dated almoft to the bardnefs o f ftone ;* and many flone's refetrr-
bling porphyry, which retain manifeft marks o f ancient fufion.
This hill o f Capital, in regard to the fubftances o f which it is
compofed*, as well as in. its form, bears a great refemblance to
Monte-Nuovo,-\- which ftands infolated near our other Euganean
hills ofvulcanic origin. But Capital contains flill a greater variety
o f different fubftances than Mmte-Nuovo. On the fummit o f the
hill, are ibattered pieces o f breccia,, Here and: there, and-on all
the neighbouring, vulcanic hills, to the right o f the. river, as far,
as the fmall town o f Knin, h which has- the title: o f a, bi/hoprick,.
but not the refidence. Tliis town is thought, by tBofr of the
writers on Illyric affairs, to be the Arduba o f the ancients, famous,
not fo much for the defence it made againft Germanicas,.
as for the untameable courage o f the women, who rather chofe
to throw themlelves and children, into the fire,, or the river, than,
become flaves to the victorious Romans..
Concerning, M o n t e C a v a l e q and V e r e n ik -
No place is now found on either o f the rivers, Kerka, or Cet-
tina, that agrees Better than.Knin with the defcri prion* given by
Dion Caffius of the caftle o f Arduba.* The river Kerka. on one
fide,.
*1 Tem-Vuteoliflarubra; Wall,
C;i',Tu'ntu,ii in.6uratan,. Cronft. 209«
•t Monte-Nuovo of the Euganean' hills, feems,. by its name,., to indicate a poiie-
rior birth. T h e fubftance o f which it is compofed, demonftrates its origin from
lubterraneous fire, ]ike the fiionte-Nuovo of Pozzuoli.
J In the publick records, it is called Tnin , Tnina, Tninium, and Tnena..
T h e name of Knin, or Klin is perhaps'derived from K lin, cumu, as it a&uaily
ftands on the point of* a neck o i l and
* Germanicus alfo took Arduba, a caftle— ------------- very ftrong, and al -
mod entirely furrounded by a rapid river running at the foot of. it. Dion Caffius
lib. 56.
fide, and the Butim fchiza on the other, water the narrow
neck o f land, on which the prefent caftle ftands. But the hif-
torian mentions only one river, and ‘not a confluence o f two,
and calls it rapid, -which agrees not with the Kerka, which at
prefent runs under the walls o f Knin, with a very flow and*1
gentle eourfe.
As no pains are taken to keep this river within its banks, it
often overflows them, and forms a marfh direrftly under Knin,
which renders the air unhealthy in the neighbourhood. I faW
no antiquities o f any kind there, excepting Roman coins, o f
which there are many, and efpecially of the times o f the good
Emperor Antoninus. Ancient Venetian coins, and thofe o f
other cities and flates, o f the middle age, are frequently found
in thefe parts.
Over againft Knin, on the other fide o f the Kerka, fiands
the hill called Monte Cavallo, at the bottom o f which, the Cof-
fovfehiza falls into the-Kerka ; the waters o f the former defcend
from the vulcanic hills o f Coffbvo, the lower parts o f which
are »covered with turf, but it lies there ufelefs.
Not many years 'ago, a Canal Wàs cut, With a view to draw 6xf
the water, which overflows thefe plains; but the work being abandoned
toofoon, that good intention was not anfwefed. Monte
Cavallo is now almoft quite -uncultivated, though there is a tradition
at Rnin, that, in pad ages, it was famous for its exqul-
lite wine ; as was alfo Verbnik, a hill contiguous fo it. On
this lall hill, many kinds 'o f vulcanic fubftances may be col-
leéled ; among which, a reddifh, brick coloured ftoné, mixed
with a vetrified black and flnning iron fand, is remarkable.
Thé top o f the hill is o f a Calcareous aih coloured ftone, very
O compaft,