Dacian Limes
The Dacian limes is the longest land Roman border sector of Europe, stretching over more than 1000 km.
It comprises hundreds of Roman sites all across Romania. Various geographical conditions had to be overcome to create man-made barriers and fortifications.
Community Perspective: Nan checked a few remnants here and there and finally settled on Alba Iulia, while Els visited Porolissum which is the main site in the Northwest and probably the best-preserved overall.
Map of Dacian Limes
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Els Slots
The Dacian Frontiers of the Roman Empire comprises over 300 separate locations, so which site to visit for a representative experience? At first, I zoomed in on Potaissa, nicely located halfway between Cluj and Alba Iulia in Turda. But this site is still closed after extensive restorations; it may open up later this year. Alba Iulia itself is a sure bet but also a bit ‘boring’ as it is also a TWHS on its own and already covered by reviews. The prime Dacian-Roman archaeological site however seems to be Porolissum. It meant a 1.5-hour detour north on my itinerary, but it was worth it.
Porolissum is advertised by roadside signs already from 60km away. There isn’t much else of touristic interest in the wider area, although the Wooden Churches of the Muramures are not far away and you see fine wooden churches by the road here too. Like the Maramures, which I visited in 2010, this is a poor area where horse-and-carriages still can be seen on the road and Roma communities live in squalor.
The signposting to the site is excellent until about 100m before the entrance: I lost track and asked for the way at a souvenir shop – the site entrance turned out to be just beyond that shop, turn to the right and there is a small bump in the road which prevents you from seeing the parking and guard station. The entrance costs 11 lei and can be paid (in cash) to the guard on duty. I was the only visitor, if you discount two roe deer I found grazing among the ruins.
Porolissum was founded as a Roman fort in 106 AD and expanded into a sizeable town due to trade with the Dacians. It was the center of defense of the 200km long Limes Porolissensis, guarding the northwest of Dacia against barbarian invasions through the Carpathian mountains.
It’s a large site, a visit takes 1.5 hours at least. It consists of the walled military fort in the center and civilian structures around it. At the start of the trail, I found a ruin that had attracted my attention during preparation: the Temple of Bel. This sanctuary to the oriental god of Bel / Baal was erected by Roman soldiers who originated from Palmyra. They were stationed at Porolissum to defend open spaces of the plain, as they were specialist archers.
Via a stretch of Roman road and passing outlines of civilian structures such as a restaurant and a sarcophagus placed next to the road as was the Roman tradition, you reach the camp’s main gate “that faced the enemy”: Porta Praetoria (see main site photo). This is a full reconstruction and – according to the accompanying sign – not a very accurate one either. I also noticed that modern mortar was used a lot to help keep together the other ruined buildings.
The site has excellent information panels in Romanian and English at each point of interest. The signposting overall however is lacking, so you have to look at maps.me or take a picture of the overview map that can be found near the entrance to be sure you don’t miss a main sight. The Amphitheater (pictured) can easily be overlooked as it lies on the other side of the camp, and then downhill a bit. It had space for 5,500 spectators. It was probably used for animal fights only, as it would have been too expensive to let gladiators come all the way here.
Read more from Els Slots here.
Nan
The Roman Empire had it's largest extend under Trajan. He defeated the eternal enemy of Rom, Parthia, and incorporated Mesopotamia as a province into the empire. However, the conquest was short lived. His immediate successor, Hadrian of Hadrian's Wall fame, cut Mesopotamia lose again. It was too far away from the heartland of the empire and consequently too hard to defend.
The second conquest of Trajan, though, remained a Roman province for about 150 years: Dacia, present day Romania. The reason were the Dacian gold mines in and around Rosia Montana (already inscribed). To get a glimpse, you can visit the National Museum of Art of Romania in Bucharest where several gold pieces pre and post Roman are on exhibition.
In comparison to other Limes sites, the Dacian Limes has a very odd form. It does not follow natural features and it does not create a short border. Instead it creates a bulge extending away from the Danube that includes the gold mines.
During my visit to Romania, I managed to visit a few sites. In Cluj, I walked up a local hill in search of a watchtower. I think I made it to the location, but there was nothing to see. Near Rosia Montana in Abrud, I searched for remnants of a castle, but again, there was nothing to see. Best site was in Iulia Alba, a tentative site on it's own, where a ruins of a Roman castle can be visited.
OUV
If Germany manages to inscribe three different Limes sites, all bets are off. The Dacian Limes is by comparison more interesting due to it's rather unique geographical form: the Dacian gold mines are it's sole raison d'etre.
Personally, I prefer extending Rosia Montana to include some defensive structures and towns associated with Roman gold mining. And submitting Iulia Alba and Porolissum on their own merits instead of this cheaper by the dozen approach. But the way Limes sites are going, this will be inscribed eventually, i.e., if the Romanians ever get the paperwork ready.
Getting There
If you look at the map you can see a bulge extend away from the Danube, the main Roman border. The bulge protects the gold mines of Dacia, most notably Rosia Montana, an inscribed site.
The locations are spread all across Northwestern Romania, so pick and choose. Easiest to visit is probably Iulia Alba, a splendid tentative site on it's own. The most renown site is probably Porolissum.
In my case I think I visited the site near Cluj (long walk up the hill to see ?), the site in Iulia Alba and the coordinates in Abrud. I had plans to go to Turda or Gilau, but didn't manage.
Community Rating
- : Bin Krafal_74
- : Christoph
- : Mihai Dascalu Lisu Marian Afshin Iranpour Cezar Grozavu
- : Lucio Gorla Jakob Frenzel Randi Thomsen Philipp Peterer Els Slots
- : Wojciech Fedoruk George Gdanski Clyde Alexander Lehmann Ralf Regele JobStopar
- : Philipp Leu Svein Elias Zoë Sheng Szucs Tamas Nan
- : Yevhen Ivanovych
Site Info
- Full Name
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire Dacia
- Unesco ID
- 1718
- Country
- Romania
- Inscribed
- 2024
- Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
-
2 3 4
- Categories
- Archaeological site - Ancient Rome
- Link
- By ID
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2024 Inscribed
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