Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/491

 NOTICES OP ARCFIAEOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS. 393 Map of Pcutingcr, p. 7, that tho Itinerary had not been produced before the year ». c. 3G4, when Mesopotamia was lost to the Persians, because that country did not occur in the document. We may suppose, that it was left out afterwards, in consequence of that loss, or by a more accident in an early transcript, as there are other blanks in Asia Minor, Gaul, and elsewhere. Such a work of course could not have been compiled by one man. Traces of its having been the work of various hands may be noticed throughout. Sometimes the distances are summed up, sometimes not. In certain passages the places are more minutely described, whereas in general tho list is as meagre as possible.'' In the more ancient manuscript copies of this postal description of the Orhis Bomanus, there occurs generally a maritime Itinerary, which seems to be of somewhat different plan and origin. The first part (Wessel. pp. 487 — 497), containing the distances of the various cities on the sea-coast, agrees very well with the Itinerary of Antoninus ; the second part (pp. 497 — 508) has the object of giving a list of all the sea-ports and the distances between them ; the third part (pp. 508 — 529) sums up the islands of all the branches of the Mediterranean, adding, instead of their geographical position and distance, a few short fabulous and poetical accounts, by which it is proved sufficiently that this part, at least, cannot have been derived from an ofiicial source. One portion of the work contains the " It'merarium Ilierosolymitanum sive Burdlgalense," which appears to have been written in the year 333, by a Cliristifin, for the use of those who travelled as pilgrims from the South of France to Jerusalem, where Constantine the Great had just begun to build his churches (p. xxxv.) In order to niake their work as complete as possible, our editors have used collations of more than forty MSS., many more than were known to Wesseling. Each MS. is described minutely. They have also succeeded (p. xxxii. ff.) in arranging them in four classes, the distinctive differences of which may be traced up to the eighth century. 1. MS. Vindob., sfcc. viii. MS. Vatic, sa;c. xiv. MS. Remens., a. 1417. 2. MS. Scorial., saec. viii. (Escurial.) 3. MS. Paris, saic. x. 4. MS. Dresden, which seems to be very similar to an ancient MS. of Speyer, now lust, but of which there are left numerous copies, extending in age from the year 1427 until 1551. The reason may justly be asked, why this document has been trans- cribed so frequently in early times, and even so recently as the sixteenth century. The important position of Rome during the middle ages has saved this relic of the imperial period. The monks, who were unable to appreciate Aristotle and Plato, Livy and Tacitus, in the original, and were happy to take Boethius and Orosius instead, had a notion of tho practical usefulness of the Itinerary, while they could not avail themselves of Strabo and Ptolemy. The principal roads and stations had remained the same, and were destined to become once more the highways of the Legions of Papal Rome. « For instance, in Britain, and sometimes in Gaul, the stations of the legions have been carefully marked. VOL. IX. 3 P