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WHo Were tHe autHorS oF tHe treBeniSte Culture... - 79
classified as Illyrian. Some of the personal names can be classified
neither as Illyrian, nor ancient Greek, or Thracian. Other names that
were formerly considered to be Illyrian have many analogies in Asia
Minor, which proves that they should be ascribed to the Bryges (i.e. to
the Engelanes) who were living in this part of Macedonia before their
migration to Asia Minor. And today we know that the Briygian tribes
used to be the foundation/basis (substratum) in the ethno-genesis of the
Ancient Macedonians. 14
Ever since the Bronze Age, the material culture is different from
the one of the Illyrian tribes, and it is almost the same with the one
in other parts of Macedonia from Pelagonia to Vergina (Kutleš). It
should be stressed that the material culture in the valley of the River
Devol (a region of the Engelanes/Dassaretai) is substantially different
from the culture in the valley of the River Shkumbina (a region of
the Illyrian tribes) starting from the end of the Bronze Age. So, the
cultural group Bubusti-Tren is related to the one in Pelagonia, and it is
completely different from the Illyrian regions – the border between the
two cultural units was the River Shkumbina. This is yet another proof
that the tribes living around Lake Ohrid (Engelanes, Dassaretai) were of
Macedonian ethnicity. Nevertheless, in spite of the obvious differences
between the Illyrian material culture (north of the River Shkumbina)
and the Macedonian (south of the Rriver Shkumbina), some scholars
still consider the material culture of the Engelanes as Illyrian, and some
even go so far as to interpret the tumuli in Vergina/Kutleš as Illyrian,
thus “proving” the alleged Illyrian origin of the Macedonians. 15 This
conclusion is also supported by other types of archeological material. For
example, in the village of Dolno Selce near Podgradec, on the Albanian
side of Lake Ohrid, a grave of the Macedonian type has been found 16 ,
plundered back in the ancient times. However, one funeral offering was
found left in the grave, which is a rectangular military clasp of bronze
with an image of a horseman with Macedonian arms killing a barbarian,
probably a Celtic, judging by his garments 17 . Bearing in mind that the
Celtic invasion did not cover south Illyria, and comparing it with the
military clasps found in the northern parts of Illyria, we will see that they
are also different in shape (the Illyrian are trapezoid), and the soldiers are
equipped with totally different arms. What is most important, there is a
horror vacui in the presentation, which is not typical for the Macedonian
See. N. Proeva, Enchéléens-Dassarètes-Illyriens, p. 97/8.
5 It is first of all related to Albanian scientists.
6 N. Ceka, Les tombes monumentales de la Basse Selce, Iliria, IV, Tirana, 976, p.
69.
67-
7 D. Rendić-Miočević, L’art des Illyriens à l’epoque antique (résumé), in Culture
spirituelle des Illyriens, Sarajevo, 98 , p. 76.