Delminium

[4][5][6][7][8][9] According to Orel, the Gheg form delme hardly has anything in common with the name of Dalmatia because it represents a variant of dele with *-mā, which is ultimately from proto-Albanian *dailā.

[7] The form Dalmatae and the respective regional name Dalmatia are later variants as is already noted by Appian (2nd century AD).

His contemporary grammarian Velius Longus highlights in his treatise about orthography that the correct form of Dalmatia is Delmatia, and notes that Marcus Terentius Varro who lived about 2 centuries prior of Appian and Velius Longius, used the form Delmatia as it corresponded to the chief settlement of the tribe, Delminium.

[11] The toponym Duvno is a derivation from Delminium in Croatian via an intermediate form *Delminio in late antiquity.

He based his conclusion on archeological research between 1896 and 1898, which located ancient settlements in Crkvina and Karaula in Tomislavgrad.

Patsch's conclusion was soon accepted by many other notable researchers, including Ferdo Šišić, Vladimir Ćorović, Ćiro Truhelka and others.

[13] The area has been inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of Dalmatae[14] and Delminium was a town established by them near present-day Tomislavgrad.

On the slopes of the mountains which circle Tomislavgrad, Illyrians built a total of 21 forts which served as watchtowers and defensive works.

[16] Apart from Illyrians, other inhabitants of the area included Celts, whose incursions into the Balkans began in 4th century BC.

Dalmataes attacked Roman guard posts near the Neretva, Greek merchant towns, and the Roman-friendly Illyrian tribe Daorsi.

Roads that led to the mainland of the Balkans from the Adriatic coast in Salona (Solin) and Narona (Vid near Metković) crossed in Delminium (Tomislavgrad).

Also, new altars, fragments of sarcophagi, clay pottery, parts of columns, and various other findings from the Roman and early medieval ages were found.