Built in the murus dacicus style, the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains (Romanian: Cetăți dacice din Munții Orăștiei) in Romania were created during the 1st centuries BC and AD to protect against Roman conquest. They played an important role during the Roman–Dacian wars.
The fortresses’ large and well-preserved remains show the strength and creativity of an ancient civilization. Today, some people search the area for treasures because Romania does not have strong laws to protect these sites (see Archaeological looting in Romania).
The six fortresses—Sarmizegetusa Regia, Costești-Cetățuie, Costești-Blidaru, Piatra Roșie, Bănița, and Căpâlna—formed the defensive system of Decebalus. They were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. All the sites are in Hunedoara County, except for Căpâlna, which is in Alba County.
Sarmizegetusa Regia
The town of Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and main fortress of the Dacian kingdom. It was likely built around the middle of the first century BCE. The town had walls and other defenses, a religious area, and a section where nobles and their servants lived. It was built on top of a hill that was 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) high. From there, people could see the land around the town clearly. The religious area was on the east side of the town. It included a large open space and round shrines. There were two living areas: one on the east side and a larger one on the west. These areas had homes, places for making goods, storage buildings, and spaces for processing food. One important feature was a system that carried drinking water using ceramic pipes.
Piatra Roșie
Piatra Roșie, which means Red Rock, was a Dacian hill fort located two days' journey to the west of Costești-Cetățuie, in the Luncani area of the Boșorod commune. It was constructed in two stages. During the first stage, a long rectangular main citadel measuring 102 meters was built on the natural ground level, with watch towers at each end and two additional watch towers nearby. Later, the larger area within the watch towers was surrounded by walls. It seems the hilltop was flattened during this process to create a flat, usable space.
Gallery
- Dacian fortress of Costești
- Fortress of Blidaru
- Fortress of Blidaru
- Sanctuaries at Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Andesite sanctuaries, Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Great circular sanctuary (sacred area), Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Large limestone sanctuary, Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Small limestone sanctuary, Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Solar disc, Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Murus dacicus, Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Paved Dacian road, Sarmizegetusa Regia
- Dacian artifact from Piatra Roșie site. It is still being discussed whether it is an umbo shield or a gate decoration.