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A Trajanic Milestone and the Road Connections of Aptera, Crete

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A Trajanic Milestone and the Road Connections of Aptera, Crete HESPERIA 75 (2006) ON THE ROAD AGAIN Pages 405-433 A Trajanic Milestone and the Road Connections of ?ptera, Crete ABSTRACT new an A Latin inscription found south of ?ptera documents Early Trajanic stage in the development of the Roman road network of western Crete. A con reconsideration of ?ptera and its hinterland provides the topographical text for this milestone, which apparently was found in situ. The text records direct imperial intervention and generosity. The mileage figure suggests the s location of ?ptera port, and supports the theory that Cretan milestones indicated the distance to turning points in the road. This road system linked western Crete with the capital at Gortyn, after passing through the territories of ?ptera, Lappa, and Eleutherna. INTRODUCTION now In 1985 Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki, the director of the 25th Ephoreia a of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Chania, Crete, inspected stone on a column located farm between the villages of Stylos and Mahairoi, south of ?ptera (Figs. 1, 2:9).x She conducted this autopsy together with Konstantinos Gavrilakis, the archaeological guardian for Samonas in the community of Stylos.2 Andreadaki-Vlazaki recognized the importance of the inscribed column, which remained in this isolated location for the next as a 16 years, milestone of Roman date?only the third thus far discovered on the island of Crete. a In 2001 Gavrilakis submitted report to the ephoreia concerning this same now stone, relocated to the Community Center ofMahairoi. He sug one gested identifying the inscribed column with cited by Konstantinos 1.We would like to express our poulos of theWorkshop of Papyrology express our sincere thanks to the anon thanks to Maria at reviewers for their Andreadaki-Vlazaki, and Epigraphy the University of ymous Hesperia who comments. shared her knowledge of this Crete, Rethymnon, who revisited the thoughtful and constructive and called our attention to to For as inscription inscription take additional squeezes 2. Samonas part of the mod its We owe a and to check measurements and ern see significance. particular community of Stylos, Spanakis debt of to Yannis Z. Tzifo we would like to gratitude readings. Finally, n.d., p. 354; 1993, p. 635. ? The American School of Classical Studies at Athens 1.Western with dotted line route of Roman road. C. 25th Figure Crete, indicating possible Koukoutzakis, Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Chania; after Talbert 2000, map 60 ON THE ROAD AGAIN: A TRAJANIC MILESTONE 407 AKROTWONCAPE KYOON1A 1 portof Minoa 2 _ 3 KyaniAM (portof lasamos?) 4Kalamfsto SAaogymsit? t afNMt road 7 church of Panaria Zervfoti&sa V SvSMWMfK IMMwSlylUA imospoi or vu miMsions IV SW nSBT MSnSJlOt 11 *Eftw*?-(MeWoni) 12 1$ 14toBsds(portofK?8afTio8?) 15 bridgaof Kamam (Vrys?w)and anoint aft? itiar 1* Nipos ' I'"'- , N protoajMs anoJsnt read pavad load nfear rtwar branchas 2. and its hinterland, Figure ?ptera Dounakis in his of the of the Dounakis with sites identified study history Apokoronas Eparchy.3 by archaeological to had attributed the erection of this large, monolithic column local survey. C. Koukoutzakis, 25th Ephoreia of grati tude for the of a Roman whose bust was said to have Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Chania patronage general set on been top of it, and he reported the belief of older residents of Stylos name (EtuAxk;) that their village received its from the column (oir\kr\).4 Gavrilakis proposed that the "Stylos column' mentioned by Dounakis must be the one that he and Andreadaki-Vlazaki had found years earlier in the vicinity of Stylos and that the locals called the eiKovoox?ci. cannot same as We be certain that the "Stylos column" is the object the milestone published here.5 We do know that in the Venetian period a as scion of the prominent Mousouros family stood at the place known eiKovoox?ai, between Stylos and Mahairoi, and declared that he would 3. Dounakis was a 1967,1968. this column place called MocKpri column, which had fallen with the 4. Dounakis 285. near 1967, p. n?tpa, the churches of Ayios passage of time but remained in situ 5. Dounakis had informa Ioannis a was to gathered Theologos andAyios Nikolaos for long time, said have given tion from residents of and con at the of name Stylos edge Stylos, along the public the location its (Dounakis 1967, cluded that the location of road that leads into the The see also original village. p. 285; Spanakis n.d., p. 354). - 4o8 M. W. BALDWIN BOWSKY AND V. N I N I O U Kl N DE LI build his 7?po?cepjLia (lookout) there.6 The present milestone was, in fact, found in a location called XxcoMouao?pco, which takes its name from this owners a area important family, of large piece of land and present in the of Stylos, Mahairoi, and Provarma since the 13th century.7 Marino Cavalli to in cen (provveditore gen?rale 1571-1573) refers this family the 16th a to was tury, family brought Crete from Constantinople after the island liberated from the Arabs, and granted pieces of land "out of Rethymno."8 Local tradition preserves the belief that the column protected travelers, an we like ancient Hekataion.9 Once again, cannot be certain whether this same as or a eiKovoat?ai is the object the milestone published here, third area. object from this The milestone was found between Stylos and Mahairoi (Fig. 2:9), at a apparently in situ to judge from its location modern crossroads and the evidence for Roman roadwork and kalderimia nearby. Workmen and guardians at?ptera and the older members of their families remember the milestone being in this location for at least the past century, and purported to have been endowed with such potency that the residents of Stylos wished move a to it to their village. In spite of the local tradition that portrait bust once stood atop the column, examination of the stone has shown that there never was such a bust.10 Gavrilakis's report of 2001 prompted the ephoreia to send Katerina Tzanakaki to reinspect this inscribed column at the Community Center was a atMahairoi. Although it made of soft limestone, in poor state of to was nev preservation, and exposed the elements, she reported that it as an an ertheless still recognizable object of interest, either architectural a or a member from public building milestone. She measured the column, the lettering, and the monolithic base with its simple molding, and drew the visible lettering. was In 2002 the inscription again examined inMahairoi in order to as a was confirm its identification milestone. It possible to read consider more even a text to ably of the lettering, with third of its turned the wall of the Community Center. Giorgios Mastrantonakis and Yannis Anitsakis, stone so was guards at the archaeological site of ?ptera, moved the that it to more ac possible read all but the last line of the inscription and obtain curate measurements of the column and its base. Yannis Tzifopoulos of the University of Crete, Rethymnon, later cleaned the stone, made squeezes, was and took digital photographs. It then that the last line of the inscrip are now tion, containing the mileage figure, became visible. Two squeezes at housed in theWorkshop of Papyrology and Epigraphy the University of Crete, Rethymnon, and in the offices of the 25th Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Chania. seem to 6. Dounakis 1967, p. 563. 10. Such reports be compa 7. Dounakis 1967, p. 521. rable to the travelers' tales in which a was 8. Steriotou 1992, vol. 1, p. 56. milestone north of Roman Berytus 9. See Tzifopoulos 2004, pp. 103 called the "Pedestal of the Dog" from on a recess 104, the connection between its position within square on of a cut into see Diktynna/Hekate and crossroads pedestal bedrock; Roman Crete. Goodchild 1948-1949, pp. 107-108. ON THE ROAD AGAIN: A TRAJANIC MILESTONE 409 ROMAN ?PTERA AND ITS HINTERLAND we Before present the editio princeps of the milestone, it will be useful to context was are establish the topographical inwhich it found. Milestones extent are especially helpful for estimating the of civic lands when they reliably tied to their original positions and bear intelligible mileage fig a a name ures.11When they record distance but not place it is particularly as important that the findspot be accurately recorded, in this case.12 The an area milestone may have been quarried nearby, from outcrop within the of ?ptera, just west of the findspot and Mahairoi.13 are now a a We in position to present fresh image of ?ptera and its a hinterland, thanks to systematic excavations in the city itself since 1985, recent survey of Geometric to Roman remains in the city's environs, and area was the publication of the present milestone.14 In 2003 and 2004 the a team to surveyed by from the 25th Ephoreia in order establish the findspot as as of the milestone well to investigate evidence of Roman roadwork and team to a kalderimia. The used GPS technology produce composite map area of the (Fig. 2).15 most Figure 3 reproduces the recent archaeological plan of the city of ?ptera, and shows the results of the ongoing excavation at the site. we In the discussion that follows pay particular attention to monuments are of the 1st and 2nd centuries,16 which roughly contemporary with the new milestone, and to evidence for roads and gates in and around the civic center. a new The public buildings of ?ptera suggest construction phase in the a 1st century and renaissance before the Hadrianic period, to judge from the data thus far available.17 Within the city walls two baths of lst-2nd attest to an century date (Fig.
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