Unknown Europe: Latin vestiges in Romania

 Tropaeum Traiani , Adamclisi, Constanța department. The triumphal monument erected by Emperor Traian in 109 AD. The tumulus and the funeral altar. The ruins discovered by archaeologists of the ancient city of the same name in the 1st-6th centuries, 10 ha, partially restored and preserved: paved streets, sewers, defensive walls with 22 towers and four gates. Four early Christian basilicas (IV-VI centuries; 10 ha).

Arutela , Poiana Bivolari point (Valcea department). Roman stone fort, built in the time of Emperor Hadrian on the left bank of the Olt, at the foot of the Cozia massif, located north of the Cozia monastery. Partially restored (entirely a portal and part of the surrounding wall) following archaeological research.

Barbosi , near Galati (Galati department) on the upper terrace of the left bank of the Siret, on Tirighina hill. Remains of an important colony of the Getae then the Romans (I-VI centuries), a sort of bridgehead of that on the right bank of the Danube at Dinogetia.

Beroe , Piatra Frecatei point, Ostrov commune, Tulcea county. The partially uncovered ruins of Roman and Byzantine fortifications (1st-6th and 10th-12th centuries). Nearby are the ruins of a paleo-Christian basilica (5th-6th centuries), on the edge of the old village cemetery (1st-12th centuries).

Bumbesti-Jiu , Gorj County, on the left bank of the Jiu River. The partially uncovered remains of two Roman camps, of which the stone one (II-III centuries) is the best preserved. Other important finds from here can be seen at the Targu Jiu Museum.

Capidava – Topalu , Constanta department. Capidava, the important fortress on the high bank of the Danube. The visible ruins are Roman (1st-6th centuries). The defensive wall has well-preserved towers and gates. Byzantine remains (10th-12th centuries) are added to it.

Caseiu , Cluj County, on the banks of the Somes River. The ruins of the Roman stone fort of Samum, a square fortification with a side of 165 m (II-III centuries)

Corabia , Olt department, on the upper Danube terrace. The defensive walls with eight fully discovered towers of the late Roman town of Sucidava (4th-6th centuries), which, together with the current village, cover part of the lesser-known Roman town of the 2nd-3rd centuries. Roman baths (thermal baths), an early Christian basilica (5th-6th centuries), cobbled streets, a secret underground fountain built by the Romans and preserved. The base of the foot of the bridge built over the Danube in the time of Constantine the Great

Constanta, in antiquity the Greco-Roman city of Tomis. Colony founded by the city of Miletus in the 6th century BC, the best-known remains of which date from the Roman era (1st-6th centuries AD). The are remains essentially covered by the modern city. Some fragments have been unearthed and are publicly available. The defensive enclosure, with its towers and gates which closed the peninsula, several segments of streets, the Roman baths, the large Roman building with polychrome mosaics near the port, the paleo-Christian basilicas, a Roman tomb with paintings, a Christian crypt with frescoes, many pieces of architecture and numerous inscriptions.

Dinogetia , department of Tulcea. Garvan. Here the Getic settlement was superimposed on the Roman settlement, including the massive defensive wall with 14 towers, partially restored, the streets and the ruins of some interior buildings such as the command building and the house of the Roman commander, a basilica paleo-Christian and, outside, are very well preserved, to the south, the ruins of the Roman baths. To the Roman discoveries of the 1st-6th centuries are added the Byzantine discoveries of the 10th-12th centuries. Among these, the most obvious are the exterior renovations of the south gate and the Byzantine church, the oldest known of its type in Romania.

Drobeta Turnu Severin, Mehedinti County. The ruins of part of the Romanian town of Drobeta . The remains include: the defensive enclosure, the streets, part of the elevation of the interior buildings, the ruins of the main pillar on the left side of the bridge built by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus under the orders of the Roman Emperor Trajan.

Dolojman , Jurilovca, Tulcea County, on the high, steep shore of the lake. The partially discovered and restored ruins of the Greco-Roman fortress Argamum (7th centuries BC – VI AD). Under the name Orgame, it is the first ancient colony in Romania mentioned by a written source from Antiquity. Today you can better see the fortress gate with a defensive wall, the streets, the early Christian basilicas and the defensive waves of its lands.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6cVgCdMtJuE
Enisala , Tulcea Department. Citadel of Heraclea. Genoese fortification partially overlapping the ruins of the Roman and Romano-Byzantine fortifications

Gilau, department of Cluj, south of the municipality, the remains of the Roman fort and civilian housing. This was the first fort in Transylvania where archaeologists clearly identified the succession between the earth and wood fort and the stone one that followed it (approximately 200 x 140 m).

Histria. Starting with the Greek period and ending with the Roman period, you can visit: the defensive wall with towers and bastions that closed from the west towards Lake Sinoe the smaller area of ​​​​the late Roman city of about seven hectares, including the ancient Greek Acropolis. There you can see the preserved ruins of the Greek temples in the sacred area. Also, cobbled streets and neighborhoods of houses or workshops, mostly Romanesque, thermal baths, civil and Christian basilicas and, in the center of the town, one of the largest Christian basilicas in the region (about 50 m from long), dating from the 6th century. J.-C. Chr.

Jupa, Caras-Severin department; on the shore of Timis. The ruins of the Roman fort and civil settlement of Tibiscum, studied for many years and partially preserved. The ruins of important buildings and workshops are visible.

Mangalia, Constanta department. Greco-Roman city called Callatis. We can see the northern side and part of the western part of the enclosure that closed the late Roman city towards the sea, the ruins of a basilica, part of the southern gate and a small urban segment preserved at the entrance and in the basement of the “President” hotel.

Murighiol, department of Tulcea, the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Halmyris (1st-6th centuries). Ancient port of the St. George arm of the Danube delta, place of sacrifice of the martyrs Epictetus and Astion from the beginning of Christianity. Massive defensive wall with towers and gates, Roman baths, early Christian basilica with crypt for martyrs’ relics

Moigrad, Mirsid commune, Salaj department. The partially discovered ruins, with a restored gate and part of the surrounding wall, the Roman fort of Porolissum. It was the most important military and civilian center in northwestern Romanian Dacia.

Niculitel, Tulcea County. Here were buried the bones of some Christian martyrs from the 3rd-4th centuries, then disposed in a crypt built and placed under the altar of a paleo-Christian basilica from the 5th-6th centuries.

Rosia Montana, department of Alba, concentrates the most important remains of the Romanian gold center Alburnus Maior. Mine galleries, traces of habitation, necropolises, many inscriptions and other finds in the local warehouse-museum, in Alba Iulia and Cluj.

Slava Rusa, Tulcea County. The village partly covers one of the largest Romanian urban agglomerations of Dobrogea, Libida (in specialized publications or guides it also appears under the name of Ibida), of 24 ha. You can see parts of the surrounding wall with towers, one of its gates

Most of the city is still under the village.

Turda, Cluj County. The ruins of the Roman fort of Potaissa: surrounding wall, gates, towers, larger interior buildings, etc.

Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa , Roman city founded by Trajan after the conquest of Dacia, as the new capital of the new province. The typical Romanian quadrangular shape of the city covers an area of ​​32.4 ha. Parts of the defensive wall, towers, cobbled streets of the city, most of the city center (Latin, Forum) and the ruins of some districts are preserved. In the northern area, where the most important monument is the Roman amphitheater, with the ruins of other buildings nearby, some of a sacred character.

Vetel, Hunedoara department. On the territory of the commune, on the banks of the Mures, are the remains of the Roman fort and the associated dwelling, called Micia. On one side and the other of the current railway line, the ruins of the castle (to the south), closer to Mures, the Roman baths and the traces of an amphitheater.

see  https://wansait.com/principalele-situri-arheologice-din-romania/

video – digital reconstruction of Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, the Roman capital of the Dacia province

Featured image: Trajan’s Column in Rome, with the story of the wars with the Dacians