ARCHAELOGICAL WORK STARTS ON ANCIENT ROMAN CAMP NEAR TRILJ

( Editorial: --> 7818 ) TRILJ, July 20 (Hina) - Archaeologists have began a systematic survey into the only ancient Roman military camp in Croatia, which housed the 7th Roman legion from around 60 AD. It is believed Emperor Diocletian (243-316) occasionally went there for country retreats, away from his palace in nearby Split. The camp is located in the settlement of Gardun near the small town of Trilj. Known as Tilirium, the camp covered five hectares and historical figures show more than 5,000 Roman soldiers were once based there. Now the area is arable land and meadows, as well as the homes of Gardun farmers, which will certainly influence the course of surveying. Nevertheless, this summer after several years of unsuccessful attempts, systematic surveys of the ancient Roman camp have successfully begun and they will use modern methods. A group of Zagreb university students and archaeologists, led by Mirjana Sanader, is working on the basis of computer processed geodetic and air recordings. They have already discovered and excavated the foundations of the camp command building in the centre of Gardun, as well as the walls of the large Roman wheat silo. Also discovered were walls containing tweezers and other surgical instruments, which indicates there was once a hospital there. Plans for the establishment of a Trilj Museum are being considered in which the items found in Tilirium will be stored. This idea has been given support by Croatian Culture Minister Bozo Biskupic who visited the archaeological site and promised help in continuing the surveying work. (Hina) mbr jn /is 201306 MET jul 98