Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains
Template:Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site Built in murus dacicus style, the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains (Template:Langx), 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.Template: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.
Sarmizegetusa Regia
[edit]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 Template:Convert 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.<ref>Mallows, Lucy (2008) Transylvania Bradt Travel Guides, Chalfont St. Peter, Bucks, United Kingdom, page 219, Template:ISBN</ref>
Costești-Cetățuie
[edit]Costești-Blidaru
[edit]Piatra Roșie
[edit]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<ref>Aerial photograph shows hill at Luncani. Oltean, Ioana Adina (2007) Dacia: landscape, colonisation and romanisation Psychology Press, London, page 81, Template:ISBN</ref> with watch towers on each end and two outlying watch towers. Later the larger area inside the watch towers was enclosed with walls.<ref name="MacKendrick-2">MacKendrick, Paul Lachlan (1975) The Dacian Stones Speak University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, pages 58–60, Template:ISBN</ref> It appears that the hilltop was flattened in the process in order to produce a usable space.<ref>Oltean, Ioana Adina (2007) Dacia: landscape, colonisation and romanisation Psychology Press, London, page 95, Template:ISBN</ref>
Gallery
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Fortress of Blidaru
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Fortress of Blidaru
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Andesite sanctuaries, Sarmizegetusa Regia
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Sarmizegetusa Regia the great circular sanctuary (sacred area)
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Small limestone sanctuary, Sarmizegetusa Regia
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Solar disc, Sarmizegetusa Regia
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Murus dacicus, Sarmizegetusa Regia
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Paved Dacian road, Sarmizegetusa Regia
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Dacian artifact from Piatra Roșie site. It is still a subject of debate if it is an umbo shield or a gate decoration.
See also
[edit]- Burebista
- List of Dacian towns
- Murus dacicus
- Sarmizegetusa Regia
- List of World Heritage Sites in Romania
- Seven Wonders of Romania
- List of kings of Thrace and Dacia
Notes
[edit]Further reading
[edit]External links
[edit]- UNESCO: The Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains
- Regional portal with locations and information related to the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains Template:Dead link
- Virtual 3D reconstruction of the Dacian fortresses
Template:Dacia topics Template:World Heritage Sites in Romania
- Pages with broken file links
- Archaeological sites in Romania
- World Heritage Sites in Romania
- Dacian fortresses in Hunedoara County
- Dacian fortresses in Alba County
- Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains
- Buildings and structures in Hunedoara County
- Buildings and structures in Alba County
- Ancient history of Transylvania