UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Romania |
Includes | Sarmizegetusa, Costești-Cetățuie, Costești-Blidaru, Luncani-Piatra Roșie, Bănița and Căpâlna |
Criteria | Cultural: ii, iii, iv |
Reference | 906 |
Inscription | 1999 (23rd Session) |
Built in murus dacicus style, the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains (Romanian : Cetăți dacice din Munții Orăștiei), in Romania, were created in the 1st centuries BC and AD as protection against Roman conquest, and played an important role during the Roman–Dacian wars.
Their extensive and well-preserved remains present a picture of a vigorous and innovative ancient civilization.[ citation needed ] Today, treasure-hunters sometimes search the area, as Romania lacks legislation in this domain (see Archaeological looting in Romania).
The six fortresses — Sarmizegetusa Regia, Costești-Cetățuie, Costești-Blidaru, Piatra Roșie, Bănița, and Căpâlna — that formed the defensive system of Decebalus were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. All the sites are in Hunedoara County, except for Căpâlna, which is in Alba County.
The town of Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and major fortress of the Dacian kingdom, probably built in the mid first century BCE. It consisted of perimeter walls and fortifications, a sacred precinct, and a settlement area primarily for nobles and supporting servants. It was located at the top of a 1,200 metres (3,900 feet) hill with excellent visibility of the surrounding lands. The sacred precinct was on the east side of the town, with a prominent plaza and circular shrines. There were two settlement areas one on the east side and a larger one on the west. In addition to dwellings they included workshops, storage buildings, and agricultural processing areas. Notable for the time is a distribution system for drinking water that used ceramic pipes. [1]
Piatra Roșie, which means Red Rock, was a Dacian hill fort two days march to the west from Costești-Cetățuie, at Luncani in Boșorod commune. It was built in two phases. In the first phase a long (102 m) rectangular main citadel was built at the height of land [2] with watch towers on each end and two outlying watch towers. Later the larger area inside the watch towers was enclosed with walls. [3] It appears that the hilltop was flattened in the process in order to produce a usable space. [4]
Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and the most important military, religious and political centre of the Dacians before the wars with the Roman Empire. Built on top of a 1200 m high mountain, the fortress, consisting of six citadels, was the core of a strategic and defensive system in the Orăștie Mountains.
Argedava was potentially an important Dacian town mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis (48 BC), and maybe located at Popești, a district in the town of Mihăilești, Giurgiu County, Muntenia, Romania.
Murus Dacicus is a construction method for defensive walls and fortifications developed in ancient Dacia sometime before the Roman conquest. It is a mix between traditional construction methods particular to Dacian builders and methods imported from Greek and Roman architecture and masonry, and – although somewhat similar construction techniques were used before, during and long after the period – it has peculiarities that make it unique.
The Burs were a Dacian tribe living in Dacia in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., with their capital city at Buridava.
Trajan's First Dacian War took place from 101 to 102.
Trajan's Second Dacian War was fought between 105 and 106 because the Dacian king, Decebalus, had broken his peace terms with the Roman Emperor Trajan from the Trajan's First Dacian War.
Orăștioara de Sus is a commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of eight villages: Bucium (Bucsum), Costești (Kosztesd), Costești-Deal, Grădiștea de Munte (Gredistye), Ludeștii de Jos (Ludesd), Ludeștii de Sus (Felsőludesd), Ocolișu Mic (Kisoklos) and Orăștioara de Sus.
The Albocenses were a Dacian tribe that inhabited the area of Banat with the towns of Kovin, Trans Tierna, Ad Medias II, Kladovo, Apu, Arcidava, Centum Putea, Ram (Lederata) and Praetorium I. They lived between the Timiş River (Tibiscus) and north of the Saldenses, south of the Biephi. It is believed that the tribe migrated to Spain in Roman times.
Argidava was a Dacian fortress town close to the Danube, inhabited and governed by the Albocense. Located in today's Vărădia, Caraș-Severin County, Romania.
The Decree of Dionysopolis was written around 48 BC by the citizens of Dionysopolis to Akornion, who traveled far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's farther in Argedauon. The decree, a fragmentary marble inscription, is located in the National Historical Museum in Sofia.
Akornion was an important citizen of the Ionian Greek colony of Dionysopolis.
Romanian archaeology begins in the 19th century.
Buridava (Burridava) was a Dacian town situated in Dacia, later Dacia Apulensis, now Romania, on the banks of the river Aluta, now Olt.
The Battle of Sarmizegetusa was a siege of Sarmizegetusa, the capital of Dacia, fought in Trajan's Second Dacian War in 106 between the army of the Roman Emperor Trajan, and the Dacians led by King Decebalus.
Situated at the top of a steep hill, the Dacian fortress of Căpâlna was built in the second half of the 1st century BC as a military defense, guarding the entrance from the Sebeș Valley to the capital of the Dacian kingdom, Sarmizegetusa Regia.
The Costești-Blidaru Dacian fortress is the ruin of a Dacian fortified town in present-day Romania. Located near Costești village in Hunedoara County, it belongs to the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains World Heritage Site. The fortress was built in the 1st century BC, during Burebista's rule, with the purpose of defending the area against the Romans.
The Costești-Cetățuie Dacian fortress was a Dacian fortified town. Located near Costești village, Hunedoara County, Romania, it belongs to the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains World Heritage Site. The fortress was built in the 1st century BC, during Burebista's rule, with the purpose of defending the area against the Romans.
Piatra Roșie, which means Red Rock, was a Dacian hill fort two days march to the west from Costești-Cetățuie fortress, at Luncani in Boșorod commune, Hunedoara County. It was built in two phases. In the first phase a long rectangular main citadel was built at the height of land with watch towers on each end and two outlying watch towers. Later the larger area inside the watch towers was enclosed with walls. It appears that the hilltop was flattened in the process in order to produce a usable space.
In Roman Dacia, an estimated 50,000 troops were stationed at its height.
The history of Dacia comprises the events surrounding the historical region roughly corresponding to the present territory of Romania and Moldova and inhabited by the Getae and Dacian peoples, with its capital Sarmizegetusa Regia.