Baština (Jan 2018)
An appendix on studying beneficiarii consularis in the territory of Dardania
Abstract
The beneficiarii consularis in the territory of Dardania were the members of the Danube legions who performed different tasks for the governor of the province. What their real function was is hard to say since they closed a number of deals with the representatives of the local government on behalf of the governor, but their safety aspect is the most significant since the monuments they erected appeared directly after the Marcomanni crisis prior to the great economic crisis in the period when big gangs of raiders and plunderers were active. The largest number of monuments was registered in the busiest roads, in the places where they intercept, in the mining areas near the mine centres and larger settlements, in the vicinity of customs office points as well as border crossings between the provinces. The beneficiarii put up votive altars upon the arrival at the stations or when leaving them, as a sign of gratitude to God for the given task. All the findings of the altars collected so far in the territory of Dardania which comprises the southern parts of the province of Upper Moesia are the incidental findings, therefore, the micro location of beneficiary stations by findings insitu has not been determined yet, but their existence is without doubt in the vicinity of evident findings of votive altars.
