DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18096#0211
Africa under Antoninus Pius
147
them, in order to account for this extraordinary natural phe-
nomenon. According to M. Piesse it runs thus : ' An Arab, rich
and powerful, had a sister whom he thought too beautiful to be
married to any one but himself. He determined to marry her
in spite of the prohibition of the Mohammedan law and the
remonstrances and supplications of the elders of his tribe, whose
heads he cut off in front of his tent. After the marriage
ceremony, when the accursed couple were about to retire, the
elements were set in motion. Fire came out of the earth, the
water left its bed, and the thunder pealed forth in a fearful
manner. When tranquillity was restored, the Arab and his
sister and every one connected with the feast were found petrified,
the white cone still representing the actors in this drama.'
Many other towns shared with Kalama the advantages of a
long era of quietude, but their record is a blank. They rose
gradually under the civilising rule of the Romans, attained a
position in the commercial or agricultural life of the country,
and when the Empire came to an end fell by degrees into a
distressful condition, preluding their final extinction. Such,
no doubt, was the fate of the ancient Verecunda, now known as
Markouna. The site is about two miles from Lambessa, and it
was probably a suburb of that city. An inscription on a pedestal
found among the remains of the ancient forum relates to the
water-supply in the reign of Antonine :1
DIVO
ANTONN Divo Antonino Augusto, ex cujus in-
AVG dulgentia aqua vici Augustorum
EX CVI Verecundetisis perdu eta est, dedica7ite
AQVA VIC Decimo Fonteio Fro7itiniano, legato
AVGVSTOR Augustorum pro prtxtore, decreto
VERECVNDENS decurionum, pecunia publica.
PERDVCTA EST
DEDIC
D • FONTEIO
LEG • AVG ■ PR • PR
D-D . P • P
Inscriptions in all cases afford some clue to the period of
greatest prosperity, the healthiness of the climate, and the
domestic happiness of the inhabitants. Both at Kalama
1 I.E. A. No. 1413.
L 2
147
them, in order to account for this extraordinary natural phe-
nomenon. According to M. Piesse it runs thus : ' An Arab, rich
and powerful, had a sister whom he thought too beautiful to be
married to any one but himself. He determined to marry her
in spite of the prohibition of the Mohammedan law and the
remonstrances and supplications of the elders of his tribe, whose
heads he cut off in front of his tent. After the marriage
ceremony, when the accursed couple were about to retire, the
elements were set in motion. Fire came out of the earth, the
water left its bed, and the thunder pealed forth in a fearful
manner. When tranquillity was restored, the Arab and his
sister and every one connected with the feast were found petrified,
the white cone still representing the actors in this drama.'
Many other towns shared with Kalama the advantages of a
long era of quietude, but their record is a blank. They rose
gradually under the civilising rule of the Romans, attained a
position in the commercial or agricultural life of the country,
and when the Empire came to an end fell by degrees into a
distressful condition, preluding their final extinction. Such,
no doubt, was the fate of the ancient Verecunda, now known as
Markouna. The site is about two miles from Lambessa, and it
was probably a suburb of that city. An inscription on a pedestal
found among the remains of the ancient forum relates to the
water-supply in the reign of Antonine :1
DIVO
ANTONN Divo Antonino Augusto, ex cujus in-
AVG dulgentia aqua vici Augustorum
EX CVI Verecundetisis perdu eta est, dedica7ite
AQVA VIC Decimo Fonteio Fro7itiniano, legato
AVGVSTOR Augustorum pro prtxtore, decreto
VERECVNDENS decurionum, pecunia publica.
PERDVCTA EST
DEDIC
D • FONTEIO
LEG • AVG ■ PR • PR
D-D . P • P
Inscriptions in all cases afford some clue to the period of
greatest prosperity, the healthiness of the climate, and the
domestic happiness of the inhabitants. Both at Kalama
1 I.E. A. No. 1413.
L 2