Limes Porolissensis

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The location of the Limes Porolissensis forts and the towns associated with it.[1] The road paths are approximate.

Located in present-day Romania, Limes Porolissensis was the frontier of the Roman empire in Dacia Porolissensis, the northernmost of the three Dacian provinces. It was a defensive line dating from the 2nd century AD after the Conquest of Dacia up to the retreat of the Roman army from the region. The Limes was a complex network of over 200 observation towers, fortlets, palisades and ditches, and forts disposed in an arched line following the highland chain of the Meseș Mountains over 200 km from the Apuseni Mountains to Bistrița Mountains,[2] and required as many as 16,000 soldiers to man and defend.[3]

The Limes is named after its key defensive point: Porolissum.[4]

It also integrated the following forts: Castra of Bologa, Castra of Buciumi, Castra of Largiana, Castra of Certiae, Castra of Jac, Castra of Tihău, Castra of Samum, Castra of Arcobara, Castra of Livezile, Castra of Orheiu Bistriței, and Castra of Brâncovenești, and was supported by the castra of Gilău, Optatiana, Gherla, as well as being connected to the larger forts of Napoca and Potaissa.

Pre-Roman fortifications

Prior to Roman conquest of Dacia the area was guarded by hillforts reinforced with ditches and palisades. The earliest hill fortifications of this type belong to the 5th century BC, with some of these being in use during the reign of Burebista, but most were constructed during the Dacian period. Thirteen hillforts were identified in total, with the two main groups being the Meseș Mountains line and the Șimleu Massif, the latter located just outside the Roman limes line. Besides their military function they also served to monitor and control the movement of people and goods. A Dacian political-administrative centre may have developed around them, of much smaller size than the one of Orăștie Mountains region.[3]

Establishment

Almost all Roman forts and fortified structures were built around 106 CE, immediately after the conquest of Dacia, and mostly from timber. The largest fort initially was the one at Romita, with Porolissum gaining later attention due to its defensive properties. The stone phase of these structures started a few decades after the establishment of the military frontier[3] which took place in an exploratory manner, the survey of the land being followed by the construction of towers, mostly on high ground areas, used for signalling and communication, with the second most common type of building being small fortifications meant to fill in the gaps between important strategic places.[5] Outside the Limes itself marching camps were constructed, some as far as 70 km like the one at Coștiui.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Repertoriul Arheologic Naţional". ran.cimec.ro. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  2. ^ Radu, Zagreanu; Corneliu, Gaiu (2015-01-01). "Marcu et alii - Recent Developments in Understanding the limes Porolissensis". Limes XXIII.
  3. ^ a b c Wanner, Robert (2010-07-07). Forts, fields and towns: Communities in Northwest Transylvania from the first century BC to the fifth century AD (Thesis). University of Leicester. p. 127.
  4. ^ Fodorean, Florin (2019-01-01). "The Origin and Development of the Main Road Infrastructure and the City Network of Roman Dacia". Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology.
  5. ^ Cociș, Horațiu. "Înainte de piatră. Turnurile de supraveghere din lemn din cadrul frontierei nord-vestice a Daciei Porolissensis. O reevaluare în M. M. Ștefan et al.(ed), Arheologia trecerii de la epoca târzie a fierului la epoca romană în Dacia. Contacte și conflicte în sec. I-II p. Chr., Târgoviște, 2022".
  6. ^ Cociș, Horațiu; Dabal, Daria; Marius, Ardeleanu. "The Discovery of Roman Marching Camp in Coștiui, Maramureș County, Romania. Identification and Archaeological Excavations 2019 in Acta Musei Napocensis, 58.1, 2021".

Bibliography

External links

Retrieved from "https://mdwiki.org/wiki/Limes_Porolissensis"