detailed study - and very much dependant on the available evidence. Even if so, if naming customs could survive 400+ years in a community surrounded by "others" is another question in itself... Especially since later recruitment, while often included sons of soldiers, would contribute to the constant "dilution" of the original ethnic composition of the unit, as would intermarriage with neighbouring groups.

3. However, I strongly believe that the people serving in this unit would not be using the name Artorius at all. The group which would use the name Artorius in Dalmatia, the Italic settlers, would simply not contribute to the unit. In the early Principate, when regional recruitment was still practiced for this unit, it was the non-citizens who would be drafted in Dalmatia. It was in fact a matter of policing the provincial population - sending some of the young men of the most unreliable part of the population away from their area of origin decreased the chances of any unrest. As such, if any traditional names were to survive among the offsprings of soldiers from Dalmatia in Britannia, I believe it would be the names they themselves carried, the "local" names.

To sum up, I think that unfortunately the possibility of the "Dalmatian connection" for the name Artorius arriving in Britain, surviving long enough and turning into Arthur is too weak to follow. I understand how you came to this interesting idea, but unfortunately the combination of local, Dalmatian realities & the way Roman recruitment worked make it rather impossible."

And this from Professor Dino Dimicheli from the University of Zagreb:

 "I'm glad you're trying to expand some new thoughts and ideas about

Artorius and Dalmatian population in Roman Britain.

The Artorius' place of origin is Salona or its surroundings, several

scholars pointed to that. Beside the most popular inscription, there is

another one mentioning his achievements from the second half of his

career.  I presume you're familiar with the volume published after the

international conference about Artorius held in Podstrana.

The linguistic path from Artorius to Arthur is explainable, but one of the

most acceptable theories to link these two characters (if there is a link

at all) is that the name Artorius should be understood as a title whic was

given to the extraordinary individuals for their bravery or some similar

qualities. It means that Artorius was so popular for his achievements

among the population in Britain that he became a legend and his name

remained as a metaphor for a man with exceptional leading qualities.

I don't know if the members of Dalmatian cohorts garrisoned in Britain had

some active role in keeping this legend alive, but I must say that in that

period (late 2nd century and later) I'm not sure how many Dalmatians we

can expect in the Dalmatian cohort in Britain. Namely, after one or two

generations of its establisment, almost every national cohort recruited

its newcomers either locally or from other provinces. After more than a

century of its establishment the name does not prove the ethnic majority

of the cohort. I can't claim that in second half of the 2nd century

Dalmatian peregrines didn't serve in Britain in larger scale, but

onomastic picture doesn't corroborate this because of the small number of

monuments. Aurelia Aia, which you mentioned, is only an indirect proof

that in the 3rd century there were Dalmatians served in Britain.

Unfortunately, we don't was it Dalmatian cohort or some other unit.

Your opinion does have sense in theory, and it is very interesting, but at

this moment is a bit stretched since one cannot confirm it due to the lack

of the epigraphic monuments.

Though, it seems that the Dalmatian generals were quite popular in Britain

during second century :) You mentioned Sextus Julius Severus, his son was

also governor there, than Artorius (although not as senator). In the third

century there was Desidienus Aemilianus*, prefect (perhaps of cohort I

Tungrorum, RIB 1589), who also could have been from Salona.

You've mentioned the possible Dalmatian origin of M. Statius Priscus.

The Statii were quite important family in Dalmatia, especially in Risinium."

* J. Wilkes, http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10470/2/10470_7267-vol2.PDF: "The prefect at Housesteads (of I Tungrorum) bears an unusual nomen not found in any province except Dalmatia where Desidieni occur

amonst the honestiores of Salonae.  The name appears to be manufactured from an Illyrian root and we can confidently suggest a Dalmatian origo for the prefect at Housesteads."  

Housesteads or Vercovicium is near the center of Hadrian's Wall.

Breeze's Article on the Etymology of the Irthing River Place-Name

River Irthing Below the Birdoswald Roman Fort

Supplying this for my readers, who have requested it a number of times...

Breeze, Andrew, Celts, bears, and the River Irthing

Archaeologia Aeliana Series 5

Volume 34

Pages 152 - 153

2005

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-3433-1/dissemination/AAseries5/AA534typeset/archael534-151-153-notes.pdf

I have also suggested the Ceidio son of Arthwys, my candidate for the historical Arthur of the 5th-6th centuries, may have left his name in the Irthing Valley region: 

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/01/ceidio-son-of-arthwys-and-powcady.html

Arthwys (earlier *Artenses) is an eponym designating the 'People of the Bear' who lived along the River Irthing:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-bear-cult-of-romansub-roman-cumbria.html

UTHER PENDRAGON AS LORD OF DINAS EMRYS: ARTHUR'S ORIGIN IN PRE-GALFRIDIAN TRADITION

Dinas Emrys Hillfort, Gwynedd, Wales

Arthurian scholars have, in my opinion, ignored the importance of Dinas Emrys for far too long.  I was thinking about the hillfort only just this morning.  Why?  Because I have encountered more resistence to the notion that Arthur was anything other than what tradition insists he was: a war-leader (or king) with an origin in Cornwall, specifically at Tintagel.  Any theory which claims to have "discovered" a historical candidate for Arthur elsewhere will never be accepted.  This is because no rival tradition appears to exist.

Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-history proved to be extremely influential and cast a long shadow.  To this day students of Welsh Arthurian literature are not sure what is actual pre-Galfridian tradition and what has been adapted to Geoffrey's treatment of the subject.  But is there still extant, no matter how buried beneath the layers of medieval romance, some remnant of a rival account to that which is offered in THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF BRITAIN?

Many of us have been both intrigued and puzzled by the folktale that became attached to Dinas Emrys. I myself have written many articles on the subject.  The tendency, I think, is to make the whole question of Dinas Emrys too complex.  It may be a great deal simpler than we have assumed to be the case.

To begin, the presence of Ambrosius there is important for only one reason: his exhuming of the dragons - dragons which were, originally, great chieftains or warriors whose cremated remains were placed in urns.  While such urns may well have been exposed when excavating a pool, the introduction of Ambrosius into the story was facilitated because St. Ambrose (whose father is the Ambrosius Aurelianus of Gildas and subsequent sources) exhumed two saints.  The name of one of these saints was Celsus, a Latin name whose meaning exactly matches that of Uther (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2018/01/st-ambrose-and-exhumation-of-saints.html).  We find the name Celsus paired with that of the god Alator from a Roman inscription (https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/04/arthur-and-god-alator-of-south-shields.html).  Alator has been associated with the Aladur of an Arthurian poem.  There Arthur is said to descend from Aladur.

Uther was said to have been buried at Amesbury, a confusion for Dinas Emrys. 

All of this may seem mere coicidence, I suppose.  Except for two things.  First, Uther is said to be related to the men of Caer Dathal, which I have identified with Craig-y-Dinas in Gwynedd (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/ive-been-asked-difficult-question-why.html).  There is a good chance that Geoffrey's Tintagel is a relocation of Caer Dathal. Dathal is probably of Irish foundation, and that would help account for why all Arthurs that follow the more famous one belong to Irish-descended dynasties in Britain.

Second, Eliwlad son of Madog son of Uther appears to belong not in Cornwall, but at Nantlle just a little east of Craig-y-Dinas (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-shocking-discovery-real-location-of.html).  

Other factors come into play, of course, such as the Galfridian claim that Uther came from Llydaw (Brittany).  Llyn Llydaw is the source of the river that runs by Dinas Emrys.  Mabon is said to be the servant of Uther, and Mabon, like the god Lleu, is placed in Nantlle (see "The Stanzas of the Graves"). 

The simplest explanation, therefore, is to see Dinas Emrys as belonging to Uther Pendragon.  Ambrosius may be dispensed with entirely.  I've suggested that it may have been thought the 4th century father of the saint accompanid Constans to Britain (https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/why-ambrosius-aurelianus-was-put-in.html). That would have been the nucleus of the legend.  There is no reason to think that he was ever at Dinas Emrys.  Geoffrey of Monmouth clouded the whole thing by identifying Dinas Emrys with Amesbury and its Stonehenge monument.

If this is all there is to it, then what do we make of an Arthur, part Irish, born in Gwynedd?  How would such a man have become the hero of the Dark Age British?  And where, exactly, were his battles fought?

Well, I think it's important to remember that the Welsh tradition may be as faulty in terms of recording actual historical truth as the Galfridian. So while Geoffrey of Monmouthmay have "stolen" Arthur from NW Wales, what little we can actually know about Arthur (derived from the list of battles found in the HISTORIA BRITTONUM and the Welsh Annals) strongly suggests he belongs to the North.  Not to Cornwall and not to Gwynedd.  The name Arthur itself is demonstrably from Latin Artorius, and it is almost certain the name survived in the North either in the vicinity of York or near the center of Hadrian's Wall.  That is the argument I put forward in my book THE ARTHUR OF HISTORY, and at this point in my research I see no reason to change it.  

The Welsh, like everyone else, wanted to claim Arthur as their own.  As the lands once controlled by Arthur came under English domination and remained that way, his place of origin, residence and sphere of activity was removed to places that were still thoroughly Celtic: Wales, Cornwall and even Brittany.

LUCIUS ARTORIUS CASTUS: BIRTH AND DEATH IN DALMATIA?

Roman Amphitheater in Salona, Croatia

Scholars studying the military career of Lucius Artorius Castus are in agreement about only one thing: the man was definitely buried in Croatia, the ancient Dalmatia (or, more specifically, Liburnia). But when it comes to where this soldier was born, the opinion is divided.  Most opt for somewhere in Italy, while a minority looks towards Dalmatia itself.

I would in this brief paper like to cast my vote in favor the the latter location.  My reason for doing so lies in the nature of a Greek inscription found in Adana.  This particular inscription takes the form of a dedication to a Greek version of Jupiter Fulminator from a Lucius Artorius Marcianus.  What follows is the bibliographical information for an article on this inscription, as well as the abstract for the said study:

Lucius artorius marcianus' votive offering to zeus keraunios from the haluk perk museum

Hüseyin Sami Öztürk, C. Pilevneli

Marmara University

January 2013

"This essay presents an inscribed votive offering with the inventory number 604T1 held in the collection of the Haluk Perk Museum in Istanbul. The provenance of the Greek inscription, acquired in 2007, was recorded as from Adana province. The inscription is found on a well- preserved stele. Its translation reads: Lucius Artorius Marcianus, of the Sergian tribe, from Legio XII Keraunophoros (Fulminata), (offered this votive) to Zeus Keraunios. The Legio XII Fulminata ("Casting Thunderbolts") was probably the legio XII recruited by Caesar in 58 BC., which was reformed in 44-43 and then served under Mark Antony. After Actium it was taken over by Caesar Augustus and stationed in Egypt. It was transferred to Syria before A.D. 14, and later its garrison was at Raphaneae. The legion may have been temporarily deployed from Syria to Cappadocia for Corbulo's Armenian campaign of A.D. 57, as it was evidently in Cappadocia when Paetus became governor of that province in 61 and began his ill-fated Armenian campaign. The legio was among the troops of L. Caesennius Paetus, who "shamefully capitulated" in battle against the Parthians. In 66 the legio took part in the failed assault on Jerusalem by the governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, and later under the command of Titus participated in the siege of Jerusalem. Thereafter Vespasian transferred it to Cappadocia, where it was stationed at Melitene. While at Melitene the Legio XII Fulminata frequently despatched groups of soldiers for service in other parts of Anatolia. It even sent detachments into Armenia under Domitian and again in A.D. 177. The discovery at Adana of an altar dedicated to the legion might indicate diat a detachment of the legion was stationed there at some point in its history. Its loyalty during the revolt of Avidius Cassius in 175 earned it the title of Certa Constans ("the Decisive and Steadfast") from Marcus Aurelius. Its original title was Paterna, which derived from Caesar's honorific title of pater patriae. The absence of the title Certa Constans given by Marcus Aurelius to Legio XII Fulminata in A.D. 175 in this inscription makes it most likely to be dated before this date. The legion was evidently still at Melitene in the late 4th century. The inscription does not indicate where Lucius Artorius Marcianus came from. But in the Latin epigraphic records the nomen Artorius is found most frequently in Rome and Italy, and in Africa Proconsularis, with a few others in the Balkan regions. This evidence suggests that the origin of Lucius Artorius Marcianus and/or his family is more likely with Italy or Africa or, less likely, with the Balkans. The tribe Sergia is often associated with Roman citizens who originated in Roman military colonies. This suggests a provincial and ultimately military origin for the Roman citizenship of Lucius Artorius Marcianus and/or his family. But more importantly, the tribus was rarely included in inscriptions after A.D. 212 as there was no need for this following the Constitutio Antoniniana."

The most important point raised in this analysis of the Adana inscription is the tribal membership of L. Artorius Marcianus.  For the gens Sergia was well-represented in exactly the area of Dalmatia (Pituntium) where we find the memorial stone of L. Artorius Castus.  To cite John Wilkes (according to Roger Tomlin, "the greatest authority in this country [the UK] on the epigraphy of Dalmatia"):

"The last piece of evidence bearing on this problem is

the assignment to tribes of the early coloniae and municipia

in Dalmatia . Two tribes only are represented, Tromentina and

Sergia . On analogy from other parts of the empire, Sergia

indicates an Augustan foundation (e.g . Pisidian Antioch ) and

in Dalmatia we find Sergia at Iader (Augustan on the evidence

of inscriptions) , Issa (hardly Caesarian) , Acruvium and

Risinium in the south. 

Sergia is one of the two tribes common at Salonae...

http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10470/2/10470_7267-vol2.PDF

To better show the geographical proximity of these towns to Pituntium, here is a good map (courtesy https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the-Illyrian-coast-with-approximate-survey-areas-and-site-locations_fig1_328248684):

A recent study on the Artorii in the province of Dalmatia fails to mention the Adana inscription in the context of the Sergia gens:

Artorii u rimskoj provinciji Dalmaciji (The Artorii in the Roman Province of Dalmatia)

March 2012

Miroslav Glavičić

University of Zadar

S u m m a r y

"Conventional wisdom holds that the Artorii of the Roman province of Dalmatia

were a family of Italian descent, which inhabited the area of Salona around

the second century. This assumption is based on two sepulchral inscriptions that

commemorate the equestrian status of Roman officer L. Artorius Castus. The

inscriptions were found in the area of ancient Pituntium, today’s Podstrana. The

inscription marked CIL III, 1919=8513=12813, the two passages of which were

until recently built into the outer walls of the church of Saint Martin in Podstrana

as spolia, lists the imposing cursus honorum of L. Artorius Castus, who had a

distinguished military career (centurio, primus pilus, praepositus, praefectus, dux).

Since the inscription chronologically lists the order he conducted his duties in, it

is clear that L. Artorius Castus ended his career serving in the controversial role of

regent of the region of Liburnia (procurator centenarius provinciae Liburniae iure

gladi). A passage on the second inscription (CIL III, 12791=14224) lists only his

name and the two duties he performed as an officer. Upon completing his duties as

regent, L. Artorius Castus withdrew to his estate in Pitunia, where he lived out the

rest of his life in peace. This is where he was entombed in the mausoleum he built

»during his life for himself and his family«. The inscription clearly lists sibi et suis,

with the possible reconstruction [ex te]st(amento), which suggests that L. Arturius

Castus lived there with his family, and had heirs. The spatially closest inscription to

bear mention of the Artorius name was documented in nearby Jesenice (Nareste),

where a tombstone (CIL III, 8476) mentioning Aurelia Ursina, who had erected

a monument to her deceased mother Artoria Privata, was found. An inscription

from Klis (CIL III, 2520=8641) commemorates L. Gellius Artorius, son of

Gellius Felix and Artoria Secundina. It is important to point out that this inscription

documents a woman from the Artorius family and her son, whose praenomen was

changed to Lucius and cognomen to Artorius, which derives from his mother’s

gentilicium, and which could indicate close family ties to L. Artorius Castus. One

Artorius Felicissimus of Narona, was known to have erected a monument to his

wife Aemelia Barbara (CIL III, 1846=8425). Considering the inscription it bears,

queius beneficio me exportavi Salona, its origins must be connected to the Artorius

family from the regional capital. The fragmented remains of a tombstone in Salona

(CIL III, 9403) commemorate one C. Vibius Firmus, however, along with his

official title (tria nomina) it also lists his nickname, qui et Artorius. The vocabulum

he was known by among his peers, perhaps even more so than his official title,

alludes to his potential connections to the Artorius family.

All of the above mentioned inscriptions bearing the gentilicia Artorius, based

on their epigraphic characteristics, belong to the period of the late Principate, i.e.

they can be roughly placed in the period of the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries.

While we cannot make the claim with certainty, what we know today is certainly

sufficient to assume that the first Artorius to inhabit the territory of Salona was L.

Artorius Castus. During the later period in Salona and its territories, the family

grew and developed, and the last documented mention of the gentilicia Artorius

in Salona is found on the inscription of a sarcophagus from the late 3rd or early 4th

centuries (CIL III, 9226), where Artoria Frontina is commemorated."

The omission of the Adana inscription's possible significance in the context of determing the birthplace of L. Artorius Castus is unfortunate.  When I discussed the very real possibility of this man's origin in Dalmatia, rather than in Italy (where the gens Sergia originated [1]), with Roger Tomlin, he responded thusly:

"I agree with you that there is quite a chance that Artorius Marcianus came from Dalmatia rather than Italy, and that Artorius Castus, by being buried in Dalmatia, quite likely came from there. But Artorius is quite a common nomen, and we do not know what tribe Artorius Castus belonged to. The coincidence you have noted makes a Dalmatian connection more likely, but cannot be conclusive. Still, the Adana inscription is certainly worth noting."

While the kind of measured, cautious response one would expect from the Professor, I take this as sufficient endorsement for the plausibility of a Dalmatian origin for L. Artorius Castus.

Professor Anthony Birley merely told me - "It's likely enough that LAC was born in Dalmatia."  This echoes what he said on p. 152 of his THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT OF BRITAIN:

"Northern Italy, where a good many Statii are attested, or one of the cities of the Dalmatian coast look

likely areas for his home."

The question may come up regarding the dates for the Sergian city foundations in Dalmatia.  This obviously has a bearing on whether L. Artorius could have been born there or whether he instead came from Italy.  The answer to this question was kindly supplied to me by Dr. Dino Demicheli (https://www.academia.edu/16334519/Dalmatians_in_the_Roman_Imperial_Fleet):

"The Sergian foundations in Dalmatia can be dated to the period of 1st c. BC and the beginning of the 1st c. AD."

This means that L. Artorius Castus could easily have been born in Dalmatia in terms of the historical chronology.

Mattia Vitelli Casella of the University of Bologna's Department of History and Cultures (author of "The Romanization of the province of Dalmatia through the women’s inscriptions") had this to share with me:

"As for the foundation and voting tribe of the inhabitants of Pituntium, we can't affirm that it was a Sergian 'foundation', because it was until Marcus Aurelius a peregrine community and then with no tribe. Just at that time it was included in the ager of Salona, whose citizens were partly enrolled in the Sergia. Unluckily we have no inscriptions with mentioned tribe from Pituntium.

As for L. Artorius Castus, Dr. Casella thinks my hypothesis makes sense. "I would suggest his [LAC's] origin from Salona. As I know, he held familiary estates in Pituntium, but he should be a Salonitan citizen. "

Pituntium as being in the ager of Salona is discussed in more detail in ZBORNIK INSTITUTA ZA ARHEOLOGIJU SERTA INSTITUTI ARCHAEOLOGICI KNJIGA VOLUME 10 Sacralization of Landscape and Sacred Places by Željko Miletić and Silvia Bekavac:

"The network of centuriae belonging to the Eastern part of the Salonitan ager stretched out across the area of the present-day Strožanac, along the littoral part of the Lower Poljica, i.e. in the territory of Pituntium, as evidenced by the remnants of the regular square units (centuriae) of the fossilized landscape from the times of antiquity, as well as by the discovery of a cadastre pillar containing the marks and the direction of the cardo and decumanus (ILJug 1, 119; Suić 1955: 19; Gabričević 1952: 155–167; Wilkes 1974: 266; Maršić 2003: 436; 2014: 167; Borzić 2014: 83). However, the question remains whether these square land plots on the left-hand bank of the River Žrnovnica correspond to those found in the territory of Salona, situated at the opposite, right-hand bank. In other words, the orientation of the centuriae corresponds to those that are found in the Salonitan part of the territory, but the numerical marcation of the directions carved on the boundary stone do not correspond to the proposed numeration of the „Salonitan“ cardo and decumanus.1 This discrepancy has thus far been interpreted as the result of the secondary implementation of the centuriation of the relevant part of the ager, which proposedly led to a separate, secondary numeration of boundaries that would not have been correspondent to the original one (Alföldy 1965: 106; Wilkes 1969: 228; Campbell 2000: 469; Borzić 2014: 81). In contrast to such interpretations, we believe the aforementioned discrepancy to stem from an inaccurate interpretation of the centuriation process. Several important facts seem to support such a claim. Regardless of the actual timing of  the centuriation, it may be reliably claimed that, at least at the moment in which the centuriae had been organized in the Pituntine space, that this territory represented a constituent part of Colonia Salona’s ager. Moreover, had the Pituntine, the Nerastine, and the Onastine constituted peregrine communities (civitates peregrinorum) beforehand, and bearing in mind that such res publicae were autonomous, then the occupation of their territory on the part of another res publica (Salona) would have been illegal. Whether this were the case of a primary centuriation of Salona, or a subsequent extension, is immaterial, as plot subdivision in the area of Pituntium had been carried out in the Salonitan territory. In other words, castella Pituntium, Neraste and Oneum could only have been a part of the lower-level constituent territorial units within the Salonitan territory, of the pagus or praefectura type. This represents the customary Roman land-administrative internal subdivision of the municipal ager, confirmed in numerous inscriptions across the Roman world (the colony of Narona and pagus Scunasticus, listed in ILJug 1, 113, is an illustrative example). The population of these castles mentioned by Pliny, irrespective of the legal status of individuals within them, including the individuals with the autochthonous peregrine status did in fact belong to the single respublica Salona, i.e. inhabited the ager of the colony of Salona.

Pituntium, Neraste, and Oneum represented the districts (pagi) within the unitary territory of Salona. Although there were segments of the population with a peregrine status within the said pagi, the three communities did not have the status of peregrine civitates, but made a part of the ager of the colony. Each of the pagi had the defined boundaries, and the respective administrative structure that was subjected to the central authority in Salona. The term of castellum, utilized by Pliny (NH3, 142) in reference to Pituntium, Neraste, and Oneum, denoted the centre of each of the pagi, where the sanctuaries dedicated to patron deities (paganicum) were the dominant structures: to Venus in Petuntium, to the pairing of Diana and Asclepius in Neraste, and to Divine Emperors in Oneum (Fig. 9)."

Professor Miletic was kind enough to write the following to me via email:

"A few years ago, I wrote an article (in English) with my colleague Silvia Bekavac about the status of the Pituntium, Nerastae and Oneum communities. Our conclusion is that from the very foundation of the colony they belong to the ager of Salona. Thus, the demarcations between the communities are not demarcations between civitates peregrinorum, but between administrative districts (pagi or praefecturae?) within the eastern part of the territory of Salona. Onomastic records, cult, shrines… do not show any element of the peregrine status of Pituntium. We are not quite sure if LAC was born there, i.e. in Salona, ​​but the choice of burial place goes in favor of that, as do other people named Artorius who appear there."

Fig. 9

From "A contribution to the topography (and the interpretation) of the so-called oriental cults from the territory of Salona, in: “Sacrum Facere. Atti del V Seminario di Archeologia del Sacro. Sacra peregrina. La gestione della pluralità religiosa nel mondo antico”, EUT , Trieste, 2019, pp. 257-290, Palma Karković Takalić, University of Rijeka:

"According to Suić ager salonitanus originally extended from Kaštel Stari (located in the middle of the Kaštelan Bay) in the north-west, Klis in the north and Epetion (Stobreč; river Žrnovnica) in the southeast. It seems, however, that from the time of Claudius [AD 41 to 54] it expanded in size, so that the areas of Tragurion in the west and the community of Pituntium located south-east of Epetion were also included. Suić 1955, pp. 17-19. It is hard to say whether this or perhaps some other later expansions also involved the territory of Narestae and Oneum located more south-east (in the mainland), and the island of Brač. The area of the city itself is marked by its position in the deep and protective Bay of Kaštela (Kaštelanski zaljev), the stream of the river Jadro, and the steep cliffs of the Klis Mountain in the hinterlands. The rest of the territory includes three vast, mainly agrarian areas of the Fields of Kaštela, Solin and Split (Kaštelansko, Solinsko and Splitsko polje), with a few zones of deciduous forest, while on the north-western and south eastern borders of ager, the fertile soil belt narrows towards the coast in favour of the karst terrain. In short, the territory of Colonia Maria Iulia Salona could be defined as agrarian and maritime. It is considered the biggest in the territory of Dalmatia, but not bigger than, for example, the ager of colonia Pola in Histria. On the territory of Salona, Suić 1955, pp. 17-20; Borzić 2014, pp. 81-82; Jadrić-Kučan 2014, 167-168."

Professor Drazen Marsic sent me this on the early relationship of Salona and Pituntium:

D. Maršić, Ancient profile of Podstrana and its surroundings, “Lucius Artorius Castus and the King Arthur Legend”, Proceedings of the international scientific conference held in Podstrana from March 30 to April 2, 2012, ed. N. Cambi - J. Matthews, Split, 2014, 187-230.

My current opinion is this one: there are a number of elements that support the thesis that Pituntium came under the auspices of Salona very early, let's say somewhere in the time of Augustus, i.e. the time of the founding of the colony. These are the elements or reasons:

1. Proximity to Salona. Salona is only 4-5 roman miles from the western part of Pituntium. Epetium has the same distance, and judging by the remnants of limitation (centuriation) was certainly under the auspices of Salona. Unfortunately, we do not know where the western border of roman Pituntium really was, but we assume it according to the configuration of the terrain (maybe somewhere between modern Strožanac and Podstrana?).

2. At the western end of Strožanac, smaller traces of centuriation have been preserved, and a square cipus terminus has been discovered. We know that the possession of a roman city often extended over the surveyed territory, and in this case it would have to be in the direction of Pituntium/Podstrana.

3. There are strong indications that Issa and Pharos once were organized as salonitan prefecturae. The basis for these indications is the inscription from Salona CIL 3 14712 and tittle „praefectura phariaca“. Some old authors believed it mentions the body that took care of the lighthouse, ie the lighthouse service (like A. Betz), and others that it is a territorial unit (like M. Suić, G. Alföldy , J. Wilkes). For the last two years I have been intensively studying the inscription and other material heritage in the Roman world in search of some analogies to the lighthouse thesis and there is NOTHING, ZERO. I believe that CIL 14712 mentions territorial organization (praefectura) which were numerous in Italy at that time (at first I believed in the lighthouse thesis). If Vis and Hvar were Salonitan prefectures (and consequently the islands of Solta and Brač) I don't see how much closer Pituntium would be outside of Salona? If the peregrini of Issa (Vis), Solentia (Šolta), and others fell under the Salonitan legal conventum (Pliny, NH, III 141-142), but also under the administration of Salona (thesis about prefecturae), why wouldn't that be the case with the Pituntini as well? In my opinion, the presence of well known termination inscriptions is not evidence for the contrary thesis (Alföldy thinks so). There are serious indications that in the time of Claudius the ager centuriatus of Salona expanded to the west (in the direction of Trogir), so the same may have happened to the east but without centuriation??? I do not see how the territory organized as autonomous, in the 2nd century would lose that status and enter to Salona (Alföldy thesis)?

If these scholars are correct, we might assume that LAC was born in Salona, and then given an estate in Pituntium during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. As it happens, this fits the timeline for LAC's military career:

dies natalis c. 104 miles 121-135 centurio legionis III Gallicae 135-138 centurio legionis VI Ferratae 139-142 centurio legionis II Adiutricis 143-146 centurio legionis V Macedonicae 147-150 primus pilus legionis V Macedonicae 151 praepositus classis Misenatium 152-154 praefectus castrorum legionis VI Victricis 155-162 dux legionariorum  et auxiliorum  Britannicorum adversus Armenios 162-166 procurator centenarius provinciae Liburniae 167-174 

[From https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330926088_Lucius_Artorius_Castus_i_Liburnia.]

[1] For the gens Sergia in Italy, see 

https://www.academia.edu/6718546/J_Linderski_Lily_Ross_Taylor_and_the_Roman_Tribes_2013.

***

If Lucius Artorius Castus was born and died in Dalmatia, we might want to take a look at Statius Priscus, who may well have been born in that country himself.  It was this Statius who took LAC with him to Armenia.  

From Professor John Wilkes (personal communication):

"Moreover, since there are several records of Artorii from Dalmatia, it seems probable that his military career was honoured in his native land.

Importantly, I find Birley discussing Statius Priscus, himself probably from Dalmatia, as there are several St. attested there, being hand-picked by Julius Severus OF DALMATIA (although, it should be noted, Anthony Birley places Priscus's birthplace in Italy; see Viri Militares Moving from West to East in Two Crisis Years (Ad 133 and 162) and Two Governors of Dacia Superior and Britain). 

This Priscus was governor of Britain, and went straight from there in an emergency mode to Armenia. He had a great victory there."

Roger Tomlin allows for the possibility that Statius Priscus was from Dalmatia, not Italy (the latter being favored by Birley):

"Alföldy's Konsulat und Senatorenstandwhich (p. 314) suggests a Dalmatian origin for Statius Priscus. I don't see that the Luceria inscription proves any more than that Priscus married his daughter to the first Fufidius Pollio. Considering they were generals in adjoining provinces, this isn't a surprise. It was the family of Fufidius Pollio which came from Luceria, and remained there. No need for Priscus to limit his choice of a son-in-law to his own home town."

In commenting on https://www.academia.edu/36801644/The_Statii_of_Risinium, Tomlin continues:

"It's a very rich collection, and confirms that Statius Priscus could have come from Dalmatia despite the Camodeca inscription – which only shows that his daughter married into the Luceria family.  SP had a very wide-ranging career, and must have made many contacts in the course of it, besides his spell at Rome as a senior senator."

Coming Soon: WAS LUCIUS ARTORIUS CASTUS BORN IN DALMATIA?

Roman Amphiheater, Salona, Croatia

I've uncovered some new information on the possible origin of Lucius Artorius Castus.  Everything points rather decisively to his having been born at or very near the Pituntium (between modern Podstrana and Jesenice) where his memorial stone was found. 

I will post my work on this once I've finished confirming some of the details with scholars in the Balkans.