The ill-fated archaeological site of Viminacium

Most people never heard the name Viminacium – not surprising for who would be looking for it in Serbia? Tourists are not exactly flocking into that country which is not high on the priority list of the archaeologists either. The Balkans are a true stepchild of Europe. 

When Alexander campaigned against the people north of Macedonia in 335 BC, his march took him across the Ister (Danube) River. After subduing the Getae, he led his army back to camp where he received many envoys from other tribes along the Danube. The Celts from the Adriatic coast also visited the young king with messages of friendship, maybe including the tribes living in what was to become Viminacium.

Viminacium originated as a Celtic settlement on which the Romans built their fort in the early 1^st century AD. It eventually grew to become the capital of the Roman province of Moesia with a population reaching up to 30,000 people. The site is hidden under the fertile fields outside of the village of Stari Kostolac roughly 50 km east of Belgrade. Situated south of the Danube River, it occupied an exceptional position at the crossroads of a flourishing communication and trade network on Rome’s northern frontier. 

As no systematic excavations were ever carried out, all we have are tens of thousands of fragmentary and occasional finds. The majority of the artifacts come from the city’s necropolis which counts some 14,000 tombs - one of the largest in the region.  

Serbia, like its neighbors, does not have the infrastructure, the means, or perhaps the will to invest in the country’s past. Useless to point out that illegal digs are frequent.

So far, scanning of the area has revealed the presence of the Roman Imperial Palace, the Roman Baths, an amphitheater, a hippodrome, several temples, a mint, and a fleet of ships. Simultaneously, the ten-meter-wide colonnaded Decumanus has been located, complete with its sewage system. It also showed traces of a triumphal arch erected in 195 AD to honor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known as Emperor Caracalla. An inscription to that effect was found nearby. 

Otherwise, much is left to be discovered as only two percent has been explored by ‘experts’. 

Meanwhile, the locals dug out and reused Roman bricks bearing their recognizable stamp to build their own walls and houses. Even mosaics and other items served today’s needs. Nearby mining projects, a recent coal project, and a power plant function unhindered, it seems. 

As recent as 2020, a ship from the first century BC had been recovered about two kilometers away, according to the article in Phys.org News. In the summer of 2023 another ship, 20 meters long and 3.5 meters wide was discovered. This was a flat-bottom vessel powered by oars and sail that has not yet been dated. 

The decline of the ancient city of Viminacium was triggered by the invasion of the Huns in the mid-5^th century AD. By the time the Slavs settled in this area at the beginning of the 7^th century, the busy Roman settlement was entirely abandoned.

[Pictures from Phys.org News]

Pergamese offerings

In one of the rooms of the Archaeological Museum in Naples, I am confronted with a group of statues lying on the floor. It looks like dead bodies that collapsed on the spot. The label near the entrance reads Small Pergamese Votive Offering, Roman copy of the 2nd century AD, from a Greek original of the 2nd century BC. 

The scene makes me feel uncomfortable and I don’t know what to think. It looks spooky. I don’t even realize the connection with the site of Pergamon and if there is one I cannot tie it to anything. 

The figures are a little less than life-size and represent an Amazon, a Giant, a Dead Warrior, and a Wounded Gaul. More examples of this group are, apparently, exhibited in the collections of the Vatican and Venice in Italy, Paris and Aix-en-Provence in France. 

The statues fit the imposing reliefs of Gigantomachy and Amazonomachy that surrounded the Altar of Zeus, created by Eumenes II in Pergamon. This Votive Offering is a copy of the original that was placed along the south wall of the Acropolis in Athens in 167-166 BC, probably by Attalus II. 

They represent four battles, two mythical (the Gigantomachy and the Amazonomachy) and two historical (the Battle of Marathon and the one against the Galatians). According to recent research, discoveries near the Acropolis have led to believe that the Athenian votives were originally made of bronze. They may even be copies of a series located initially at Pergamon. The entire composition, which counted at least 50 sculptures, was meant to celebrate the greatest epic battles between gods and men, and the Pergamene victories over the Galatians, who were a constant threat to the Attalid kingdom. 

The Roman copies were based on the Athenian votives and executed in marble. They portrayed only the victors rather than all the characters from the Greek original, which raises the question of establishing the historical circumstance of their creation. From the stylistic point of view, the Neapolitan copies found in the Baths of Agrippa have been dated to the 2nd century AD. 

These votives have been leading a life of their own, and it is not impossible that more of their history will be revealed in the future.

Macedonia’s influence in Pelagonia

The exact location of the Kingdom of Pelagonia is still eluding archaeologists and historians but they agree that it is somewhere in the region of Bonče in Northern Macedonia, close to the Greek border. 

Based on historical sources, Pelagon was established in the early 4^th century BC as the capital of the Pelagonian tribe. In the Iliad, however, Homer mentions that Asteropaius, who fought against Achilles in Troy, is the son of King Pelagon. Many other historical and mythological figures go by the name Pelagon, which does not help to define who is who. 

The kingdom was known to be adjacent to Paeonia and early in his kingship, Philip II of Macedonia campaigned in those countries north of Macedonia. Paeonia was led by Parmenion, who decided to rally to the side of the new king. What exactly happened elsewhere remains rather obscure. 

Between the villages of Bonče and Podme, a necropolis with several tumuli has been located. These tombs date from between the 4^th to the 2^nd century BC and are all in Macedonian style. 

A larger grave site was surrounded by a circular stone wall, not unlike the Kasta Hill tomb of Amphipolis. Because of its impressive 30 meters in diameter, the tumulus has been attributed to a king of Pelagonia. A particularly long vaulted corridor of 20 meters, 2.95 meters high and 2.15 meters wide, led to the antechamber and the burial chamber proper. This room was rectangular and measured 8 x 6.6 meters with a height of 5.60 meters. Like the corridor, the main section of the tomb was cut onto the rock surface and lined with large stone blocks that reached up to a length of three meters. 

All tombs have been thoroughly plundered well before WW1. The roofs of the burial chambers have been dismantled and the stones reused in more recent local constructions. Although nothing of any historical value has been found inside the graves, the remains confirm that the 4^th century BC was a period of exceptional wealth.

In the fields of Bonče not far from these grave sites, bits of three partially preserved royal shields have been discovered with a close link to Macedonia. They display a central sun with 12 rays surrounded by three concentric circles. Around these, a series of smaller suns with 8 rays are represented. 

One of the shields carried the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟ (King Demetrios). It is generally accepted that it belonged to Demetrios II of the Antigonid dynasty, whose ancestral capital Antigona was located not far from Bonče, but this is not certain. 

[Reconstruction picture from the Macedonian Times]

The symbolic meaning of each and every detail remains problematic as so many variations have been found over the years. A handful of examples have been discussed in my earlier blog post, How Macedonian is a Macedonian shield?

[Two top pictures are from Wikipedia]

Spolia, giving stones a second life

Spolia most commonly appear as simple stone blocks or column drums used to quickly and cheaply build larger walls at a later date. 

Ruins from antiquity are readily available quarries used in the construction of city walls, houses, or larger buildings. Basically, and beyond the best-known examples, everything goes from bits of statues, capitals, and reliefs to inscriptions. 

Strolling through the remains from antiquity, we often come across monuments that have been partially dismantled. The larger or heavier pieces are left behind to trigger our imagination to mentally reconstruct the buildings. I have encountered many such examples, mostly in remote regions with little or no control by the authorities. 

Spotting spolia is always very rewarding. One of my first artifacts was a statue of Aegle, the Greek goddess of radiant good health, and an adjacent head in the Byzantine city wall of Dion in Greece. 

Another striking spolia was a list of Greek gods in the back of the mosque of Dodurga, a settlement sitting on top of ancient Sidyma in Lycia. The mosque had been carefully plastered and covered in soft yellow paint but the marble slab, although inserted sideways, was kept in its pristine white marble. Some reverence to the ancient gods, I wonder? 

Recently a spolia in the west facade of the Church St. Anna in Oleveni near Bitola and Florina in the Republic of Macedonia was brought to my attention. It carries a seriously weathered but still readable inscription that has been recognized as a letter by Philip II of Macedonia dated from June 345 BC. It was addressed to the Katlestai, either a military unit or a small mountain community in Illyria. Philip’s whereabouts at that time are obscured by his intense transpopulation of peoples aiming to subdue them and secure his own borders. Hence, it is unclear who the Katlestai exactly were. 

The inscription reads: to those of the Katlestai who stood in battle with Philip the king against the Dardanians and conquered. Here too, a pagan text has been used in a Greek-Orthodox church. 

Especially in the cases of Dodurga and Oleveni the builders either could not read the inscription on the spolia or, if they could, they did not understand it. 

Anyway, precious information is being saved this way for posterity as it is of particular interest to historians and archaeologists alike.

Rare testimonies from the Palace of Pergamon

Pergamon made a clear statement to take a leading position in the Hellenistic world in which the rulers attracted the best artists, architects, and philosophers. 

The Palace of Pergamon and its adjacent rooms must have been a sight for sore eyes considering the magnificence and action displayed on the famous Altar of Zeus, whose remains have been moved to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. 

On most maps of Pergamon, we find five consecutive rooms initially labeled as Palaces in their own right. Recent studies have established that the so-called Palace V was the main building used for official purposes. The other “palaces” were rooms for the Royal family and the guests, storage rooms, and arsenals. 

The official rooms with their niches and patios would be filled with elegant statues, statuettes, vessels, and other decorative items created by the best artists from Hellenistic times commissioned by the Attalid kings (see: The Attalids, rulers of Pergamon). 

From the reign of Attalus I, 241 to 197 BC, the most striking examples are the statues of the Dying Gaul and the man and woman known as the Galatian Suicide. Both pieces were taken to Rome to adorn the Gardens of Caesar. Also at the instigation of Attalus I, a new architectural feature appeared, the Pergamene Capital (see: About Greek/Roman columns and capitals). There must be proof that at least bits of these capitals are left in situ but I have not found any. I discovered my first examples in North Africa and in particular in Leptis Magna, the city built by Septimius Severus in the 2^nd century AD. 

The reigns of Eumenes II and Attalus II in the 2^nd century BC left us with only a handful of artworks that survived the ravages of time. A rare treasure found in the dining room of Palace V with the Hephaistion mosaic is the dancer or light carrier lady. She is 1.20 meters tall and made of white translucent marble. Her right hand which has not survived is raised and her left hand reaches downwards towards her dress. This elegant beauty has been transferred to the Altes Museum of Berlin. Another lady dancer has apparently been moved to the Archaeological Museum of Izmir and the only available picture is on the site of Livius. 

More telling is the colorful mosaic of a parakeet now at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin (see: The beauty of Alexandrine mosaics) retrieved from one of the two dining rooms of the Palace. Here, another remarkable mosaic was discovered that carried the signature of the artist. His name is Hephaistion, which has nothing to do with Alexander’s friend who lived two centuries earlier. This artist very creatively wrote his name on a label that seemed to be stuck to the floor with sealing wax at its corners, except one corner which was already lifted up. The full inscription can be translated as "Hephaistion made it". 

The balance of the finds in and around the Royal Palace is very meager considering the grandeur and wealth accumulated by the Attalid Kings of Pergamon (see: The Attalids, rulers of Pergamon). It is unclear whether these premises have been thoroughly excavated or if more work remains to be done. I like to believe the latest.

Alexander head found near the Black Sea

As strange as it may seem, a head of Alexander was found in Konuralp, close to the Black Sea. In antiquity, the city was named Kieros and was part of Herakleia Pontus. 

[Picture from Duzce Municipality]

The historian Memnon of Herakleia (1^st century AD) tells us that King Prusias I of Bithynia captured the city end 3^rd/beginning 2^nd century BC and renamed it Prusias. It was strategically situated on the road between Nicomedia (modern Izmit) and the Pontus region. 

The Romans, who conquered Bithynia around 74 AD, changed the name again to Prusias ad Hypium. The city was important enough to be visited by the emperors Hadrian, Caracalla, and Elagabalus. 

Although most of the ancient city is still buried under modern Konuralp, recent archaeological excavations have exposed remains of the city walls and a gate, a theater, an aqueduct, and a Roman bridge. Inscriptions mention the presence of a gymnasium and an agora. However, there is not enough information to establish the layout of Prusias ad Hypium, and crucially there is nothing to indicate the reason for Alexander’s presence at this location. 

The marble head attributed to Alexander was discovered at the top of the theater. It is 23 cm tall and has been dated to the 2^nd century AD. This is not much information to go by but hopefully, more news will follow.

Previous excavations also exposed a head of Apollo and Medusa.

Planetarium of Archimedes?

A fragment from a complex mechanism was discovered by chance near Olbia, Sardinia, and it soon became clear that the dented gear wheel showed similarities with the mechanism of Anticythera. This fragment, however, was made of a brass alloy unknown otherwise at the time. 

[Kircher's reconstruction of the sphere of Archimedes]

Thanks to the detailed writings of Cicero in the 1^st century BC, we know that Archimedes constructed a Planetarium (Orrery). The celestial globe is mentioned by Ovid in the 1^st century BC and by Claudian, a 4^th-century Latin poet associated with the court of Emperor Honorius in Mediolanum (Milan). 

When, in 212 BC, the Romans sacked Syracuse, Consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus brought to Rome a device that was built by the famous mathematician. It represented the motion of the Sun, Moon, and the planets reproduced on a sphere. In short, a modern Planetarium. 

It was Gaius Sulpicius Gallus, who reported the story as he had seen the object personally and knew how to operate it. Cicero was amazed that Archimedes had been able to generate the motion of the individual planets starting from a single rotation. The Planetarium was placed inside a glass sphere. This corresponds to what Archimedes wrote in a now-lost treatise On Sphere-Making detailing the construction of the Planetarium. 

Livy, who died in 17 AD, wrote that before the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC, Gallus, an astronomer himself, used the Planetarium to predict a lunar eclipse on the night before the battle. The news was shared with his Roman legionnaires to prevent them from panicking, but the Macedonians freaked out. 

A first reconstruction based on the section of the gear wheel found near Olbia revealed that it counted 55 dents in total. Noteworthy is the shape of the dents, which is not triangular as in the case of the Anticythera mechanism but slightly curved as used in our modern gear wheels. This shape proves to be more efficient and allows a higher precision. In antiquity, these wheels were created manually and the craftsmen had to do without the use of our modern measuring and cutting tools, which emerged only a few centuries ago. 

Marcus Claudius Marcellus, owner of the Planetarium, was sent off to Spain to fight the Iberic Celts in 152 BC. It is reasonable to assume that Marcellus took the Planetarium with him – a sign of his status – and that his ship was wrecked in the region of Olbia, crashing the Planetarium. 

The Planetarium has been dated between the end of the 3^rd century BC and the mid-2^nd century BC. It thus predates the Anticythera mechanism from the 1^st century BC generally ascribed to Archimedes. However, the analog computer may well have been reproduced based on Archimedes’ description.

It must have been one of the marvels from Hellenistic times, many of which still remain to be discovered!

[the section found near Olbia is thoroughly discussed in this YouTube]

Macedonian swords set against history

As mentioned in an earlier post (see: Alexander’s battle outfit), the Macedonians basically used two types of swords. The straight sword with a double-edged blade which was most popular was about 60-70 cm long. The blade was exceptionally efficient because of the swelling toward the sword’s tip. It added weight and momentum to each blow. It was used by cavalry and infantry alike as it functioned as well for hacking and stabbing. 

The kopis or saber-shaped sword with the crooked hilt was less common. The blade was 40-60 cm long and only the curved side had a cutting edge. The kopis was more effective for fights on horseback since the rider could deliver a heavy blow from above. 

Sources tell us that the Cyprian King of Citium (ancient Larnaca) gave Alexander a masterly executed sword, which was exceptionally light and well-tempered (see: The role of Cyprus in Alexander’s campaign). 

Quality swords were widespread among Alexander’s commanders and even common troops. Several memorable encounters have been reported by our historians. The most striking one was when Cleitus, with a single blow, severed the arm and shoulder of a Persian attacking Alexander at the Granicus. The Paeonian cavalry leader Ariston used his sword to behead the Persian leader Satropates during a skirmish near the Tigris River. The kopis were handled by the Macedonians at the Hydaspes to slash at the elephants’ trunks. Ptolemy drove his sword through the thigh of a local chief during the Indian expedition, and Alexander cut off the hand of his Arab assassin with one stroke of his sword during the siege of Gaza. The Macedonian tradition of handling weapons with high cutting capacity is still alive in 276 BC when King Pyrrhus inflicted such a blow to his adversary that he cleaved his opponent in two parts, falling to either side! 

Now we may wonder where and how all these swords were made. Cyprus was known for its quality weaponry, but did the artisans accompany the Macedonians into Asia or did they train a selected number of people in this specific craftsmanship? Either theory is plausible. 

There is, however, the case of Porus’ gift. After the Battle at the Hydaspes, King Porus gave Alexander a precious sword. This story leads us to another source, Wootz Steel (the name is a corruption of ‘ukku’), a well-kept secret amongst the metallurgists in India. The name first appeared when Alexander received a gift of over 2500 kg of ‘white iron’, a kind of steel that originated in India millennia before reaching Europe. 

Wootz steel is a type of crucible steel, which was made using a clay crucible. The vessel was closed and heated for several days to a temperature of 1300-1400 degrees Celsius. In the process, the quality of the product acquired high ductility, high impact strength, and reduced brittleness. After a slow cooling, the Wootz ingots were ready. Archaeologists discovered an industrial steel center from around the 3^rd century BC in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. 

How was this new technology received in the Macedonian camp? It is hard to imagine that Alexander did not explore or use the possibilities of this Wootz steel. He always was a ringleader when confronted with new inventions and improvements in warfare. The next we hear about this revolutionary steel is that Indians had a monopoly over the production and export of Wootz steel from the 3^rd to the 17^th century reaching from the Roman Empire in the West to China in the East. 

In the Middle Ages, Damascus became the main supplier of the famous Damascene swords, which is only another name for weaponry made using Wootz steel. 

By the 8^th century, manufacturing in India had spread throughout Central Asia where the Vikings had established trade posts to exchange their furs and slaves over Eurasia. Hoards of Arab dirhams have been found in Scandinavia documenting these trades. As a result, by the 9^th century, the Vikings produced high-quality Ulfberht swords, made of crucible steel known as Wootz steel. 

[Picture from Ulfbeht sword - Credits: Secrets of the Viking sword]

The blades of Viking swords were generally 70 to 90 centimeters long and 5-6 centimeters wide. The so-called Ulfberht swords carried the inscription +VLFBERH+T, which may be linked to some religious invocation rather than the maker’s signature. The earliest known specimen was created in the 9^th century and was one of the heaviest (1.9 kg) and longest (102 cm) Viking swords. It is exhibited at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. Another surviving example is the sword of Saint Stephen from the 10^th century which was the coronation sword of the Hungarian King Stephen. It still has its walrus-tooth hilt. 

The so-called Lincoln sword from the same era is one of only two known swords bearing the inscription +LEUFRIT, also made of crucible (most probably Wootz) steel. It was found near Monks Abbey in Lincolnshire, UK, in 1848. 

It is noteworthy that the science behind the production of Wootz steel was only understood in the 20^th century! From the technological point of view, this means that the metallurgists of ancient India were far, really far ahead of their time! 

Unfortunately, history has, to my knowledge, not linked the weaponry from Cyprus to the Wootz steel swords made in India. Consequently, we still don’t know how Alexander acted and reacted to Porus’ highly prized gift. I can’t imagine that Alexander did nothing to explore this newly acquired knowledge.

The Attalids, rulers of Pergamon

The Attalid Dynasty of Pergamon started with Philetairos in 282 BC, roughly fifty years after the death of Alexander. 

It remains difficult to imagine the wealth Alexander had accumulated from his conquest of Asia.  The rise of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties can hardly be compared to that of Lysimachos, who did not draw the best cards. The War of the Diadochi was a very intricate and complex bickering and conniving from which all parties did not profit equally. However, Lysimachos put his share of the booty to good use and his trusted treasury keeper, Philetairos, did the same giving Pergamon the jump start it needed.

The starting date of the Pergamon Dynasty is much later than for the empires of  Seleucos in 312 BC, and Ptolemy in 305 BC founded at the end of the War of the Diadochy. 

Philetairos was a eunuch who had served under Antigonus Monophtalmos. In 302 BC he deserted him to join Lysimachos, the king of Northwest Asia Minor. At the death of Antigonus, Lysimachos rewarded Philetairos for his loyalty by putting him in charge of his treasury (inherited from Alexander) in Pergamon. 

But when Lysimachos, upon the instigation of his wife, murdered his only son, Agathocles, Philetairos joined Seleucos I. Soon afterwards, Seleucos’ forces murdered Lysimachos leaving Philetairos to rule Pergamon until 263 BC. Seleucos granted him great autonomy, which enabled him to expand his territory. Unable to have children of his own, Philetairos had adopted his nephew, the future Eumenes I, who would succeed him in 263 BC. 

One year into his kingship, Eumenes defeated the Seleucid King Antiochus near Sardes, which enabled him to create an independent city-state of Pergamon. Eumenes did not have children either and the throne went to his nephew and cousin, Attalus, who went down into history as Attalus I Soter. Attalus ruled from 241 to 197 BC and many historians still consider him as the founder of the Attalid Dynasty, with Pergamon as its capital. 

The reign of Attalus I was all but peaceful. The Seleucids had lost power over Lysimachos' territories of Pergamon, Bithynia, Nicomedia, and Cappadocia, which gained their independence. Attalus expanded his territory but lost much of it to Seleucos II later on. However, he managed to save Pergamon from the attacks of the Galatians on his northern border and to establish friendly relations with the Romans. That’s how he got involved in the Second Macedonian War (200-197 BC) that opposed the weakening kingdom of Macedonia to Rome, as an ally of Pergamon. Attalus suffered a stroke during peace negotiations in Thebes and was brought back to Pergamon where he died in 197 BC. 

Eumenes II took over where his father left off but mingling in the affairs of the Seleucids in Syria did not sit well with the Senate of Rome. No reason for Eumenes to be distracted from carrying out his own large expansion program in Pergamon, where he built the unique Great Altar and the massive Library, second only to that of Alexandria. The Romans resented the power and independence Eumenes displayed, which in their eyes reduced their own sphere of influence in Asia Minor. Sadly, although still in his early sixties, Eumenes’ health began to deteriorate and he appointed his brother Attalus II as a co-ruler. One year later, in 159 BC, Eumenes died. His own son was still an infant and consequently, Attalus II, who conveniently married his widow, became the new king. He also adopted his brother’s young son, who was to become the future Attalus III. 

Attalus II continued Eumenes’ building projects in Pergamon, this time including the Palace. He also funded the construction of a new temple to Hera Basileia between the lower Agora and the Gymnasium. 

He was familiar with the political situation he inherited. He had no real enemies and was careful to recognize the authority of Rome. Instead of going to war, Attalus II expanded his influence by spending lavish amounts of money on prestige projects. For instance, he contributed to the construction of a splendid Stoa in the Agora of Athens, at the foot of the Acropolis. This is the Stoa of Attalus II that was restored/ reconstructed by the American School of Classical Studies in the early 1950s. Another Stoa carrying his name was built in Termessos next to the Corinthian temple.

As always, all kinds of taxes were raised to pay for these grand expenses but Attalus equally improved trade in his kingdom, building markets and safe harbors. He certainly needed reliable access to a harbor, and Attalus attempted to subdue Side. In the wake of this failed attempt, he added part of Pamphylia to his kingdom, where he founded an entirely new port. He named it Attaleia, after himself, i.e., modern Antalya. Attalus II died at the blessed age of 81 or 82 in 138 BC. 

His successor was his nephew and adopted son, Attalus III. However, the new king was not interested in his kingship or in Pergamon. No wonder that he was rather unpopular among his citizens. When he died five years later of disease, he bequeathed Pergamon to Rome which made it the capital of their Provincia Asia.

Although there may have been one last pretender to the throne, a supposed illegitimate son of Eumenes II, the Attalid Dynasty came to an abrupt end in 133 BC. 

In hardly 150 years, the Attalids had built one of the greatest Hellenistic centers for culture and art, mainly under the reigns of Eumenes II and Attalus II, which still intrigue us.

The end of Pergamon was all but glorious. After being hit by a severe earthquake in 262 AD, its decline was set in motion. The Muslims sacked what remained standing during their raid of 663 AD. More setbacks followed after the conquests by the Byzantine Empire and around 1300 AD by the Ottoman Empire. Slowly the majestic site deteriorated to the point it was abandoned and forgotten until the first explorers of the 18^th and the 19^th centuries rediscovered Pergamon.